Stories from the Field - When children narrate the war tales - ArabTradeUnion - Majalat
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When children narrate the war tales
Stories from the Field
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Egypt: For a Living .. A Child Eats
Fire and Drinks Kerosene
Adel Zakaria / Member of Arab Trade Union Media Network.
Egypt- Hard conditions forced him Only a minimum of choices and Unfinished scenes of childhood,
to stop playing, so he abandoned dreams were available in his small confusion in the roles, he has no
his childhood in pursuit of a living. world. He did not know that his idea about the role he should play
He practiced adult works under the dreams of childhood with their in this miserable story. However, all
market’s conditions till he became beautiful games and memories scenes and circumstances lead him
a truly child of misery and depriva- will be known only from the movies to the same area which is the most
tion. You cannot hold your tears shown in the cinema, and collected miserable one, and put the truth na-
while thinking about depth of suf- from the looks he steals from an- ked in front of his eye that is “You
fering for a 14-year-old child, who other child who has a much bet- are the man of the house.” Among
is gifted with intelligence and excel- ter life than his. He left his childish the stories of child labor in Egypt is
lence, but he found himself forced dreams aside, and decided to think the story of the child “Walid”, son
to support his family after illness in a manner that goes will with the of Al-Hawamdiya center located in
and death of his father, who was a surrounding circumstances “You south of Cairo, who is known to the
magician. are no longer a child, and you need goers of cafes the down town and
to earn money”. they call him the child prodigy.
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his dream: “I took part of the youth center in Al-Ha-
wamdiya, and after my participation they told me that
I should buy football kit to play. My mother and I can
barely afford our food, how can I buy those kit!?”
Walid’s mother – who works in the houses of others-
could not hide her tears while we were talking about
contradiction between Walid’s academic excel and the
necessity to work as magician in a job that poses a
danger to his life. She says:” when Walid was younger,
I found him practicing on his father’s profession and
trying to learn it in the early morning. That was after his
father was infected with illness and became unable to
move from his bed. I tried to prevent him, but I could
not due to his insistence and our hard conditions. I
had to leave him to work. At the beginning, I used to
stay beside him till he became good in his work. But I
know that this profession is very dangerous. His father
burned his face once, and I know that there is a possi-
Playing with Fire and Kerosene bility for Walid to get burned like his father; in addition
to that Kerosene causes lots of thoracic diseases, and
Kerosene, fire, and poetry are three things that distin- his face may be influenced by the flames of fire.”
guished Walid from his peers. He drinks the first one,
blows the second in the air, and says the third in front Child Labor in Egypt
of the cafes’ goers. You can find him every day in the
down town streets after turning from a student into a Child labor is one of the most serious phenomena
“ magician “ playing games to earn a few silver coins threatening the Egyptian society. According to the
taken from the pockets of his fans. ILO estimates, number of child labor in Egypt reached
about 2.2 million, representing up to 26%. According
From Al-Hawamdiya in the south of Giza to the down to the latest statistics of the Central Agency for Mobi-
town, 14-year-old Walid accompanies his mother with lization and Statistics, 46% of these child workers are
a bottle full of kerosene, drinking it in front of his cus- between 15 and 17 years of age, 78% are male and 21%
tomers to set the fire and call their attention for his out- are female. Number of working hours spent by these
standing abilities. Regarding his mind, he memories children at work is more than 9 hours a day on average,
verses of poetry to say them to listeners around him, and more than six days a week. i.e. number of working
so he can get their admiration and then their money. hours of the child may exceed the number of adults’
Walid inherited the skill of blowing in the fire from his working hours.
father, and he used to go to the down town every day,
showing capabilities the residents of the area and the Concerning the international conventions and char-
passersby are not used to it: “I was called the child ters ratified by Egypt, which have become effective
prodigy, because I drink kerosene and blow in fire. I and committed to stopping child labor, the first one of
have been working since my father died. I blow in fire them is the International Convention on the Rights of
so I can support my mother and young siblings”. the Child, which Egypt was one of the first countries to
ratify in 1990.
Distance travelled by Walid accompanying his mother
from Al-Hawamdiya to the down town was never a hin-
drance to present his daily shows, as the most impor-
tant thing to him is supporting his family that consists
of five members: “I do not know anything named a holi-
day. When I was in school, I used to finish my studies
in the morning and go to the down town in the evening.
Currently I go the down town from morning till evening.
Walid is still devoted to his school despite his usual-
ness to his profession as a magician: “I cannot leave
my school, I like it more than my work, but I have to
work to support my siblings.” Walid’s ambition did not
stop at pursuing his studies; he aspires to become a
famous football player, stressing that talent is existed
but difficult circumstances prevent the realization of
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Playing with Fire and Kero-
sene
Kerosene, fire, and poetry are three
things that distinguished Walid
from his peers. He drinks the first
one, blows the second in the air,
and says the third in front of the ca-
fes’ goers. You can find him every
day in the down town streets after
turning from a student into a “ magi-
cian “ playing games to earn a few
silver coins taken from the pockets
of his fans.
From Al-Hawamdiya in the south of
Giza to the down town, 14-year-old
Walid accompanies his mother with
a bottle full of kerosene, drinking it
in front of his customers to set the
fire and call their attention for his
outstanding abilities. Regarding his
mind, he memories verses of poetry
to say them to listeners around him,
so he can get their admiration and ball player, stressing that talent is Child Labor in Egypt
then their money. Walid inherited existed but difficult circumstances
the skill of blowing in the fire from prevent the realization of his dream: Child labor is one of the most se-
his father, and he used to go to the “I took part of the youth center in Al- rious phenomena threatening the
down town every day, showing ca- Hawamdiya, and after my participa- Egyptian society. According to the
pabilities the residents of the area tion they told me that I should buy ILO estimates, number of child labor
and the passersby are not used to football kit to play. My mother and I in Egypt reached about 2.2 million,
it: “I was called the child prodigy, be- can barely afford our food, how can representing up to 26%. According
cause I drink kerosene and blow in I buy those kit!?” to the latest statistics of the Central
fire. I have been working since my Walid’s mother – who works in Agency for Mobilization and Statis-
father died. I blow in fire so I can the houses of others- could not tics, 46% of these child workers are
support my mother and young sib- hide her tears while we were talk- between 15 and 17 years of age,
lings”. ing about contradiction between 78% are male and 21% are female.
