How Syrians coped without SWIFT transfers and what comes next

How Syrians coped without SWIFT transfers and what comes next

To receive just a few hundred dollars from relatives abroad, Mohammad Shaheen had to dodge state surveillance and rely on shadowy intermediaries, operating almost like a fugitive.  "I used secret passwords to identify the money courier on the road, who would hand me the cash and vanish within seconds," said Mohammad, who now lives in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus where he settled after being displaced from Daraa. “It was either this or risk get…