(28 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jaramana, Damascus countryside, Syria – 02 March, 2025
1. Various of Rana Al-Ahmad putting food in the fridge
2. Interior of the fridge showing how empty it is
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Rana Al-Ahmad, resident:
"We can’t do laundry, we can’t put food in the fridge or it will spoil. The electricity situation is really bad, my kids can’t study, the battery that I have is very small and its charge runs out quickly, and my kids can’t study in the dark."
4. Various of children sitting with their mother studying
5. Close of lamp not switched on
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Rana Al-Ahmad, resident :
"The electricity situation is really bad, and financially I cannot afford to have solar panels because solar power is very expensive, I can’t afford it. I’m only using a battery."
7. Al-Ahmad closing her front door
8. Various of buildings at night, with only a few windows lit up
9. Cars driving in the dark
10. People walking in dark streets
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria – 19 March, 2025
11. Press conference
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Omar Shaqrouq, Interim Electricity Minister:
"Our initial plan, the emergency plan, was to increase the electricity generation hours to eight hours at least. We’ve taken many avenues to get to that, one of which is to get gas, so we reached out to our Arab nations, including Qatar."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir Ali, Syria – 20 March, 2025
13. Various of Deir Ali power station
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria – 19 March, 2025
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Omar Shaqrouq, Interim Electricity Minister:
“After we got the gas (from Qatar) electricity improved by two hours per person, previously they got (electricity) for two hours, now it will be four hours, and it might be more in the coming days, we’re gradually increasing the amount.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir Ali, Syria – 20 March, 2025
15. Various of Deir Ali power station
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria – 19 March, 2025
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Omar Shaqrouq, Interim Electricity Minister:
“The industrial sector plays a crucial role in achieving economic development. Economic development relies on electricity, and electricity depends on economic development. It’s a deeply interconnected relationship."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deir Ali, Syria – 20 March, 2025
17. Various of Deir Ali power station and the power grid
STORYLINE:
Rana Al-Ahmad, 37, opens her fridge after breaking their fast at sundown with her husband and four children during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
Apart from eggs, potatoes, and some bread, it’s empty because state electricity in Syria only comes two hours a day.
“We can’t leave our food in the fridge because it’s spoiling,” she told The Associated Press.
Her husband, a taxi driver in Damascus, is struggling to make ends meet, and so the family can’t afford to install a solar panel for their two-roomed flat in Jaramana on the outskirts of the capital.
Months after a lightning insurgency ended over half a century of the Assad dynasty’s rule in Syria, the country’s new Islamist interim government has been struggling to fix its battered infrastructure after a 14-year conflict decimated much of the country.
Severe electricity shortages continue to plague the war-torn country.
The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and the Syrian government has only been able to provide about two hours of electricity every day.
Millions of Syrians, like Al-Ahmad and her family, can’t afford to pay hefty fees for private generator services or install solar panels.
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Author: AP Archive
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