Walid’s academic excel and the ne- Number of working hours spent by
Distance travelled by Walid ac- cessity to work as magician in a job these children at work is more than
companying his mother from Al- that poses a danger to his life. She 9 hours a day on average, and more
Hawamdiya to the down town was says:” when Walid was younger, I than six days a week. i.e. number of
never a hindrance to present his found him practicing on his father’s working hours of the child may ex-
daily shows, as the most important profession and trying to learn it in ceed the number of adults’ working
thing to him is supporting his family the early morning. That was after hours.
that consists of five members: “I do his father was infected with illness
not know anything named a holiday. and became unable to move from Concerning the international con-
When I was in school, I used to fin- his bed. I tried to prevent him, but I ventions and charters ratified by
ish my studies in the morning and could not due to his insistence and Egypt, which have become effec-
go to the down town in the evening. our hard conditions. I had to leave tive and committed to stopping
Currently I go the down town from him to work. At the beginning, I used child labor, the first one of them is
morning till evening. to stay beside him till he became the International Convention on the
good in his work. But I know that Rights of the Child, which Egypt was
Walid is still devoted to his school this profession is very dangerous. one of the first countries to ratify in
despite his usualness to his profes- His father burned his face once, 1990.
sion as a magician: “I cannot leave and I know that there is a possibil-
my school, I like it more than my ity for Walid to get burned like his The Convention defines the child
work, but I have to work to support father; in addition to that Kerosene as every human being under the
my siblings.” Walid’s ambition did causes lots of thoracic diseases, age of 18, emphasizes the need
not stop at pursuing his studies; he and his face may be influenced by to seek protection from economic
aspires to become a famous foot- the flames of fire.” exploitation, and prevent him from
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
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performing any work that is likely damental to human rights at work, their attendance in schools, may be
to be dangerous or impeding his which the acceding States are com- authorized by a decision made by
education, health, physical, men- mitted to and are held accountable the competent governor after the
tal, spiritual or Social growth. The for the breach of their obligations approval of the Minister of Educa-
Convention requires States parties under them. tion,
to take legislative, administrative,
social and educational measures to Egyptian Law and Child Secretary General of the Egyptian
ensure such protection, in particu- Coalition for the Rights of the Child,
lar establishing a minimum age for Egypt’s new constitution 2014 did Dr. Hany Helal says that: “We have
admission to employment, and an not overlook the criminalization of enough laws to stop child labor, but
adequate system of working hours child labor. Article 80, which is the unfortunately, these laws have not
and conditions, as well as imposing longest article in Egypt’s new con- been enforced adequately, espe-
appropriate penalties to ensure the stitution states that it is prohibited cially that we also have a law to pro-
effective application of such provi- to employ a child who passed the tect the child from his family, which
sions. age of his basic education. It is forces him to work. If the family did
also prohibited to employ him in the so, it will be punished and obliged
Egypt has also ratified the Interna- work that endangers his life, and to pay fines. Its penalty may even
tional Labor Organization (ILO) con- the state is obliged to protect him reach imprisonment for a term
ventions (it should be noted that from all forms of violence, abuse, not less than six months. He also
the organization has issued several ill-treatment, and sexual and com- points out that work of children at
agreements (16 conventions and mercial exploitation. an early age before the legal age is
4 recommendations)) all of them a widespread phenomenon, occur-
oblige governments to implement Accordingly, Egypt arranged in ring in the absence of the protec-
policies concerning protection of 1996 the Child Law No. 12 of 1996, tion man’s role inside the Ministry
children’s rights. The most impor- amended by Law No. 126 of 2008, of Manpower. However, if the Min-
tant two conventions ratified by which detailed a separate chapter istry played its role in turn, it will be
Egypt are Conventions No. 138 of on the criminalization of child labor. able to stop and eliminate the phe-
1973 related to The Minimum Age It states that it is prohibited to em- nomenon of child labor. The Sec-
for Employment, and No. 182 of ploy a child before the age of full 15 retary of the Egyptian Coalition for
1999 on the Worst Forms of Child calendar years. It is also prohibited the Rights of the Child expressed
Labor. Those two conventions are to train him before the age of thir- his regret due to that the file of
considered the most important and teen calendar years. Employment child is not on the priorities’ list of
recent conventions adopted by the of children aged between twelve the Egyptian government, adding
International Labor Conferences and fourteen years in seasonal that instead of developing plans to
in the area of child labor, as their works, that do not harm their health stop this phenomenon, especially
contained provisions that are fun- or growth, and does not prejudice as we are on the threshold of the
United Nations celebration of the
World Day against Child Labor, it is
increasingly promoted by the me-
dia without any accountability or
deterrence.
A study published by the Egyptian
Ministry of Manpower revealed that
poverty and ignorance constitute
the reason behind spread of child
labor, which their number reached
more than two million and 786
thousand child workers laboring
in difficult conditions that endan-
ger their lives. They work long pe-
riods exceeding working hours for
adults. The study revealed also that
almost all child workers have no le-
gal protection, and work informally,
without work documents or health
certificates, as well as one-third of
them suffer from ill-treatment and
are exposed to various forms of
violence from employers and su-
pervisors.
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The slow death of children& youth in
marble industry empire
in Egypt
Adel Zakaria - Member of Arab Trade Union Media Network
Egypt – One cannot but notice a out of unemployment hell, dodging
huge cement gate when taking the death day and night. These workers
high way near ALmaadi area in the work hard but they have no right
heart of Cairo. Entering this gate they have no idea what a trade union
means you will see all types of mar- is, despite their success in achiev-
ble and granite spread along the ing high export figures, where this
7KM asphalt road that keeps as- region accounts for 90% of the to-
cending, it is called the marble em- tal exports of marble, amounting to
pire and known in Egypt as “shaq Al 330 million dollars annually.
