The UN estimates indicate that the percentage of working Syrian children has exceeded 25% of the total percentage of workers in the last 12 years after it was about 10% before the outbreak of war.

UNICEF explained that 90% of children in Syria deserve support and described Syrian child labor as widespread and the most complex problem among child protection issues.

The organization confirmed that about 2.45 million children inside Syria and 750,000 Syrian children in countries of asylum do not go to school, 40% of whom are girls.

Why can't we live like rich people?

As the residents of the Barzeh neighborhood in Damascus head to work in the morning, they come across the scene of small, dirty feet dangling from garbage containers, which they have become accustomed to. They are a group of children looking for plastic and cardboard items to sell.

Ali, a 12-year-old child, came out of the garbage container carrying a bag containing what was left of a grilled chicken meal, which a passerby might have thrown away. He laughed and told Al Mayadeen English, "It's like a treasure, I'll eat it. I deserve it more than the cats."

Ali has never gone to school, is illiterate, and has no desire to learn, because, as he put it, "Education at the present time is of no use and will not enable us to buy food."

Ali was displaced from Deir Ezzor, along with his family, which consists of a disabled father, a mother who works in cleaning houses, a younger sister, and a brother who also works with him in searching for plastic and cardboard items in the garbage container. 

He went on to say, "I receive 5,000 Syrian pounds daily, which is equivalent to half a dollar, and if we add together what we all receive, it will be barely enough for us to pay the rent for the house, buy medicines for my father, and food for us."

Ali confided to us that he has only one dream, which is to live like rich people for just one day, saying, "I got lucky when I was searching through a trash can on the street in one of the capital's most luxurious neighborhoods. Can you guess what I got? I found some blouses, they were new, as if they had never been used, I also found a sketchbook that I brought to my sister."

Ali was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why can't we live like them?! My father told me, 'I cannot afford your studies and food at the same time.'"

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Layal, who is 17 years old, works in a women's beauty center. She leaves her home every day at 9 am in order to reach her workplace early. She is responsible for opening the center, cleaning it, receiving clients, and coordinating appointments.

She lit a cigarette and told Al Mayadeen English, "My father forced me to leave school four years ago, saying he could not bear the costs of my education anymore. I cried a lot because I was a diligent student and loved studying. I begged him to allow me to continue studying only until I get at least the middle school certificate, but he flatly refused and left me with two options: either learn or eat."

The conversation was interrupted by a customer calling to book an appointment to get her nails done. When the call ended, Layal laughed, saying, "How ironic!"

She added, "This young woman was my classmate, but she is still completing her education. She always comes here, and I will never forget when she saw me for the first time and shouted: 'What are you doing here?!'"

Layal receives a good monthly salary, but she relies mainly on tips given to her by customers. In this context, she said, "When women come here, they pay huge sums of money to take care of themselves. They ask me about my name, age, and education, and when I tell them that I did not complete my education, they say: 'This is better for you.' No one thought to encourage me or help me to return to school."

She sighs and continues, “Who knows, maybe in the future I will find a husband who will encourage me to do so." 

Working children at risk of sexual exploitation and harassment

Dr. Faten Mashael, a researcher at the Faculty of Education at Tishreen State University, told Al Mayadeen English, "The phenomenon of child labor has many consequences that affect society in general and children in particular. The most dangerous thing they may be exposed to is sexual harassment and exploitation, as employers exploit children’s need for money and their fear of reporting what happens to them. On the other hand, their permanent presence on the streets puts them in contact with gangs, exposing their lives to physical and psychological dangers that may be worse than death."

Despite the efforts exerted by the government, this phenomenon continues to spread widely in all regions, and this indicates that the mechanisms and efforts made are insufficient to reduce it, according to Dr. Mashael, who suggested "finding new mechanisms to protect these children from all types of exploitation and creating institutions that will be responsible for them to rehabilitate them and bring them back to life, by educating them, empowering them professionally, and providing them with shelter and health care, especially since most of them have lost their parents or have no breadwinner."

A solution must be found before it is too late

The Syrian Labor Law prohibits the employment of minors before they complete primary education or reach the age of fifteen.

Employing juveniles who have reached this age is not permitted in all professions, according to a ministerial decree issued in 2010, that prohibited their employment in a number of jobs and professions that affect their physical and psychological makeup.

The decree also prevents the employer from employing a minor for more than six hours a day, assigning him additional work or employing him to work at night.

Lawyer Ashraf Barakat believes that "this law is not currently being implemented due to the deteriorating economic situation and poor living conditions as a result of the US blockade on the country. Even the compulsory education law is also not being implemented for the same reasons."

According to Barakat, "Many parents have begun to prefer sending their children to work instead of school because the government employee’s salary has become equivalent to the price of only 5 meals of meat," wondering "what is the condition of children who do not have parents or breadwinners."

He concluded, "The executive authorities must find solutions to this problem before it is too late."