Residents of Raqqa Governorate (northern Syria) face growing daily challenges as several basic service institutions remain absent. With transactions stalled, documents difficult to obtain, and services still partial or suspended, residents are forced to travel to other governorates to handle the simplest affairs, adding significant financial and time burdens.
Raqqa lacks many service institutions, foremost among them the Transport Directorate and the Immigration and Passports Directorate. Some institutions are also incomplete or offer only partial services, including the post office, the real estate registry, and the civil registry.
Ibrahim al-Mustafa, a resident of Raqqa city, has been waiting for months for the Transport and Communications Directorate to begin work so he can transfer into his name a car he bought a year ago. He tried to sell the car but could not because it had repeatedly changed hands without an actual transfer through the relevant institution.
Ibrahim told Enab Baladi that he tried to sell the car he bought last year, but it was not sold because the original owner was absent, and only through that owner could the sale be completed.
He added that after reaching the car’s real owner, they were unable to transfer it because the Transport Directorate in Raqqa Governorate had not been activated, forcing him to choose another governorate to complete the process.
The Syrian government entered Raqqa Governorate on January 18, after the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, withdrew from the governorate toward Hasakah Governorate (northeastern Syria) and the city of Ain al-Arab, Kobani, in eastern rural Aleppo.
Immediately after entering the governorate, the government worked to merge some institutions that had been affiliated with the Autonomous Administration into government ministries, especially service and education institutions. It also reactivated the Justice Palace and several other institutions and directorates.
Travel Burdens to Other Governorates
Ibrahim al-Mustafa said he cannot afford to travel to another governorate, such as Hama Governorate (central Syria), to transfer the car, because this would involve additional costs, including transportation for himself and the car’s original owner, as well as accommodation costs if the process takes more than one day.
Residents and government employees interviewed by Enab Baladi said the absence of official government institutions for 13 years caused a major vacuum and organizational and administrative dysfunction in the governorate, obstructing the activation of many service institutions.
Citizen Khalil al-Hussein said he had to travel to Hama Governorate to obtain a passport, noting that the governorate had been “liberated” six months earlier, and that residents have not heard of any intention to open an Immigration and Passports Directorate.
Khalil explained that the absence of institutions in Raqqa Governorate obstructs residents’ work, and that this is a point of criticism against the government. He called for activating all institutions that provide services to citizens.
Institutions affiliated with the Autonomous Administration in Raqqa Governorate for over eight years were limited to some service and regulatory sectors, such as municipalities, local councils, education, and agriculture, in addition to other institutions that promoted the ideas of the ruling party.
Four Essential Services Missing
Lawyer Hamdoush al-Ali told Enab Baladi that basic service institutions in Raqqa still suffer from noticeable disruption, which negatively affects lawyers’ work and citizens’ daily lives.
He explained that this disruption creates clear paralysis in the course of justice and services, adding, “We appreciate the reconstruction efforts being made, but we cannot remain silent about the continued suspension of several vital services that are a basic pillar for legal and administrative work.”
The lawyer said the most prominent of these services fall into four main points. The first is inspection and inquiry services at the Transport Directorate, where he noted that the absence of this service disrupts accident, ownership, and dispute cases, and leaves citizens exposed to legal complications and possible manipulation.
He stressed that the lack of an effective real estate registry halts investment, obstructs lending operations, and makes proof of ownership subject to chaos, contradicting the reconstruction process.
He also referred to the non-conviction certificate, explaining that it is an essential document issued by criminal authorities and serves as a pass for employment, travel, and obtaining licenses.
The lawyer explained that forcing Raqqa residents to obtain it from other governorates represents a major hardship in terms of cost and time, and amounts to an unjustified administrative insult.
He said the post office is necessary for lawyers to send legal notices and correspondence, while citizens need it to receive salaries and official notifications. Its absence cuts the line of communication between people and state institutions.
Concluding his remarks, Hamdoush al-Ali stressed that these services are not secondary matters, but a basic condition for the actual presence of state institutions. He said, “What is required today is a serious and effective working session that leads to clear decisions to restart these vital facilities, ensuring that citizens and lawyers feel the state is present in a way that provides administrative and institutional security.”
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