Tuoban (cracks made by snake.”
We had to have evidence of this
In this empire you find migrant and closed world at least in front of the
Egyptian workers, engineers, trad- media, so we had a chat with Hajj
ers, all work as if they are in beehive Hassan Hajjaj, the oldest workers in
from 9 am till 11 pm, thousands this empire, and we asked his about
types of marbles that you cannot the reason behind the name “Shaq
find anywhere in the country as it AL Tuoban” he said: 50 years ago,
gets exported to international mar- this area was a group of mountain
kets, but how does this empire op- valleys and each valley had a name,
erates in such silence? a group of quarries was here in this
valley and the name came perhaps
At least 50,000 workers work in the because workers drilled and dug this empire, if they are skilled tech-
marble and granite industry in this the stones in a way that made an nicians that can be relied on to pro-
region, mostly children, work with- impact of a huge snake that wig- duce the best marble in the world?
out rights with their muscular arms, gles in the mountains. And he surprised me with his an-
they make artistic stone sculpture, swer: “You will not believe that some
for a living that barely takes them I asked him about the workers in of these skilled technicians do not
know how to read or write. Some of
them hold university degrees that
are far from working in the field of
marble manufacturing, the produc-
tion line officer in this factory hold
a bachelor’s degree in Sharea and
low others hold a bachelor’s degree
in finance and they are all under 30
years old.
Workplace hazards and lack
of safety measures
There were huge blocks of rough
stones moving by winches to be
placed next to a giant electric saw
controlled by a computer unit and
observed by one worker, then we
saw a marble production line pro-
duces a specific sizes requested by
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
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the customer, The quality control Child labour: and youth because we are paid
officer was following the amaz- much less than other workers and
ing product, we stopped him and One of the workers, who appeared to we don’t have insurance,” he added.
asked him about the nature of his know the legal aspects of the prob- “work her is hard, one need to be
work, and how it requires a me- lems- preferred anonymity- said focused all the time because a mis-
chanical engineer, not a technician that this empire employ children take means you might lose an arm
holds a diploma of trade like him, under the age of 14 or between 14 or leg, but worst thing we face her
Mr. Hosny Abdel-Tawab, 30 years and 18 years of age and this consti- is the drinking water and the food
old, said: “My experience qualifies tutes the major part of the problem which are not suitable for human
me for this position I have been here because it is contrary to arti- consumption,” said Karim Hisham,
working on this line for more than cles 19 and 32 of the Convention on 15 years old.
6 years, I observe the cleanness of the Rights of the Child, in addition
each piece and its quality. I do not to the absence of supervision and Abdullah Saeed Mohammad , 16
allow any defect in the product, no follow-up by the concerned bodies years old, said that he gets paid well
matter how simple.” and the negligence by the families but I have been feeling pain in my
and factories owners, in addition lungs recently and I know it is from
We stood in front of a giant ma- to the outbreak of diseases among the dust, most workers here com-
chine called Monofilo, a circular workers such as renal and intesti- plain from chest pain and allergies
saw that moves slowly under a nal colic a result of food and drink- but what should we do.”
huge block, and surprisingly, the ing water contamination, which is
worker operating this unit did not the mother of problems, as well as Abdulhamid, 15 years old, carry a
have any qualifications. Ramadan chest diseases due to dust result- heavy box on his head instead of
Abulfadil , 41 years old, says that he ing from marble cutting, workers carrying a toy, he walks through the
has been working on this machine cannot get ambulance in case of an rocks and rough roads instead of
for 4 years, and there were no prob- emergency, restaurants here serve sitting in a classroom to learn! He
lems that he cannot write or read food that is not suitable for human. wakes up at down to reach his work-
as he is well trained, and knows the place, where he has been working
numbers used and he never made “I have been working here for al- since he was in middle school, he
a mistake with these numbers. most a year now, I work 10 hours had to drop out of school to pro-
a day and get one hour rest, what vide a living for his family, and all he
However, the real mistake, the real bothers me here is the water, it is wishes for is to return to school and
danger that occur daily in the em- dirty, drivers fill up water from the to be able to breathe through his
pire of marble in general, according Nile river and they sell it for us as right lung as it has stopped working
to Haj Hajjaj is that a worker get if it is drinking water, one day we completely after he inhaled lots of
killed weekly and a worker get in- found a fish inside, sometimes driv- dust for the past 2 hears.
jured every day, although these sta- ers bring water from dirty tanks,”
tistics are not accurate, it is alarm- Amro Adel Ahmad, 16 years old Abdelhamid is not the only one
ing. I asked him about the reasons said. who works in the marble empire, as
behind these accidents? He said: there are 7 thousand children work
Absence of workplace safety is “most workers here are children in the second largest industrial area
a joint responsibility between the
owners of factories and the Min-
istry of Environment, which must
review the safety requirements and
contribute to the cost in order to
ensure a safe health environment
for all workers here. He says that
the coast of providing safety in
workplace is high and owners of
factories cannot afford it, “in Italy
for example the concerned authori-
ties in the government inspect the
winches and its efficiency and the
wires that carry large blocks, and
change them regularly all workers
there wear helmets and masks,
and if this does not happen, offi-
cials get a fine.
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in the world and the first of its kind
in the Middle East.
The diseases of this deadly
profession
Many scientific studies have been
conducted on the effects of lime-
stone and cement emissions on
workers, however, officials neglect-
ed and kept silent in the face of the
tragedy of tens of thousands of
workers.
