DAMASCUS — Jamal’s family gathers around the iftar table — for the fast-breaking evening meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — in the town of Harasta, near the Syrian capital Damascus, just before 7 p.m. at sunset, as darkness begins to obscure their faces.
Syrians in the government-held areas barely get one hour of state electricity daily, spending the rest of their days in complete darkness amid a crippling power crisis plaguing the war-torn country.