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* In the face of heavy casualties in Syria, the United States, bowing to international pressure, announced on Thursday a temporary easing of sanctions on the war-torn country. Yet the compromise came too late for too many, whose lives have perished under the rubble while waiting for the much-needed relief aid blocked by the United States.

* With the U.S. dollar as the world's leading reserve currency, the United States could use the dollar's overwhelming might to transfer its crisis to the rest of the world, regardless of the repeated warnings by economists that the hikes will disrupt the world economy and foreshadow a recession.

* To hedge against the risk of falling into Washington's financial trap, more countries are embarking on the de-dollarization process, exploring ways to circumvent the U.S. currency.

by Xinhua writer Shuai Anning

CAIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Having been ravaged for years by wars and sanctions, Syria is now being battered again by catastrophic earthquakes on Monday, shattering the dreams of thousands who had hoped for a better life in 2023.

In the face of heavy casualties in Syria, the United States, bowing to international pressure, announced on Thursday a temporary easing of sanctions on the war-torn country. Yet the compromise came too late for too many, whose lives have perished under the rubble while waiting for the much-needed relief aid blocked by the United States.

Rescuers work at an earthquake-hit site in Latakia, Syria, Feb. 10, 2023. (Str/Xinhua)

The tragedy is yet another testament to the U.S. misconduct in the region, which has for years fallen victim to wars, sanctions and inflation "exported" by Washington.

UNILATERAL SANCTIONS

The U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Syria in the wake of international condemnation contradicts what it has claimed, namely that the sanctions did not target humanitarian aid to the quake-hit country, according to Syrian political experts.

"The United States knows that the sanctions imposed on the Syrian people were unjust and led to worsening the living conditions of the Syrians over the past few years," said political expert Kamal al-Jafa.

By maintaining the airspace's closure and blocking the entry of any medical or relief equipment to the area, the U.S. sanctions have prevented any effort to help the affected area's residents, said Mazen Shamieh, former assistant minister for the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.

Prior to the earthquakes, 90 percent of Syrians live in poverty. In the war-torn country, parents are skipping meals so their children can eat; electricity and fuel are scarcer than ever; many are increasingly unable to access clean water and health care or even to communicate with loved ones or colleagues, because of connectivity outages and failing infrastructure, said UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen in December.

Salem Abu Al-Oyoun, a displaced Syrian who moved from Aleppo to Al-Wazani camp in southeastern Lebanon, believed that the decision of the U.S. treasury to remove sanctions is a big lie that does not serve the people who have suffered from the unjust U.S. siege.

Tawfiq Abu Salwan from Idlib, another refugee who moved to the town of Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, said that the U.S. lifting of part of the sanctions is a desperate attempt to improve and polish its global image. "It will not have any effect on the ground in our country, Syria, and we consider it as non-existent."

WORST INFLATION

The earthquakes came at a time when life was already hard enough for the people in the Middle East. The double-digit inflation in the region has choked many who have already been struggling to feed themselves.

Fuelling their economic woes, many scholars said, is the irresponsible monetary policy of the United States, whose eight consecutive interest rate hikes have disrupted the world economy and dampened the outlook of an economic recovery.

In Türkiye, the rising consumer price inflation hit a 24-year high of 85.5 percent in October.

A man shops at a second-hand goods market in Ankara, Türkiye, Dec. 6, 2022. Buying and selling second-hand goods has become popular in Türkiye as consumers are looking for affordable used products amid the country's economic woes and soaring inflation. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

In Lebanon, food prices skyrocketed 143 percent between September and December in 2022, ranking third in food price inflation in the world, according to a World Bank statement.

In Egypt, whose currency has lost half of its value from a year ago, the prices of rice and some vegetables have doubled over the course of a few months last year.