Dr. Asmaa Mahmoud, Assistant
Professor, Department of Occupa-
tional Diseases and Environmental
Medicine, from the National Re-
search Center, said that Chest Dis-
eases and Pulmonary Seizures are
the most common diseases among
these workers, as well as osteopo-
rosis that affects quarry and marble
workers who use electric shredding
machines that have been shown to
lead to blood vessels contraction
and affect the calcium in the bones,
There are other diseases related on insurance against occupational skin diseases such as eczema and
to the inhalation of nitrate, nitric, accidents or diseases, the report skin allergies, as well as eye diseas-
nitroglycerine and lead. Although focused on the fact that only 10.3 es that sometimes require chang-
the law covers all these types, there million beneficiaries are insured ing the cornea,” said Hassan Ali an
are many types and categories that against occupational accidents and accountant in one of the factories.
are not included in the occupational occupational injuries and that more “These diseases are widespread
diseases table. than 4.6 million others are denied among workers in the empire of
insurance against accidents and marble” he added. The marble in-
An ILO report on the conditions work injuries. “Shaq Al Tuban” work- dustry is one of the industries that
of workers in Egypt revealed that ers are among those. Europe has pronounced for rea-
there are many categories of work- sons related to the size of the dam-
ers, especially irregular labour, who “We are exposed to many diseases age caused by it. Like the cement
are not covered by Law 25 of 1977 such as allergies, pneumonia and industry, it is an internationally rep-
rehensible industry which produces
pollutants that harm human health
and the environment, that is why
it is called “dirty industry”, which
pushed Europe to get rid of it once
and for all, especially after heavy
pressure and sharp criticism from
environmental protection organiza-
tions and civil society, in addition
to the strict European environment
laws, as a result of these efforts
combined these industries have
been completely removed from Eu-
rope once and for all, but this huge
industry had to look for a new place
less controlled and more coopera-
tive, and certainly less concerned
about the environment and health
of its citizens.
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION10 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
Jordan: Children silently
swallow abuse in the labour
market
Rania AL Sarayra - Member of Arab Trade Union Media Network
Jordan – Near the commercial market in AL Nasr district, Karma sits in his
wheelchair trying to sell few bags of Mulukhya leaves and spinach. This
boy who is under 13 years old waits quietly for passers-by to notice him
and buy his goods, he does not call them to buy, he spends almost seven
hours a day waiting.
Karam had become well known in this area, he does not only sells Mu-
lukhya and spinach, as his goods vary depending on seasons, sometimes there appear to be no instructions,
he sells Turmus, and sometimes he sells coated sweets. laws or even studies to indicate
their situation, although the ob-
While parents drop their kids off to school, Karam’s mother drop him off to servers for their situation, indicate
the same place every day, due to its closeness to his home. that the dropout rate among them
is “very high”, and therefore it is ex-
Karam was not willing to talk to us, but his mother, who came to take him pectedthat part of them, has been
home before sunset, said “I had no other choice. It was difficult to keep engaged in the labour market.
him in the public school near our house, because he needs special care
because of his disability, and the nearest center for special needs is not This is confirmed by a member of
near, and I need to pay a sum of money for his transportation and I cannot the Senate, who is activist in the
afford it”. field of the rights of persons with
disabilities Dr. Muhannad al-Azza,
Karam’s mother does not find it a problem that her child entered the labour who says: “people with disabilities
market. In her opinion, she is “keeping him busy by doing something use- file in general did not take its share
ful,” as he tries to help a little with home expenses s, his father works as a of sufficient attention from various
guard in a company, His income is not enough” she says, “Iam not worried bodies,” which doubled their num-
about him, as i can see him from the window of the house”, she added. ber in the labour market.
Karam’s mother is not worried about his son’s future, as she says: “God
will take care”. This may be explained by the fact
that laws and legislation do not dis-
When we asked her if she got any assistance by the competent authori- criminate between healthy children
ties, she commented “We did not resort to any party except for one cent- and their disabled counterparts,
ers that recommended by the school counselor, however, when we went where persons with disabilities are
there we faced many obstacles such as securing his expenses in case he included in child labour. However,
goes to the center.” activists demand greater attention
to children with disabilities in the
Legal control labour sector, as their suffering is
doubling, because they are subject-
Karam not only is a dropout who works in an irregular sector, but also a ed to several violations more than
child with a disability who is supposed to be provided with double care and their peers, despite the fact that
protection. both have been subjected to viola-
tions.
Articles 73 of the Labour Law ban the employment of children under the
age of 16 and set limits on the employment of minors between the ages child labour has been on the rise,
of 16 and 18. In the case of children with disabilities in the labour market, according to the figures by the In-
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATIONARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION 11
ternational Labour Organisation
(ILO), to over 79 thousand labouring
children, compared to 44 thousand
in 2007. Experts on child labour and
policy call on the government to re-
visit economic policies, which have
enforced social gaps and instigated
poverty.
On the other hand, experts have
also made the claim that the Inter-
national Community have been fall-
ing short in their responsibility to-
wards Syrian refugees, and need to
step in to prevent them from push-
ing their children as well into the la-
bour market.
ILO conducted a census, recently,
on the labour of children between
the ages 5-7, and found that many
of them work in hazardous fields to
help provide for their families. the tors, together with other official and which was not reported by the gov-
survey showed that most children unofficial figures shared among ernment), while the percentage of
work in wholesale and retail trade, policy makers, researchers, special- those living in “transient poverty,”
as well as agriculture, forestry and ists, and national and international meaning that they live in poverty for
fishing, and most children work institutions paint a more realistic a minimum of three months a year
more than 33 hours a week on aver- picture of the phenomenon of child (that is, the lower middle class) has
age. labour in Jordan,” the paper added. reached 18.6% of the population,
The rise in child labour in Jordan according to World Bank figures.
