Source: Syria Deeply
Five years of war in Syria have left large swathes of the country in ruin. And with the peace process on the brink of collapse, an end to the war is nowhere in sight. But with a reconstruction bill that is likely to run well over $100 billion, planning for Syria's eventual rebuilding must start now
The cataclysmic destruction of Syria challenges human comprehension. The old city of Aleppo, which like Damascus claims to be the oldest settlement on the planet, has been reduced to rubble. Homs was once the country’s third most populous city, but has mostly beendepopulated.
With the international Syria peace process teetering on the edge of collapse, a political solution seems distant. But every war must end. The rebirth of Dresden, Berlin, and Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) after the unthinkable destruction of World War II is a testament to human resiliency and a symbol of what may eventually be possible in Syria. Regardless of whether Syria can be stitched together as a unitary state or is instead permanently partitioned, rebuilding its infrastructure to even modest pre-war levels will require a generational effort...