Girls shop for stationery as the new school year approaches at a market in old Damascus, Syria, Sept. 17, 2025. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) — With the new school season in Syria set to begin on Sunday, Damascus’ historic Asruniyeh market comes alive with colorful displays of cartoon-themed backpacks and stationery. The place hums with the chatter of bargaining parents, the laughter of children, and vendors calling out their offers to draw in shoppers.

Bilal Saliq, a Syrian from rural Damascus, is searching for school supplies for his two children. He said the family had started preparations for school nearly three weeks ago.

“Prices have dropped a little, but incomes remain low. We hope the coming days will be better,” he said. “If we calculate the full cost — clothes, a bag, and supplies — we need about 500,000 Syrian pounds (roughly 50 U.S. dollars) for just one child. That’s a big number.”

Girls shop for a schoolbag as the new school year approaches at a market in old Damascus, Syria, Sept. 17, 2025. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

Back-to-school shopping has become a daunting task, not only for local residents but also for returnees who once relied on remittances.

For Anas, a father of four who recently returned from Türkiye, the joy of enrolling his children in a Syrian school for the first time was mixed with anxiety.

“Prices are very high. Like most Syrians, I depend on remittances from abroad and still cannot cover all the needs,” he said while scanning a pile of backpacks.

“Compared to Türkiye, where I used to live, prices here are cheaper, but the problem is that incomes are low and expenses are high,” he added.

Worsening financial conditions in Syria have affected local businesses, with school supply vendors feeling the strain. Ammar, who runs a stationery shop in Asruniyeh, said sales had fallen sharply.

“People now choose the cheapest goods with poor quality. Last year, business was better than it is now,” he said.

People shop for stationery as the new school year approaches at a market in old Damascus, Syria, Sept. 17, 2025. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

At Khaja Market, a bustling souk known for its more affordable options, vendors are noticeably more optimistic, pointing to newly available imports.

Abdul Rahman, a shop owner specializing in backpacks and accessories, said business had improved this year.

“This year is better than previous years because we were able to get foreign goods after import restrictions were eased,” he said. “Now we have different qualities and prices, so customers can choose what suits them financially. Before, the options were limited.”

For many, the ritual of back-to-school shopping offered a brief sense of normalcy in a country where school reconstruction remains incomplete and economic pressures weigh heavily.

There is still much to be done to rebuild Syria’s education system after years of devastating war. According to the country’s education authorities, over 8,000 schools now lie in ruins, while nearly 800 more are in urgent need of repair.

Officials say that although more than 17,000 teachers dismissed since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 have been reinstated to address severe staffing shortages, the financial burden of rebuilding the education system remains a significant challenge given Syria’s weak economic performance.

A World Bank report released in July projects Syria’s economy to grow by just one percent in 2025, following a 1.5-percent contraction last year. The report cites lingering security risks, a severe liquidity shortage, and suspended foreign aid as major obstacles. Fourteen years of conflict have shrunk Syria’s GDP by more than half since 2010, with per capita income dropping to 830 dollars in 2024 and one in four Syrians living in extreme poverty.

People are pictured near a tent pitched on the rubble in al-Hawash village in Syria’s central Hama province on Aug. 13, 2025. (Str/Xinhua)

The report also warns that reliance on costly oil imports, political uncertainty, and fragile security continue to threaten stability, risks all too familiar to families struggling to prepare their children for the new school year.

Despite the challenges, Syrian parents continue to do what they can for their children.

“Seeing my children laugh as they clutch their first notebooks makes all my hard work worthwhile,” said a father at the Asruniyeh market.  ■