The survey, which was based on a is owed to several factors accord-
sample of more than 20,000 fami- ing to the paper” Some of these “Unfortunately, as of June 2017,
lies from all over the Kingdom, are endogenous, having to do with no new figures have been released
aimed at reaching estimates in Jordan’s own social and economic regarding poverty levels in Jordan.
each of the 12 Jordanian governo- realities and dynamics, while oth- This is especially relevant since
rates, including the Za’tari camp, ers are exogenous, such as the in- working children usually come
about “children being exposed to a flow of hundreds of thousands of from poor families who are forced
number of risks, such as dust and refugees into the country over the to push them into the labour market
smoke, Physical and psychological past years. Social inequality and a out of a need for additional income
abuse”. lack of social justice have largely or an inability to continue support-
been a consequence of fiscal and ing their education, “according to
On the occasion of the World Day economic policies, placing a strong the paper .
against Child Labour, celebrated an- emphasis on liberalization, having
nually on the 12th of June, a paper been implemented with little regard The paper said that the Syrian refu-
issued yesterday by Phenix Center for their social consequences. This gee crisis has also contributed to
for Economic and Social Studies, produced a decline in living stand- the rise in child labour in Jordan. As
said ““Despite the clear provisions ards within several strata of the mentioned previously, a large num-
in Jordanian law prohibiting the em- Jordanian population, especially ber of Syrian children are engaged
ployment of children under 16, as among the poor.” in the national labour market – ap-
well as the employment of children proximately 11,100, or 14.6% of the
aged 16 to 18 in hazardous occupa- The paper said that official figures total number of child workers, be-
tions, reality often overrides policy.” indicate that poverty rates in Jor- cause the basic services provided
“ the number of children engaged dan increased from 13.3% to 14.4% by international organizations re-
in the Jordanian labour market, and between 2008 and 2010, and had lated to the relief of Syrian refugees
the most recent statistical indica- risen to nearly 20% by 2014 (a fact were weak.
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION12 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
The Jordanian women’s solidarity association
institute said that “reducing child labour requires
effective action to alleviate economic vulnerabili-
ties, using social protection tools, and through the
implementation of relevant international conven-
tions and local laws.”
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATIONARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION 13
of factories for the purpose of let-
ting them work as a group and not
individuals.
Eight – year- old Sajjad also agreed
to talk about his work after many
attempts to persuade him to do so.
His family members believed that
work is better than pursuing edu-
cation for him due to their inability
to afford its requirements including
clothes and other things. As a re-
sult, he did not join school. He says
about his long hours of work:”I start
working with my siblings from 8 am
to 12 pm, get a lunch break, and
then go back to work from 1 pm to
5 pm in the afternoon.
Sajjad and Haidar talk about many
children of their age who were af-
Iraq: Working Children:
fected by fatigue and various ill-
nesses while laboring in the same
work. Those illnesses resulted from
exposure to the burning sun and
Men before Time
fuel gases. However, the most thing
they get is medical care provided in
a small room where a simple medi-
Ashraf Zalzali / Member of Arab Trade Union Media Network. cal assistant works with his tools
and medicines.
Phenomenon of child labor doesn’t
Away from the center of the capital, well as a work for me and my two
spread only in the outskirts of the
where brick factories’ chimneys fill siblings, so we can earn enough to
capital; it is also spreading and be-
the sky of Nahrawan city located meet our food needs. That forced
ing exacerbated day after another
in the outskirts of Baghdad, and me to leave my studies in the mid-
to reach high levels, especially after
cause lots of environmental waste, dle school last year to engage in my
high levels of poverty and displace-
there is Haidar (12 years old) who work.
ment of more than 3 million citizens
works in Al Ameer Brick factory
from the areas that were subject to
with his siblings and family from Haidar is not the only child who
terrorism and occupation of ISIS.
early morning till evening, in order works at this age. There are more
Media man and the presenter of so-
to earn a small amount that does than 30 people working in that fac-
cial programs, Ahmad Al-Hasan (29
not exceed ten thousand Iraqi di- tory distributed to families that
years old) raised such phenomena
nars equal to (8) dollars. work in whole in the brick industry.
a lot for discussion. He believes
Brick is made of sand and oil waste
that the first factor contributing in
Since years, Haidar has been work- that are burned to turn the sand
the diffusion of child labor is the
ing in this hard work that has no into bricks. Each family has to have
economic situation and conditions
alternative to help his family cop- a child aged between eight and six
of displacement, which forced fam-
ing with difficult living conditions years to work with it. While Haidar
ilies fleeing from ISIS’s oppression
they live in. He says: “My family agreed to talk about his work, par-
to encourage their young children
and I came here more than three ents of many other children refused
to work in any affordable profes-
years ago from one of the southern to let them talk about it so they
sion to contribute in improving
provinces to look for a job opportu- don’t get fired by their employer,
their conditions inside camps and
nity that can afford us a living. We who collects and brings them from
houses that are inhabited with early
found however this hard work only the poor southern provinces in or-
manhood.
that provided us a mud house as der to make a deal with the owners
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION14 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
On the other hand, some social activists see that re-
ality of deteriorated education contributed sometimes
in occurrence of that situation and influenced by it at
other times. Activist Mustafa Al-Omaeidi (32 years
old) from Diwania province in Southern Iraq, believes
that the rural nature of most southern provinces deals
with the child as he is a young man, where he should
be treated in the same manner as treating an adult in
the purpose of creating a masculine personality. That
leaves him with the option of dropping out of school
which leads to the choice of work as an alternative
for study. This is what prompted us to search for the
seriousness of this subject. As according to statistics
of the Ministry of Education, there are more than two
million dropout children that did not join schools, and
this is one of the most important factors that create
a serious environment for replacing the book with the
mattock of work.
Activist Mustafa Al-Omaeidi also believes that high tion of Trade Unions in Iraq, Mr. Sattar Donbous Barak
rates of child workers led to a decline in rates of says that this phenomenon is very dangerous, as it is
school enrollments. That in turn led to an opposite ef- associated with cases of exploitation and harassment
fect achieved by both equations through widening the that cause violence to the children and denial of their
phenomenon’s circle that attracts families to employ rights with absence of any defender, not to mention
their children, get them away from their classes, and quality of the work carried out by those young children
contribute in creation of illiterate generation that is un- and its hard nature, which can’t be borne by the adults
able to read or write. That will also contribute in letting themselves so imagine its impacts on the children and
children speak the language of interests and money their fragile bodies that cannot stand for hours under
only, and accept any work or mean that justify the pur- the burning sun of Iraq. In addition of work of black-
poses, regardless of their negativities or positivists to smithing, car repair, and lots of other works in which
the individual and society. we cannot find a facility affiliated to them that is free
of a child worker, who works in something that is not
Procedures without Deterrence meant for him.
