Unspoken exclusion: Inaccessible public transport isolates disabled Syrians

HOMS — Using crutches, Anas Awad makes his way from his home in the Reef Dimashq city of Zamalka to the nearest bus stop each morning. To make it to his job at one of Syria’s state media agencies in Damascus each day, he runs a gauntlet of public transportation and infrastructure with no accommodations for disabled people like him. 

“I suffer a lot because of public transportation. The buses are old and don’t take the conditions of people with disabilities into account,” Awad told Syria Direct. “There are no regular schedules for the trips, and when the bus arrives at the stop people push to get on and don’t consider our situation.” 

Taking a servees, a public microbus, is not an option for Awad unless he finds a seat in the front next to the driver, he said. 

Awad has had a permanent motor disability since 2015, after suffering a spinal cord injury when Zamalka was bombarded by the Assad regime. An estimated 28 percent of Syrians over the age of two have some form of disability—nearly twice the global average of 15 percent. In 2009, before the 2011 revolution and ensuing war, Syria’s estimate was 10 percent. 

The number of people with disabilities rose during the years of revolution and war, as well as due to the February 6, 2023 earthquake that struck northern Syria and southern Turkey. In all, around 2.6 million disabled people live in Syria. 

While Syria’s new government has made some efforts to include those with disabilities in public employment and society, the country’s public transportation and infrastructure remains a daily obstacle, one that isolates disabled Syrians and prevents them from fully participating in public life.

“The acute daily mobility challenges that disabled people face stem from the absence of infrastructure that accommodates their needs—from unsuitable sidewalks and unsafe roads to the absence of guidance signals for the blind, as well as buses that are not equipped for people with disabilities. This turns the right to mobility into a constant struggle and unspoken form of social exclusion,” said Marai al-Ramadan, head of the nonprofit organization Deirna Nexus.

A daily struggle

Before returning to Zamalka after the Assad regime fell in December 2024, Awad lived in Gaziantep, a Turkish city near the border with Syria. “The city is served by public transportation, and accommodates people with disabilities,” he said. “Traffic is organized, the buses are modern and climate controlled in summer and winter, and there are apps that allow passengers to know the schedule,” making it “easier to move around without wasting time waiting.”

But in Syria, public transportation does not operate regularly, and there are no places reserved for disabled passengers. Additionally, some drivers do not respect their needs and load buses with more passengers than their capacity allows, Awad added.

Although Awad’s job in the media requires him to be particularly punctual, he is still sometimes late for work. Occasionally, he has to take a taxi, paying many times the cost of bus fare, to arrive on time for his shift. 

Microbus fare costs 3,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) ($0.25), and because he needs to transfer to get to his job, Awad pays SYP 6,000 ($0.50). When he needs to use a taxi, he pays SYP 60,000-70,000 (between $5 and $6).

A crowd gathers near microbuses in Abbasid Square in the Syrian capital Damascus, 2/2/2026 (Anas Awad)

Muhammad Haddad, 49, experiences similar challenges in Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city. Haddad lost his sight in 2016, when his eyes were injured and he was transferred to Turkey for treatment that was ultimately unsuccessful. He remained in Turkey with his wife and five children for years, until returning to Syria after the Assad regime fell. 

In Turkey, Haddad did not use a white cane to get around, but relied on the help of his wife and eldest son. Still, he noticed that there were sidewalks with accommodations for the blind to help them walk on foot and facilitate access to public transportation, he told Syria Direct. 

When he returned to Aleppo, he was struck by the scale of destruction and poor infrastructure, with “broken sidewalks, open potholes and many bumps,” he said. This makes it harder for all pedestrians to navigate the city, but poses a particular challenge to those with disabilities.

Within a month of returning to his neighborhood of al-Izaa, Haddad managed, with difficulty and caution, to memorize the local terrain. Still, he only ventures out with his son, who guides him with warnings such as “look out for a hole, a bump, a tree, a car parked on the sidewalk,” he said. By the time he arrives at his destination, he hears “around 70 comments from my son, while in Turkey he used to give me three.” 

A distance Haddad could have covered in five minutes on foot in Turkey takes him 20 or 30 minutes in Syria, due to “the destruction in the street and reckless driving by cars, and motorcycles,” he said. Since returning, he has not attempted to use public transportation because of the “difficulty of getting around.” 

A January 2026 report by the Syrian Dialogue Center noted that 44 percent of roads within Aleppo city, and particularly its eastern neighborhoods, have been damaged. This comes alongside longstanding neglect and reliance on patchwork solutions that have become a chronic problem over time. 

