“My children have work duties. We cannot prioritize that they go to school over working, then we would not be able to survive,” says Amer. “They should be in school. My daughters loved school and they were looking forward to start university. All that has been taken away from the. I never ever imagined that a day like this would come, that they would be forced to work to help us. But in Lebanon everything is very expensive,” he added.
Amer and Yara’s family came to Lebanon almost one year ago, after having been displaced several times within Syria. In Lebanon the whole family is forced to work, including the younger children, in order to make ends meet.
“It feels like my children are depressed ever since we came to Lebanon. They never had to worry about living expenses or hardships, but here they have to work. They were happy children who loved playing and spending time with their familiy and friends,” says Yara.
It feels like my children are depressed ever since we came to Lebanon. They never had to worry about living expenses or hardships, but here they have to work. They were happy children who loved playing and spending time with their familiy and friends.Yara, Syrian refugee in Lebanon
“My 15-year-old son had to move to another city because we could not find him work here. Now he works in construction as his dad with some relatives, but he cannot come to visit us. It is too expensive, and he cannot risk being arrested on the way, as he does not have a legal residency permit. Also, when my daughter Lina* turned 12, our employer allowed her to work with us. We need the money. We are seven people working and we barely make 500 US Dollars a month, so we cannot not survive otherwise,” Yara continues.
Lina wants to go to school
Lina, who would be in the 6th grade, either works herself or takes care of her younger siblings when the rest of her family members are working. “I wanted to be a language or a math teacher in Syria. It is boring being out of school, and it is difficult to work. I get tired. And I miss all my friends in Syria,” says Lina.
Yara and Lina both participated in NRC’s recent session to raise awareness about the importance of menstrual hygiene. Refugee women and adolescent girls living in informal tented settlements participated in the session. However, Yara’s older daughters had to work and could not attend as they had planned to. “I wish they could have been there. All the girls here need this kind of awareness,” says Yara.
Yara and her daughters work at the farm fields next to the informal settlement where they live. A total of 30 women and girls from the settlement work there, most of them are under 18 years old. Each day they work 5 hours, earn about three US Dollar each, and get the rent for their tent covered.
“It is difficult, the fact that I cannot study and I have to work. It feels like I have lost my future,” says Rima, 18. “I am always agitated and stressed. Even though I work, I have no life. I wake up in the morning, I put on my work clothes, and I go to work. A few hours later, I come back home to rest for about one or two hours and then I go back to work. When I finish my day I return to our tent and that is it. I never go out and I do not even want to socialize with the other girls my age,” Rima continues.
Parents rely on their children’s income
In Lebanon, child labour among refugees has become an unfortunate reality and common coping mechanism for Syrian refugees. Complex procedures that prevent Syrian refugees from working in the formal sector has an increasingly negative impact on children. Many families are unable to earn enough to cover basic expenses such as food and rent. They rely more and more on children to provide an income for the household. In addition, lack of access to work for adults and restrictions on freedom of movement in Lebanon mean that children, who have an easier time crossing checkpoints, are sometimes the only family members able to work. As a result, children are leaving school in large numbers. Under 15 per cent of Syrian refugee children attend secondary school.
June 12 marks World Day Against Child Labour, to raise awareness about children forced to work, and to highlight the need to end these harmful practices.