Risks of child labor are not about breaching the law by Regarding their procedures as a trade union against
employment of minors only; they even exceed that to this phenomenon, he says that the trade union took
reach further levels. President of the General Federa- more than one procedure and filed cases to the compe-
tent authorities as well as the Ministry of Labor. How-
ever, necessary procedures were not taken and no one
moved to stop this phenomenon. Therefore poor con-
trol and deterrence were upon reasons of the spread
of this phenomenon.
According to Mr. Sattar Donbous, dozens of filed cases
remained without a solution or an immediate proce-
dure. That led him to propose solutions which included
formation of special divisions and detachments that
are interested in this matter, to arrest offenders of child
labor and its associated problems in order to stop this
phenomenon.
Steps and Attempts
Head of Information and Government Communica-
tion at Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Iraq –
the body responsible for taking procedures and imple-
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATIONARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION 15
menting mechanisms – says that
the Ministry does not deny in its
turn the spread of the phenomenon,
confirming its continues work aims
to stop it through many steps taken
by its institutions in cooperation
with international and local organi-
zations. Those steps include con-
ducting a recent quick and general
assessment about the worst forms
of employment in five Iraqi prov-
inces, in cooperation with UNICEF
and Iraqi Al-Amal Association, and
referral of a number of employers
to the courts as a result of violating
child labor law, as well as formation
of Child Labor Control Unit in the
Employment and Loan Department
that arranges visits to the formal
business sectors to monitor viola- of protecting the family from pover- child trafficking, or exposure to the
tions of child labor laws and condi- ty and hunger. Here the legal expert trade of human organs by gangs
tions. Ali Jaber Al-Tamimi explains more scattered to hunt such opportuni-
about these laws and their latest ties. Add to that leaving their edu-
Laws on the Shelf amendments in Iraq, indicating that cation which is the basic weapon
labor law No.37 of 2015 prohibits of each child in the face of future’s
Laws of Ministry of Labor and So- employment of children under the challenges.
cial Affairs stipulate various penal- age of 18 and prevents employ-
ties against the person responsible ment of those aged between 15 In conclusion, laws are written on
for the child labor, ranging from and 18 under conditions, super- papers, but they do not go beyond
financial penalties, to suspension vision and specific professions, the limits of the book in which they
of the employer’s work permits, or stipulating a penalty for employers were written in, according to spe-
even suspension of his activity. Ac- in case the law is breached. But in cialists who believe that child labor
cording to the human trafficking the end, those laws despite of their has become a phenomenon and
law, whoever exploits a person who adoption were born semi-paralyzed a feature that exists wherever the
is not aware of his rights, such as as they remain without implemen- work is, in search of money after
children, shall be punished by im- tation. They are only set without be- all situations of poverty and wars
prisonment or a fine. Internation- ing implemented as a result of the in Iraq. In addition to exploitation
ally, Convention on the Rights of the country’s economic circumstances committed by employers because
Child states that:” States Parties and repeated wars, which made at- of children’s compliance and ac-
recognize the right of the child to be tention paid for such phenomena ceptance for all hardships of work,
protected from economic exploita- a secondary matter, forgetting that which ultimately leads to a flagrant
tion and from performing any work disregarding those laws leads to violation of the child rights after
that is likely to be hazardous or to create time bombs in the future. the widespread disregard of the
interfere with the child’s education, Another legal expert is the attorney parties concerned, as well as the
or to be harmful to the child’s health Odai Al-lami , who shares the same fact that the children will repre-
or physical, mental, spiritual, moral opinion and stresses that child la- sent time bombs which explode by
or social development.” bor which is widespread these days spreading drugs and theft, exploit-
carries in its pouches too much ing them in incidents of terrorism
Despite all those laws, thousands vagueness that may drag those and crime due to the easy manipu-
of children are still scattered in the children –after bearing the early re- lation of their small minds. That
markets, industrial neighborhoods, sponsibility and dealing with older leaves us with the question: When
and waste dumps working in the persons - to commit illegal acts was there a value to the human be-
harshest conditions that do not that have already occurred in our ing under wars so there is a value
comply with any laws, in order to society and the victims were child for children?
provide a few dinars in the purpose workers. Those illegal acts include
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION16 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
Lebanon: More than
100,000 children
work in hazardous
environments
Jameela Haddad – Member of Arab Trade Union Media Network
Lebanon - Three years ago, the rough hands tired features. He says ers. Work for these two categories,
Lebanese National Committee for he has never been to school ever in addition to begging, includes the
Combating Child Labour, in collabo- “my family can’t afford the school production of goods and services,
ration with the International Labour expenses.” He gives what he earns whether or not they are market ori-
Organization (ILO), estimated the to his mother as his father passed ented or paid, whether these goods
number of children who were vic- away four years ago. were legitimate activities or not.
tims of child labour and trafficking Hence, begging or sale of goods
in Lebanon at over 100,000. At the A study titled “Children Living and falls within the adopted general
time, it was reported that Lebanon Working on the Streets in Lebanon: term “children in the streets”.
may be among the “countries with Profile and Magnitude” carried out
the highest proportion of children in in February 2015 by the Internation- Samira (6 years old),for example is
the world, between 10 and 17 years al Labor Organization (ILO), in coop- a Syrian girl, she heads to Al-Ghu-
of age.” eration with the Ministry of Labour bairi checkpoint in the southern
, and the United Nations Children’s suburbs of Beirut, to sell Garde-
The number of children working to- Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Chil- nia. She waits for cars to cross the
day, many of whom are known as dren International (SCI), reported checkpoint; she jumps from one car
“street children”, has doubled over that 62 per cent of children on the to another to sell the flowers. She
the last three years due to the in- streets never attended school And does not talk much and gets scared
creasing number of Syrian refugees that only 8% of street children have easily, perhaps because she is still
and the deteriorating economic sit- passed primary school. the youngest among her peers, she
uation in the country, according to did not get tough yet.
