According to French TV 24, Turkey’s currency crisis has spread to the northern part of neighboring Syria, where people’s wages have plummeted and purchasing power is at an all-time low.
Since last year, northern Syria, controlled by Turkish-backed opposition forces, has replaced the sharp depreciated Syrian pound with lira as the main currency.
The Turkish lira depreciated by about 45% against the US dollar this year, adding to the suffering of the already war-torn northern part of Syria. A teacher living in the northern Syrian city of Bab said that the collapse of the lira reduced his salary by two-thirds. His salary in 2017 was about $160, but now it has become $50, which is only enough to barely pay the rent.
In addition, most of the products in the local market come from Turkey, where inflation has soared as fast as Turkey. The prices of basic foodstuffs such as bread have reached record levels, resulting in people’s purchasing power falling to an all-time low.
A recent United Nations report shows that 97% of the population in the region lives in extreme poverty, including those working.
