Blog 7: Child labor in Syria

     As Syrian refugees steadily increases as a result of the recent war games between rebels and the Syrian government, the number of children workers is also rising. As of the month of October, there are 2.1 million Syrian refugees and a million of those are children. Most of the refugees usually cross to Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey during the past 3 years of the Syrian war. The countries that hosts the refugees for the time being also has its own problems with its own population, thus making it hard to provide health care, clean water and food for everyone. The Voice of America reports that according to the UNICEF's representative in Jordan, Michele Servadei, children in host communities are more likely to be exposed to child labor than those who lives or stays somewhere else. Aside from the rights that are taken away from the child laborers, there is another psychological and emotional impact on the children. According to the report, there are kids who refuse to leave their houses as a form of withdrawal. In some cases, staying inside the house can be a form of escape for some children from slavery, however, it is not true for the unfortunate Syrian children. There is another form of child abuse inside the home committed by the child's own parents or relatives. In addition, the online source states that there are 30,000 Syrian children refugees working in Jordan alone, most of them working in farms 10 hours a day. Also, there are reports that Syrian rebels recruits child soldiers in Jordan refugee camps.

     It is a sad and unfortunate reality that the children refugees from Syria still face abuse and hardship even in refugee camps where it is supposed to provide safety and comfort to them. In my opinion, instead of focusing only on the war that is going on in Syria, NGOs and the government should also provide care and assurance to the refugees in different countries neighboring Syria.

Trisha May Antonio
10/22/2013
9:51 AM

http://www.voanews.com/content/unicef-says-syrian-child-refugees-face-exploitation-early-marriage-domestic-violence/1767267.html