some concerned. The link between child labour and
Salam has been working in a car the so-called “street children” is due Less than 5 percent is the propor-
repair garage for almost two years, to the adoption by the ILO of the tion of children working on the
he wakes up early every day and “children on the street” as a general streets between the ages of 5 and 6
head to his work, he says that af- term that include two categories: years, according to the study, which
ter two years of hard work his em- children living on the street and chil- shows that 26% of children working
ployer trust him to open the garage dren working on the street. The sec- in the street between (5 to 8 years)
early and welcome the costumers. ond category includes street-based are working with no adult accompa-
Salam is a clear example of child businesses and begging, as well niment.
labour, those whose childhood as forms of activities that attract
has been put on hold, those who children to the streets among these The same study also shows that fe-
are forced to grow up too fast too activities: Sexual exploitation, drug males start working on the streets
soon, and those we see in “mov- trafficking, militia activities, using at an early age (8 years and 11
ies”: dirty clothes from car oil, and children to burn up tires and oth- months) compared to males (9
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATIONARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION 17
years and 11 months).
Samira falls into children who work
as street vendors category. These
people usually go to overcrowded
places and witness a rush of traffic
to sell their goods, in Adahyeh, for
example, they are distributed on the
airport bridge and the al-Ghubairi
checkpoint. Children’s work is con-
centrated in the streets of urban
areas such as Greater Beirut and
Tripoli areas. . The most prominent
areas that witness the phenome-
non of child labour are: Hamra, the
new road and the National Museum
area.
Children involved in begging ac-
count for 43% of all children work-
ing in the streets, followed by chil-
dren who work as street vendors
(37%), and the rest are distributed
to seven other types of activities
ranging from waste pickers, shoe-
shine, car glass cleaning, and oth-
ers.
It is worth mentioning that a large
number of children working as
street vendors prefer to work “inde-
pendently”, pointing out that they
have been beaten and exploited by
their employer.
Ali (14 years ) who sells bags of pa-
per tissues in Beirut , says that he
worked in a gas station two years
ago but his employer was not pay-
ing his on time and used to hit him
in front of customers that is why he
prefers to work independently and Therefore, Lebanese people in gen- It should be noted that in
make his own money. eral see that that these children, 2012, has developed a list
especially the beggars, should be of hazardous work occupied
The average daily income of chil- given what they can benefit directly by children. Street children
dren in the streets is estimated at from, such as food, clothing, etc. topped the list, because it
16,000 Lebanese pounds, equiva- Therefore, about 57% of the chil- exposes children to violence
lent to about 10 US dollars, while dren in the streets receive their and dangerous environment.
the average daily income of beg- food from passersby.
ging children is about 13,000 Leba- It should be noted that in 2012,
nese pounds, equivalent to about 8 has developed a list of hazardous
USD. Unfortunately, a large part of work occupied by children. Street
the children give everything they children topped the list, because it
earn to others (often family mem- exposes children to violence and
bers). These make up about 56% of dangerous environment.
all working children.
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION18 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
Mauritania:
Child Labor… Between Law and Reality
Ahmad Salem/ Member of Arab trade union media network
Mauritania – as an African country job – Sead Alnaem- build thoughts two brothers, one is at the army
at the Atlantic coast is not away related to financial collection, work and the other works, and even that I
from the child labor phenomenon, and money on the expense of edu- gain money I can’t purchase clothes
despite of the governmental ef- cational achievement because that I like at days of –Eid-, my fa-
forts to combat this phenomenon. of spending most of his time out ther is the one who do it, all money
A worrying statistics about child home and school. I gain goes to my grandfather, he
labor minors and manifestations of sometimes purchase some sweats
children suffering time, toiling in ca- He says even that his parents are a for me and sometimes he doesn’t”
reers much bigger than their ages. live it didn’t prevent his grandfather says Saed Almen.
Most notably is working on donkey on giving him a donkey cart to work
carts, vehicle’s repair sits and even on it all day at the holidays. But his For – Alnbhani- is not the same
in houses for low salaries. fondness of education is still a bar- case, who was forced by the divorce
rier in the face of leaving and get- of his parents to support his family
Sead Almen, a child of 11 years old ting out of school altogether, he’s at which is composed of his jobless
working on a donkey cart in – Dar the fourth grade, and after the com- mother and twin brothers. The fam-
Almen district/ at the Mauritanian pletion of he’s examinations superi- ily lives at truck parking, they guard
capital Nouakchott. ority he goes back to alleys nocking it at night and gain a small sum (50
You fell when you are talking to him at house’s doors to carry garbage USD monthly).
that you are talking to a 30- year and move it to a non-secure waste
young man. And because of his dumps at the nearest plaza. “I have
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATIONARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION 19
At the north of Mauritania and spe-
cifically at the economic capital
– Nwathebo- talking about money
becomes a daily necessity because
the city is a city of plants and fish-
ing. “Work and money” is the main
topic in any discussion. It is precise-
ly in this city that immigrants are
spread, whose regional migration
policies have prevented them from
traveling to Europe and refuse to go
back to their countries, holding by
their dream in reaching the Europe-
ans beaches a cross the Atlantic
ocean which links Mauritania with
the Spanish Islands -Las Palmas.
The ability of reaching of those to
Spain nowadays is – Zero case-,
after the reaching of -36 thousand
Mauritanian immigrants to Spain
soil coming from Mauritania in the
year 2006.
In the city everyone and by differ-
ent ages are seeking for work, at
vehicles repairing garages and in portant procedures for marriage ing them again into normal life with
other places, everyone is working contracts and children school regis- cooperation of educational sec-
or seeking for work. tration until we succeed at the end.” tor which gives ability in returning
After that –wald Alsufee- start fol- many children into regular schools.
