The talk of Syrians offering their bodies for sale in order to secure their livelihood is no longer just a rumor as a local radio station received a call from a number of people confirming that they are in fact selling their kidneys and urging buyers to hurry and take advantage of the opportunity and the low prices.
Al Madina FM broadcasted calls of Syrians announcing their willingness to sell their “hearts” so that their children would not go hungry, which was met with great engagement by commentators on social media, who pointed their fingers towards Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime as the reason that brought the Syrian people to this stage of desperation.
Many pointed out that the phenomenon of selling organs has become widespread in all regions under the control of the regime, due to the difficult living conditions, with the price of one kidney going from 12,000 dollars (15 million Syrian pounds) to 8,000 dollars (10 million pounds) due to the mounting number of people want to sell their kidneys. (The official exchange rate is 1,250 pounds for one dollar but in the black market it may reach 4,000 pounds for one dollar).
The case, however, is no longer limited to selling organs, as there are those who are now offering their children for sale, with one commenter confirming information mentioned by Hoda Shaarawi, a Syrian artist who spoke up about seeing a man offering his daughter for sale in Damascus to feed the rest of his children.
For a decade, Syrians have been living in a deepening economic crisis, coupled with the significant destruction of infrastructure over a decade of conflict primarily by the Syrian regime and its allies.
The conflict in Syria has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced 13.2 million.