Damascus – Syrian Center for Public Opinion Studies (Mada)
A poll of a sample of residents of Deir ez-Zor Governorate showed that military and security officials of the Assad regime, and men affiliated with the Iranian militias and the SDF, continue to control the security establishment in the governorate, with kidnappings, extortion, and assassinations of activists who documented human rights violations, in order to muzzlethem.
The report ” On the banks of viole” issued by the Syrian Center for Public Opinion Studies (Mada) dealt with the indicators of public life in Deir ez-Zor, and the nature of the change that has occurred in the daily lives of citizens, especially in light of the continuing repercussions of the prolonged war, and the accumulations of neglect and marginalization that the governorate has suffered for decades, and the accompanying destruction, siege, and displacement.
The report relied on the answers of 753 residents of Deir ez-Zor Governorate, which is under the control of the Syrian government, in addition to 10 in-depth interviews with activists in public affairs, which included a group of specialists in the field of rights, education, security, health and media.
The results of the survey showed low indicators of the security situation, educational services, health and electricity. Seventy-two percent of the respondents said that security elements that were in the regime era are still at work so far, and 55 percent stated that security elements who defected from the regime have not yet been returned to their places of work. Nearly 70 percent confirmed the existence of kidnappings continuously in the governorate.
The problems of education, according to the poll, played a major role in the non-return of the displaced to their governorate. Seventy-eight percent said that the incompetence of teachers is the biggest problem in Deir ez-Zor, due to their appointment with favoritism and corruption during the days of the Assad regime, while birth registration, unregistered children, and school dropouts have become one of the biggest educational problems in the province, with rates exceeding 66 percent, according to the poll.
Dr. Husam Al-Saad, head of the Syrian Center for Public Opinion Studies (Mada), said that the report focused on security and public services, but the results were shocking with regard to “floating the symbols of the Assad regime and its militias.” In addition to nepotism and administrative and professional corruption in the education sector, the deterioration of the reality of public services such as infrastructure and health, the absence of solutions to violations of property and housing rights, and the problems that hinder the stability of returning displaced people. The report also highlighted the civil and civil efforts to overcome the housing crisis in a city that is considered almost destroyed, and the rate of destruction in some of its neighborhoods reached 100 percent.
Al-Saad added, “The report provided in-depth analyses anda systematic presentation of public life indicators in Deir ez-Zor, hoping that it will contribute to improving the security, service and educational situation, and crystallizing more realistic visions for the future of the governorate and its people”.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the province of Deir ez-Zor, located in eastern Syria, has witnessed political, security and service transformations over more than a decade, starting with the liberation of the city, passing through the years of ISIS control, then the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and ending with the return of its western section adjacent to the Euphrates River to the control of the new Syrian state following the fall of the former regime.
To read the report, click here