Enab Baladi – Reem Hamoud

With his small body and shabby clothes, Abdo spends most of his time in garbage dumps trying to support his family by earning a few Turkish liras as “additional income,” amidst the poor economic conditions his family is living in.

This is a small part of the story of a child among thousands of other children who support their families, forced by circumstances after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011 to flee and live in displacement camps in northwest Syria.

The circumstances that forced children to live in camps deprived them of living a normal life like other children around the world. These conditions have led many of them to bear responsibilities far greater than their age, enhancing their awareness and sense of responsibility, thus depriving them of their childhood. They spend their years between the tent and work, according to testimonies and information obtained by Enab Baladi.

In this report, Enab Baladi sheds light on the lives of these children and how they spend their time by talking to the parents of some children in the northern camps. It also discusses with a social researcher the dangerous psychological effects that may impact their mental health and personalities in the future.

The “summarized” outside world

“My injury, the surgery I underwent, in addition to my heart condition, reduce my chances of finding work, as my body cannot endure effort,” described Abu Abdo, the father of five children, the eldest being 12-year-old Abdo, who is considered the main caretaker of his family despite his young age.

The child’s family has been living in the “Kuwaiti” camp west of Harbanoush in northern rural Idlib for four years since they fled from Ma’ar Taharmeh in southern Idlib. They suffer from severe economic conditions, living below the poverty line, especially with the father’s limited job opportunities, as he described to Enab Baladi.

The child tries to balance continuing his sixth-grade studies and working by collecting scraps at the nearby landfill, to support his family even with a small amount not exceeding 20 Turkish liras daily.

Seeing his child carry bags made of cloth threads (burlap) on his shoulder, searching for plastic pieces and scraps from garbage heaps, frustrates the father because he could not provide his child with living conditions like other children, nor a life that matches his dreams and hobbies of playing football and riding bikes.

Regarding the outside world for Abdo, his father said to Enab Baladi that it is limited to wandering around the garbage dumps near the “Kuwaiti” camp or the markets in Harbanoush, which he knows nothing else, aiming to sell what he has collected during the day after returning from school.

“From the tent to the factory only”

Abdo is not the only one bearing responsibilities beyond his age. Nidhal has a daughter who dropped out of school and goes to work to help her family financially, according to her father’s account.

The 14-year-old girl left school five years ago, then in the third grade, to begin working two years ago in a diaper factory with her mother and older sister.

From 8 AM, she leaves the “Talal” camp, where she has lived since 2019, heading to a factory about 20 km from her home.

The factory owner in the village of Batbu transports the child in his car, and she does not return until 5 PM. She spends the rest of her time in the tent with her six-member family, while her 40-year-old father works as a shepherd.

Nidhal, the girl’s father, spoke calmly to Enab Baladi, noting that his daughter has no toys inside the tent. During the hours she spends, she continues to work and pack diapers, trying to collect more money. She does not find time to play and entertain herself.

The life of the girl from Maarat Misrin in northern Idlib can be summarized by her daily trip from the tent to the factory and the long working hours she spends there. There are no recreational tools or means to improve or change her mood from the work environment due to financial constraints and lack of playtime. This has made her a quieter, more aware, and mature child, as her father believes. She sees it as her responsibility to improve her family’s living situation.

Differences in lifestyles

The different lifestyle of children in camps from other children of their generation, in addition to the disappearance of childhood features and recreational options in their daily lives, leaves psychological effects that negatively impact their personalities, as social researcher Wadha al-Othman explained to Enab Baladi.

Al-Othman explained that regardless of the poor financial conditions of families in the camps, there must be someone with a mobile phone through which the deprived child can follow the surrounding reality, see what is happening around them, and compare themselves to their peers.

Social media scenes clearly leave negative psychological effects on the child, often causing aggressive behavior and resentment due to not living a normal life like other children.

Wadha al-Othman, Social Researcher

The social researcher believes that children who came to the camp at a young age and are still inside it think they were born “like birds in a cage,” as she described. The freedom to leave the camp may not seem appropriate to them due to their habituation to the camp life.

Habituation is a real disaster for children, as considering their “tragic” life as natural makes it difficult for them to integrate into society properly in the future, according to al-Othman.

The researcher pointed out the necessity for the concerned authorities to find alternative solutions for these children to enable them to live a “normal life” where they can engage in activities suiting their childhood, alongside working to help them continue their education and integrate into the surrounding society to prevent further exacerbation of the problem.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that every child has the right to education, and it must be ensured that they have access to it. Every child also has the right to rest, relax, play, and participate in cultural and creative activities.

Great concerns

In April of last year, the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) published a study titled “Income and Expenditure Assessment in Northern Syria.” The data was collected between September 17 and 24, 2023. It mentioned that 2% of the surveyed people indicated that they rely on children as a primary and secondary income source for their families, while 3% considered it their third source. These results raised significant concerns and confirmed the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect vulnerable families and enhance sustainable livelihoods.

In Syria, 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance, an increase of 9% over 2023, according to estimates by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The population in northwest Syria is 5.1 million, of whom 3.6 million suffer from food insecurity, while the number of internally displaced persons has reached 3.4 million, including 2 million living in camps.

On the 13th anniversary of the Syrian revolution, a statement from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that nearly 7.5 million Syrian children need humanitarian aid, more than ever before.

On World Education Day, January 24, UNICEF mentioned that about 2.4 million children are out of school in Syria. This number represents nearly half of the children of school age, totaling 5.52 million children.

The number of dropout children is likely to rise, and they are at risk of permanent dropout. According to the report, these children are feared to fall prey to child labor, early and forced marriage, human trafficking, and recruitment into combat.

According to a report by the United Nations Office, quoted by the Inter Press Service news agency, more than 340,000 children in northwest Syria are out of school, and 80,000 children live in camps.

People interviewed by Enab Baladi during the preparation of the report withheld their full names for social reasons.