Mohammad Wald Alsufee- the “co- lowing up the underage working Adds –Bent Mohammad-: children’s
ordinator of children and develop- children in cooperation with local families gave excuses about chil-
ment association” is racing time to authorities and the ministry, by es- dren labor saying that by their work
hold the child’s case in his rehabili- tablishing statistics data about they can support us by gaining more
tation active center on protecting – child case- and comprehensive money for living, that’s way we look
children from exposure to risk. protection against the exposure of for a new income sources by financ-
children to the risk of working out- ing profitable activities that gave
Mohammad tells the story of the side labor laws. children the chance in going back
beginning of the association which to schools.
started at the late 1990s exactly at Esha Bent Sae’ed-, achild of 13-
the year 1998, where the associa- years at- Wald Alsufee- center, she Obstacles
tion started its activities in the capi- left her sixth grad school classes
tal Nouakchott. In 2010 they trans- because of hard living circumstanc- Says -Alrabea’a Adoum-: represent-
ferred their work to- Nwathebo- city, es, and by total agreement of her ative of the Euro-Mediterranean
where they counted hundreds of family. “I came to the center to learn migration (civil society foundation),
displaced children, working daily a profession and to work; I started that the biggest reasons in aggra-
for living at any place, without any to learn sewing after a conversation vating child labor phenomenon
safety procedures. between my friends and myself, and in Mauritania are the increased
I am much better now after training rates of family disintegration, pov-
Says Mohammad: “We found at the center! I love what I do” says erty, dropping out of schools, non-
children working and sleeping at Esha. monitoring of school-age children,
streets and in scrap vehicles, so we migration from rural areas to large
took the lead in pulling out those Says- Zainab Bent Mohammed- the cities because of drought that is hit-
children from their miserable situ- regional coordinator of the Mauri- ting the Mauritanian desert, which
ation and getting them back to the tanian ministry of childhood and leads families to face challenges in
normal life. The main trouble we family that they adapted a com- integration into large cities.
faced was that those -6 thousand- prehensive child protection system
children were without identification leaded by the local authorities, it Wald Alaoum-thinks that” the poor-
papers because of parent’s ab- had been adapted since 2010 with est families are who is forcing their
sence or lack of parent’s marriage a lot of goals to achieve such as the children to work and to leave
contracts, so we start with the im- elimination of child labor by involv-
ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION20 ARAB TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
Mauritania – as an African country Strategies for the Mauritanian state
at the Atlantic coast is not away
from the child labor phenomenon, The Mauritanian state has adapted a five year plan named as the –Nation-
despite of the governmental ef- al plan for eliminating child labor- (2015-2020), the plan was prepared by
forts to combat this phenomenon. ministry of public service in order to participate in eliminating child labor
A worrying statistics about child in line with international conventions which protects children in time of
labor minors and manifestations of war and peace. The plan focuses around five points:
children suffering time, toiling in ca-
reers much bigger than their ages.
Most notably is working on donkey 1. Strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks in combating
carts, vehicle’s repair sits and even child labor.
in houses for low salaries. 2. Strengthening the technical and practical capacities of actors.
3. Observing child labor and its harmful forms.
Sead Almen, a child of 11 years old
working on a donkey cart in – Dar 4. Execution of direct activities to combat child labor in its harmful
Almen district/ at the Mauritanian forms in all sectors and fields.
capital Nouakchott. 5. Cooperation, coordination and partnership.
You fell when you are talking to him
that you are talking to a 30- year A government report has been made in 2015 and has been adapted by the
young man. And because of his Mauritanian government to release its five year plan points that about –
job – Sead Alnaem- build thoughts 300 thousand- Mauritanian girls and boys under 15 are exposed to several
related to financial collection, work faces of violence, exploitation, discrimination, offenses and neglecting
and money on the expense of edu- cases.
cational achievement because
of spending most of his time out The statistics of the report shows that more than -18 thousand – child
home and school. between 5-14 year are child labor (early work) victims, and about -31 thou-
sand- orphan including the (AIDS epidemic), 1,000- at least of homeless
He says even that his parents are a children, 7,000 disabled child and 10,000 at least of deportees, refugees
live it didn’t prevent his grandfather and immigrants. Most of child labor victims are females, working as a do-
on giving him a donkey cart to work mestic in hard circumstances, (about 15% of them are subjected to sexual
on it all day at the holidays. But his abuse).
fondness of education is still a bar-
rier in the face of leaving and get- The report recommended that there are obstacles and it should be con-
ting out of school altogether, he’s at sidered and to understand the unacceptable dangerous of child labor and
the fourth grade, and after the com- that there is a real need for media for pointing out at all community seg-
pletion of he’s examinations superi- ments the right understanding of child labor.
ority he goes back to alleys nocking
at house’s doors to carry garbage Mauritania has released several regulations of child labor according the
and move it to a non-secure waste law 2004/017 in the sixth of July 2004 including blog work in its compre-
dumps at the nearest plaza. “I have hensive parts at book 3 ( work conditions) – address 1 (work of female
two brothers, one is at the army and children) article 135-169, at address 5 (health and safety) article 246-
and the other works, and even that I 248 and article 135- about age of admission to work which states that” it’s
gain money I can’t purchase clothes not admitted at any institution to employ children even as trainees before
that I like at days of –Eid-, my fa- reaching age -14 or if they reached this age and they are subjected to
compulsory education. Except child from both genders who reached 12
can work in fishing under the specific conditions in article 154, and that
they work in institutions where a member of their family is working at. The
conditions are: (1) permit of minister in charge. (2) Without prejudice on
arrangements of compulsory education. (3) Not to harm their health and
normal growth. (4) The work should not exceed two hours per day.
Article -247 related in preventing some works states that” is not prevented
to employ children under 18 and pregnant women in works that may harm
by its nature their health, physical safety or morals.”
As children such as - Sead Almen- remain in his daily work, child labor
in Mauritania will remain a complicated mater under non-deterrent laws
and facing the problem of implementation especially with limited income,
poverty and illiteracy that force their families to toss them into streets and
facing life challenges out of school classes.
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