Irbin

عربين / ʿIrbīn Irbin
Coordinates	33 ° 32 '  N , 36 ° 22'  E Coordinates: 33 ° 32 '  N , 36 ° 22'  E
Basic data
Country	Syria
Governorate	Rif Dimashq
height	690 m
Residents	50,000 ((10/2017))

Irbin or Erbīn ( Arabic عربين Arbīn , DMG ʿIrbīn ) is a city in the Rif Dimashq governorate in Syria .

Surname

There are several spellings for the city name: e.g. B. Arbine, Arbin, Erbin, Arbeen, Arbeel or Irbin.

The city was officially called 'Irbil' (ʿirbīl) until the early 1960s, which could come from the Syrian word [ʕirbi: l] or [ʕurba: na], meaning 'flour sieve' or 'willow tree'.

geography

Irbin is a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus and is 7 km northeast of the center. The Thura River, which comes from the Barada River, irrigates the surrounding olive and walnut fields and marks the western border between Irbin and Qabun . Irbin has five neighboring cities and villages: Zamalka, al-Qabun, Harasta, al-Basal, Madiara and Hammuria. In the Irbin area there were many ancient villages such as Bartaya, Rummana, Jawwaza, Sultaya. These were built from clay and abandoned or erased for various reasons. Only in Bartaya was there a cemetery until the 1950s that showed the traces of this village. Most of the districts of Irbin are still called the same as the previous village.

administration

Officially, Irbin is a Nahiya, which means that the city has its own police station, post office, town hall, court and civil register. Irbin has a mayor. The city manages matters such as garbage collection, finances and the like. similar independent. The higher authority that controls the work of those responsible is the governor of Damascus, who is appointed by the president.

buildings

There are 15 mosques in Irbin. The oldest is the Great Mosque right on the main market. About 150 m further on is the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, built in 1873, which was desecrated and largely destroyed during the civil war.

health

Irbin has two hospitals. The Rajaa hospital is in operation while the Hafiza hospital is still under construction. There are about ten general practitioners and five dentists. The number of pharmacies is also over ten. There is also a free state health center in Irbin, which is currently primarily concerned with vaccinations and treatment for poor citizens. Running sterilized drinking water is guaranteed in the city.

economy

Most of the Irbis are self-employed. According to the town hall, there are around 3500 registered economic "activities". These are divided among small shops, factories, companies and the like. Ä. on. There is a very weak trend towards government employment. Traditionally, the Irbis have been leaders in jobs outside of their home. Joseph Awad Arbeely was the first Irbi and the first Arab to leave Syria for the USA with his wife and six children at the end of the 19th century (1878). Two of his sons published the first Arabic newspaper in the United States in 1904. Many of his descendants still reside in the States with the same last name.

Several tons of walnuts and almonds are processed and sold in Irbin every day . There are also plants for the processing and production of pickled vegetables. Traditionally, qamar al-din (flattened dried apricots ) is made in Irbin .

history

Irbin was controlled by insurgents in the Syrian Civil War from 2012 and a short time later in 2013 it was enclosed by government troops with the rest of Eastern Ghouta . The population of the region survived through state-tolerated smuggling and aid deliveries. The civil society built a because of the air raids of the regime underground, secular school for at the end of 2000 children; secular simply because the common denominator could not be found in religion.

At the end of 2017, the supply situation began to become critical after fewer and fewer deliveries were permitted. In October 2017, human rights activists estimated the number of residents in Irbin to be around 50,000. The fighting escalated when Islamist groups attacked an army complex held by the Syrian army in neighboring Harasta in November 2017. In the course of these clashes, the number of air strikes on the region increased and Irbin was bombed repeatedly.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} paxforpeace / TSI: "Eighth Quarterly Report on Besieged Areas in Syria, August - October 2017" Siegewatch 10/2017
2. ↑ "Civil war wiped out the community. Sad Christmas in Arbin: But Syrian Christians keep hope" Focus from December 26, 2018
3. ^ Joseph Holliday, Michael Lynch: "The Battle for Damascus: The Current State of Play in Syria" Institute for the Study of War on understandingwar.org of December 7, 2012
4. ^ Eastern Ghouta: The Dream of Self-Determination - in the Middle of Hell , NZZ, March 13, 2018
5. ^ Aron Lund: "A Timeline of the Tightening Siege in Eastern Ghouta" newsdeeply.com of December 27, 2017
6. ↑ Zen Adra: "Islamist rebels attack Army base near Damascus in latest breach" almasdarnews of November 14, 2017