Other areas have been designated for
reconstruction, but it hasn’t started.
Basateen al-Razi was a lower-class
area widely associated with the first
turmoil of the revolution, but it never
completely fell into opposition hands.
So it wasn’t destroyed in the war; it was
demolished later.
Marota City is huge: it covers some 215
hectares, the equivalent of 250 football
fields. It will be home to 232 very tall glass
towers, which aren’t a familiar sight in
Syria, and will host a mix of government
services and luxury housing. It looks like
any modern city without an identity.
Sawsan: Assad wanted to attract private
capital. If you focus on social housing
for as many people as possible – as you
would expect from post-conflict projects
- you won’t attract any private funds.
Developers want to see an opportunity to
make money; so, modern skyscrapers.
How have the residents been forced out
and kept out?
Sawsan: The tens of thousands who once
lived there are evicted and scattered. The
prices will make sure they will never
come back: some 60,000 mostly lower-
class people lived there, but homes will
cost about $6,000 per square metre.
First, the regime issued a notice that
everyone should leave their property.
Everyone was given one month – then
extended to one year – to claim their
property rights, and the authorities
promised that everyone was going to be
compensated.
People with ‘formal’ rights were offered
compensatory shares in the project and
substitute housing. Those with no formal
rights were only offered two years of rental
compensation. Others were declared not
eligible for compensation and lost their
property rights.
But even for the ‘lucky’ ones who
received shares and substitute housing,
the new homes were supposed to be
delivered in 2016. We are in 2019 and
nothing has been built yet – the authori-
ties haven’t even decided on the location
for substitute housing. Many ended up
selling their shares to be able to rent until
substitute housing was ready. Meanwhile,
the government has already signed
contracts worth hundreds of millions of
dollars with developers.
Hani: It’s important to remember we’re in
the middle of a conflict. Many people have
disappeared, are detained or displaced.
Many are refugees abroad. Many have
safety concerns and are afraid of declar-
ing they lived in opposition areas and are
refugees abroad. And if you give them
one month to claim their property, you’re
actually trying to evict them, right?When did the process start and how far
has it gone?
Sawsan: The first step was Decree 66,
which allows demolishing and redevel-
oping informal settlements and provides
the legal foundation for reconstruction.
It was issued in 2012. To put things into
perspective, political unrest began in 2011- so the decree was only one year into the
revolution. The regime’s strategic think-
ing was way ahead of all the devastation
that was going to happen.
Hani: On the other hand, law number
10, which scales up the project, was
only passed in late 2018, and things are
moving slowly. Very few areas have been
officially designated for reconstruction.
But it’s worth noting that these areas are
very big. Just in Damascus, some 13 per
cent of the city has been earmarked for
reconstruction.What does the regime want to achieve?
Hani: The regime says its plans are a solu-
tion to informal areas.
But in 2017, Bashar al-Assad himself
said of the war: ‘We lost the best of our
youth and our infrastructure [...] but we
won a healthier and more homogenous
society.’ For the regime, the goal of the
war is a homogenous society loyal to
Assad, with only one political opinion.
And for this goal, they can use whatever
tools they have – one of them is the urban
environment.
Think about the destruction between
2012 and 2015. The regime targeted
hospitals, houses and bakeries. They used
imprecise weapons like barrel bombs.
They besieged cities to cut food and
medical supplies... everything to make
life impossible in those areas. The only
reason you can think of is that they were
trying to empty those places, to force
people to flee – otherwise, they wouldn’t
target hospitals and bakeries, they
wouldn’t use barrel bombs.
There were even reports that in some
areas, the regime deliberately demolished
hundreds of homes in opposition areas
after capturing a city. This is when you
say, well, it’s not random.
Sawsan: Now the reconstruction is
being done selectively; it’s about whom
to punish and whom to reward. It’s not
benefiting the poor, the vulnerable
and the victims. It’s benefiting investor
cronies, who profit from neoliberal
redevelopments. OALESSIO PERRONE IS A FREELANCE JOURNALIST
BASED IN LONDON.54 NEW INTERNATIONALIST
THE INTERVIEW
‘Destruction and reconstruction are leading to the
same political goal. First, destruction was used
to drive out a specific group because they were
threats to the regime. Now new construction is
coming to consolidate this displacement’