Syria's economic pains far from over despite Assad's ouster

abcnews.go.com:

Despite Syrian President Bashar Assad's ouster last month in a lightning insurgency, the country’s dire economic conditions haven't changed

DAMASCUS, Syria — Samir al-Baghdad grabbed his pickax and walked up a wobbly set of stairs made of cinderblocks and rubble.

He is rebuilding his destroyed family house in the Qaboun neighborhood near Damascus, Syria 's capital.

The traditional building, which once housed his family, parents and some relatives, had a courtyard decorated with plants and tiled floors where guests were received. But the house, like scores of others nearby, has been reduced to heaps of rubble during years of civil war.

Al-Baghdadi can’t afford to hire workers or rent a bulldozer to clear the debris and fix the house. He makes just about enough money as a mechanic to feed his family. But he's desperate to rebuild it because he is struggling to pay skyrocketing rent for an apartment.

“Economic opportunities are basically nonexistent,” al-Baghdadi said, sitting on a pile of rubble and debris where the house’s entrance used to be. “So we’re going to slowly rebuild with our own hands.”

Although Syrian President Bashar Assad was toppled last month in a lightning insurgency, the country's dire economic conditions that protesters decried have not changed.

The economy has been battered by corruption and 13 years of civil war. Coupled with international sanctions and mismanagement, inflation skyrocketed, pulling some 90% of the country into poverty. Over half the population — some 12 million people — don’t know where their next meal will come from, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

With no sign of a full-scale withdrawal of international sanctions and continuing caution among potential overseas investors,