Almost a year since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime, the Syrian economy remains in tatters.

People had hoped there would be progress in rebuilding the country and making destroyed neighborhoods livable again, however, many areas across the country remain full of rubble and destruction.

Even though Syria is slowly ending its diplomatic isolation, many in the war-torn country had hoped that more money would have poured in from outside.

According to the United Nations, 90% of the country lives in poverty, of which the majority relied on humanitarian aid to survive throughout the conflict from 2011 until Assad’s fall in Dec 2024.

Syrians are visiting the houses they fled, only to see them largely destroyed with bullet holes, major gaps from artillery fire, and completely disconnected from the electricity and water network.

“It’s been a year since the regime fell … I wish international companies could come and help fix our roads, fix our electricity and water issues,” says Maher al-Homsi, a resident of Yarmouk camp.

“I left the camp at the beginning of the conflict, and I’m still trying to return.”

With the little money they have, people are now trying to rebuild what they can but they say it is much too expensive in the current economic situation.

Since Assad was ousted last December in a lightning rebel offensive, Gulf countries have signaled interest in investing in the country’s reconstruction.

In July, Syria and Saudi Arabia announced 47 investment agreements, valued at over $6 billion.

On the ground, progress has been slow. The country struggles with water and electricity cuts, with about half the population facing food insecurity.

In 2017, the United Nations estimated that rebuilding Syria would cost at least $250 billion, a figure some experts now say could be as high as $400 billion.

AP Video shot by Ghait Alsayed