Syria's new banknotes are set to include braille

Syria's new banknotes, set to be rolled out in Dec. 8 to mark one year since Assad's ouster, will include braille, Central Bank of Syria Governor Abdel Qader Hasriya announced on Wednesday.

According to the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Hasriya was petitioned by Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Kabawat to include the raised print as part of an appeal on behalf of people with visual impairments. Hasriya described the decision as a "long-awaited humanitarian step."

Few countries in the world, let alone the region, print banknotes with braille, a tactile reading method that gives the visually impaired agency and independence in dealing with money.

Syria joins Egypt and Yemen as the only Middle Eastern countries with braille. While Lebanon's central bank says it prints its bills with braille, they've been criticized for being ineffective, either wearing down too quickly or appearing more so as a color and less as raised text.

This latest announcement from Syria follows an earlier one last Wednesday, when Hasriya first announced the replacement of Assad-era banknotes. Hasriya revealed that the bank will be modifying the currency by knocking off two zeros from the end of each of the six denominations set to be re-printed.

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Since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began, the Syrian pound has collapsed from around 50 pounds to the dollar to more than 10,000 pounds to the dollar. Modifying the currency does not change its value, Hasriya told state television, rather it is an attempt to restore public confidence and to break from the former regime.

Syria's current bills feature the faces of fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez. The new bank notes will not include any images or symbols and would replace the bills currently in circulation, not add to them, Hasriya said.