Syrians blame regime corruption, substandard housing for heavy quake toll

After the initial shock of the February 6 earthquake, many Syrians directed their anger towards the regime of Bashar al-Assad, holding it responsible for the corruption and neglect that saw so many residing in substandard housing.

The regime's failure to stem corruption in the government institutions that oversee construction permits, and its failure to prevent people from occupying unstable buildings, directly contributed to the high number of victims, they said.

Some also blamed the regime for giving its forces tacit permission to strip the rebar -- steel bars used to reinforce concrete -- out of buildings in areas where the original inhabitants had fled, in order to sell them for a profit.

The quake killed more than 50,000 people in both Türkiye and Syria, including nearly 6,000 in Syria, according to officials and medics.

It left more than 10,000 buildings completely or partially destroyed in Syria's northwest, according to the United Nations.

The earthquake exposed "the extent of the dilapidation of the infrastructure and the state of disrepair of buildings in many areas, especially those controlled by the regime", Syrian economist Mahmoud Mustafa told Al-Mashareq.

It also exposed the shoddy construction standards that have prevailed under the regime, with corrupt officials prioritising personal gain over the enforcement of building safety standards.

Corruption in Syria is systemic "and has become commonplace in all aspects of governmental administration and the economy", Mustafa said.

Syria ranks 178th among 180 countries surveyed on the 2022 Global Corruption Perceptions Index issued by Transparency International.

"A handful of merchants, military figures and politicians loyal to the ruling regime have, over the past years, put their hands on all the capabilities of the Syrian state and people," Mustafa said.

This is such that "no commercial transaction can proceed without the approval of certain figures in exchange for a large commission or a percentage of the profit", he said.

No accountability or quality control

Following the earthquake, Mustafa noted, the Syrian regime has not moved to hold those responsible for deadly building collapses to account.

"It is remarkable that the Syrian authorities have not moved at all to hold accountable those responsible for this corruption, which has led to a larger number of victims," he said.

This stands in contrast to the actions of authorities in Türkiye, who immediately arrested a number of building contractors in connection with charges of cheating on construction documents and materials.

Their actions reportedly led to the collapse of more than 12,000 buildings.

Judicial and security authorities in Türkiye took immediate action and arrested a number of people, including two building contractors who tried to flee to Georgia, Mustafa said.

Early on in the war, the term "taafeesh" was coined, in reference to the theft of furniture and appliances from homes by those fleeing the Syrian regime's onslaught, Syrian lawyer Bashir al-Bassam told Al-Mashareq.

"The matter was not limited to the theft of furniture but also included pulling rebar out of buildings," he said, noting that this criminal activity was carried out "openly".

"Neither the army command nor the militia leaders moved to stop them," he said, explaining that without this reinforcement, buildings were left unstable and vulnerable to collapse, even before the devastating earthquake.

Meanwhile, new buildings erected in regime-controlled areas and other parts of the country "were not subjected to quality control" measures, al-Bassam said.

Building materials were not monitored or inspected, and there was no verification of their specifications and the construction methods used.

This negligence heaped another disaster on top of the earthquake, he said.

Empty promises

Over the past decade, many areas of Syria were subjected to bombardment, air strikes and fighting, much of it initiated by the Syrian regime and its Russian backers, said Syrian activist Mohammed al-Beik.

This left many areas uninhabitable from the destruction of buildings and infrastructure and the absence of services -- including ambulance and emergency services.

"Despite the repeated promises made by the regime to entice citizens to return to their areas -- that it intends to rehabilitate the infrastructure and repair buildings -- all promises remained ink on paper," al-Beik said.

Regime-controlled or aligned media outlets always claim the Syrian government is carrying out the required repairs and reforms, he added, "but nothing ever happens on the ground".

"Even the areas loyal to the regime are deprived of these works, which underscores the immense level of corruption," he said.

Even when the earthquake occurred, neither the machinery of government institutions nor that of the army was mobilised, he said.

"The response was rather automatic and spontaneous by a number of small and medium-sized construction contractors who own backhoes and bulldozers that took part in the rescue operations," al-Beik said.

The number of victims rose significantly from the delay in the rescue process and failure of government institutions to act in a timely manner, he added.