ISTANBUL
The CEO of the international charity Islamic Relief Türkiye has said that rebuilding Syria requires a united global commitment, urging the international community to share responsibility for the country’s recovery after years of war and devastation.
“If the world wants this country to stand on its own feet and avoid future implications, such as refugee crises, the whole world must support Syria. This is a must,” Ali Demir told Anadolu.
Demir warned that without such support, “we are not giving hope to the people. Some people aspire to return to their lives, but without international support, there is little hope for them to start a new life.”
“I actually visit Syria almost every month and have been working in the country for 12 years,” he added.
Taking into account Syria’s current state, Demir noted that the country has been through 14 years of crisis, war, and aftermath, compounded by the effects of 50 years of centralized rule. “Keeping all this in mind, every aspect of the country has been impacted,” he said.
Speaking about Syria’s needs, he explained: “It practically needs to rebuild everything. Recovery is crucial for the people. Sector by sector, the economy is the most critical priority. After years of war, crises, and displacement, economic recovery is essential for people to resume their lives and for refugees to return from neighboring countries and beyond.”
He stressed that Syria requires urgent recovery in infrastructure services such as electricity, water, factories, and agriculture. “Economic recovery is the foundation for everything else. With it, more people can rebuild their lives, more resources become available, and there is greater capacity to support the country,” Demir highlighted.
“A massive rehabilitation program is essential after all these years of war,” he said, stressing, “Water and electricity networks, schools, hospitals—restoring all these vital services must be a priority for recovery.”
– Many parts of Syria fully destroyed, like quake-hit region
“People can return, but they cannot if there are no services, there are no schools, there are no hospitals, in many areas there is nothing for people to return… the services must be there,” Demir emphasized.
He added, “In the last period I had a chance to visit Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia, Tartus, Damascus, Dara, and Deir ez-Zor.”
Many parts of these cities, including Aleppo, Homs, Damascus, and Deir ez-Zor, are completely destroyed, he said, comparing the devastation to the massive earthquake that struck Türkiye last year, which caused widespread destruction across 11 provinces.
He highlighted the immense cost of this process, stressing that no government can undertake it alone, especially after 14 years of war. “Therefore, a significant focus must be placed on rehabilitating houses, homes, and shelters. Without this, millions of people will have no home to return to,” he said.
– ‘Sanctions should be removed’
He said that as there is a functional Syrian government now in place, international recognition is important, he expressed, noting: “As an organization working in humanitarian and development sectors, the most important priority now is that sanctions on Syria should be removed.”
Syria should be reintegrated into the banking system, as no one can work, no products can be manufactured, and no market can be revived if Syrian banks continue to be denied access to funds, he stressed.
Sanctions imposed by the previous regime must be removed as soon as possible to allow services to resume, he said.
The second step will be to seek international support for the country’s reconciliation and system rebuilding, he added.
At this point, no one can give a figure for the cost of the recovery process of the country, he said, noting that officials are still assessing the situation, as many hospitals and schools are fully destroyed and not functional, some hospitals have no equipment, no items, and no resources.
No one can give a figure right now, but in the current phase, the new government is doing these kinds of assessments, and it will definitely require billions and billions of dollars.
Türkiye should also facilitate the processes for project implementation in Syria more and more especially in this current phase, “Currently, the main reliance for many NGOs to implement projects in Syria is on the PTT (Turkish postal services), and this is quite challenging considering the size of operations and needs in Syria” he said.
Until the sanctions are removed, this is the main official path for funds transfer to inside Syria, and it would be really effective if Türkiye provided more facilitation on this, like opening branches of Turkish banks in major cities in Northern Syria.
This will strengthen the market very much and will have a positive impact on the economy of both countries, he stressed, adding: “It will be a very big message for Syria to strengthen its markets and economy, and it will help both countries in terms of trade and economic ties.”
– Islamic Relief Türkiye
Touching on his institution’s works in Syria, Demir said Islamic Relief Türkiye has been working in Syria for 13 years and has spent approximately $350 million. Most of its projects focused on emergency support as well as some development projects.
“So from schools to hospitals to bread to infrastructure to water networks to solar power systems, wide areas of work we have been doing, not just in Syria, but also in neighboring countries,” he noted.
He explained that the charity organization is now on a new page, hoping for the best and planning extensively during this time, with a focus on rehabilitation and recovery.
So the institution intends to rehabilitate health systems, schools, market operations, livelihoods, agriculture, and infrastructure, as well as provide psychological and material support to orphans, widows, detainees, those who have left prisons, and those who require all of these types of services, he added.
“We have a big orphan program… we are expanding it in Syria and trying to reach more orphans across the country to support them.”
He added, “As Syria embarks on a new chapter in its history, it is a call to all nations and people of goodwill to come together and contribute, striving toward a future of freedom, progress, and prosperity, Inshallah (God’s willing).”
