President Assad and his wife, Esma Assad, will reportedly stay at the villa where Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev had previously stayed. Daily life is becoming more difficult in Syria. The price of diesel fuel, which is commonly used, increased from 7 Syrian pounds to 25 Syrian pounds last year. Home prices and rents went up by 50 percent. The prices of basic foods doubled. The confidence of the Syrian people in the state is eroding. They have faith in strong figures rather than the state. They get around these figures. The Syrian people are concerned about the possibility that what happened to the Iraqis will also happen to them. The fear of “When will we be next?” has taken the society captive. Ordinary people believe that advanced weapons were purchased from the Russian Federation and that they will be used against Israel when necessary.
The Syrian people, whose economic and social problems are growing, have found a scapegoat to blame. According to the people, Iraq and the Iraqi forced migrants, whose number exceed 1.5 million (some sources say 3 million), are responsible for the increased prices, political problems, prostitution and political isolation. The greatest population movement since the refugee crisis during the foundation of Israel in 1948 continues to shake the balances in Syria. That Iraq and Syria are neighbors and that both peoples are Muslim and Arab has failed to prevent the widening of the gap between these peoples. Unlike the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, the sharp difference between the Arabic dialects of Iraq and Syria -- with the exception of some parts in the Al-Jazeera region -- deepens the social and cultural distinction. The situation results in the Iraqi migrants not being accepted in the Syrian community. The number of stores refusing to sell items to Iraqis is on the rise in Syria. Iraqis are even unable to seek reparations when their goods and money are stolen.
As resistance becomes more institutionalized in Iraq, the reflection of Iraq on Syria continues to increase. Iraqi migrants are becoming more settled in Syria. The number of children of Iraqi migrants in primary schools in Damascus alone is 25,000. This figure exceeds 100,000 in all of Syria. Iraqi migrants support the resistance by opening stores in Syria. The wounded in the resistance are treated in Syria. Young people are sent to Iraq in support of the resistance. This leads Syria to renew its Iraq policy and become harsher. The Syrian state remains quiet vis-à-vis the increased anger against the Iraqi migrants. The state is happy with the Iraqis being the scapegoat for two particular reasons. The state finds an external pretext for the deterioration in the economic situation. In addition, it easily deals with the Iraq-originated jihad, the only factor that could possibly threaten order and stability in Syria. Imams, intellectuals and university students were arrested in the summer of 2008. All friends of a medical faculty student who attended Iraqi resistance were taken into custody. The state fears the possibility of the spread of Iraq-originated jihad on its soil.
The increased influence and impact of Iraqi resistance made Syria look like it is stuck between Iran and Israel. This situation has caused Syria, which has to maintain cautious relations with Iran because of pressure from the West, to turn its face toward Turkey. In Damascus, Turkey looks like it is a relatively Western and democratic state. Syrian intellectuals see Turkey as “a country pregnant with beauties.” For this reason, in Syria, politicians, bureaucrats and the people agree that relations with Turkey need to be improved further.