Public transportation in Syria lacks basic services disabled people need, said Firas al-Mansour, head of the Turkey-headquartered Emergency Response Association. “There is a lack of awareness of this part of society, which increases the difficulties they face,” he told Syria Direct.

Al-Mansour’s organization considers accommodations for disabled people in its projects when constructing buildings or service facilities. Its role is limited to schools, but it is trying to increase community awareness and foster a culture of caring about people with disabilities, he said. He called on the Syrian government to support disabled people in all its projects, including those related to roads and transportation. 

Transportation that adequately serves disabled people should be treated as “a rights and development issue, not just a service issue,” said al-Ramadan, in Deir e-Zor. His organization takes the view that the right to safe and equal mobility and access to education, work and public services is a basic condition for participating in society, he said.

His organization, Deirna Nexus, aims to include disabled people in its staff and work teams and provide opportunities for participation “not only as beneficiaries, but as actors and partners in planning and implementation, to promote inclusion and ensure the programs reflect their actual needs,” al-Ramadan said. 

Barrier to return

Muhammad al-Muhammad, 34, who lives in Germany, is closely following the service situation in his home city of Homs, especially as it concerns people with disabilities. Al-Muhammad has been partially paralyzed since 2016, when he was shot by Turkish border guards as he attempted to cross the border to visit his family in the city of Urfa. 

Since arriving in Germany at the start of 2021, al-Muhammad has been able to move around independently because services—including public transportation—include accommodations for people with disabilities. Under the current circumstances, it is difficult for him to consider returning to Homs, where he will be forced to “rely on an accompanying person,” he told Syria Direct.

“I have the intention of returning to Homs, but I need an equipped house,” he said, not to mention that he would not be able to go out alone using his wheelchair because of the poor condition of the streets and lack of accessible public transportation. 

“In Western countries, there are ramps at the main door of buses and trains to facilitate wheelchair access, and the sidewalks are not as high as in Syria,” al-Muhammad added. “Someone who uses a wheelchair or crutches can easily move through the streets on their own.”

Over the past months, the transitional Syrian government’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has held a number of meetings aimed at supporting disabled people and developing relevant policies, programs and centers. Most recently Minister Hind Kabawat met with the president of the regional Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities, Nawaf Kabbara, at the start of February. Still, little has changed. 

Syria Direct reached out to the Ministry of Transport regarding its plans for accommodating disabled Syrians. The head of its media department, Abdulhadi Shehadeh, said provincial authorities are responsible for matters related to local transportation, while the ministry is concerned with main roads. 

The General Authority for Passenger Transport—which falls under the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment—told the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) last June that it intended to modernize the country’s transportation system by importing modern electric buses and preparing infrastructure to charge and operate them as part of a national plan to move towards clean and sustainable energy in the transportation sector. 

Syria Direct reached out to the General Authority for Passenger Transport’s media director, Omar Qattan, for more details, but received no response by the time of publication. 

Iman Halloum, 58, who has a spinal deformity and walks using crutches, said public transportation access for people with disabilities must be a priority. She called on the governor of Homs and all relevant authorities to “secure means of transportation that are suitable for people with disabilities, because these citizens need transportation that ensures their free and safe movement the most.” 

Halloum, a retired employee of the Homs Water Resources Directorate, told Syria Direct she cannot “use the current public transportation because of my condition, nor can I rely on a taxi because of my financial situation, so I often have to walk for a long time in the rain or sun.” 

“Accessible transportation must be provided, or designated spaces for people with disabilities should be allocated in buses and public vehicles, and wheelchair ramps should be installed,” Halloum said. She also called for “ensuring free healthcare and enabling women to work on sustainable projects.” 

Al-Muhammad, in Germany, noted the need for a representative of people with disabilities in each province who can advocate for their rights and convey their voices to governors in order to ensure swift measures are taken regarding accessible transportation or infrastructure. 

“There can be no real recovery or just reconstruction in Syria without cities and villages that are friendly to people with disabilities, without policies that guarantee their dignity, independence and full right to mobility and life,” al-Ramadan emphasized. 

Al-Ramadan called for accessibility to be adopted as a mandatory standard in all  service or urban development projects, addressing ministries, municipalities, local councils, and planning and implementing bodies responsible for ensuring the right to safe mobility for Syrians with disabilities. 

This report was originally published in Arabic and translated into English by Mateo Nelson. 

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