Syrian labour market in turmoil

“Syria is fine” and “it’s over” are two oft-repeated assertions among Syrian officials, collaborators and supporters of the regime, referring to the supposed end of the Syrian crisis. Facts on the ground, however, indicate that Syrians have many more difficult days ahead of them, whether the crisis ends now or continues until the regime is [...]

Does corruption make Syrians sick?

SMN No. 8, August 27, 2010 Writers highlight concerns over poor quality medicine and corruption A blogger known as “Syrian Citizen” criticised a cancer hospital for failings its patients in a recent post. The blogger mentioned one particular hospital where, he said, patients were not receiving proper treatment because of a lack of medicine. This [...]

Scandals at Syrian Universities Raise Eyebrows

SMN No. 7, August 11, 2010 A number of Syrian bloggers have criticised alleged corruption at Syrian universities, including claims of a trade in exam questions at some faculties. A number of stories have appeared in the media related to teachers allegedly leaking exam questions or blackmailing their students. In reference to an online article [...]

Syrian Netizens Hail Whistle-Blower

SMN No. 4, June 30, 2010 A group of Syrian netizens have expressed their backing for an employee who was reportedly fired from his position for exposing alleged corruption at a state institution. Around 500 people joined a Facebok group in support of Azad Othman, an engineer at Aleppo airport, who is said to have [...]