Laboring the Syrians

Writer: Freshta Rahmani talks about the imminent danger of child labor

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    It’s 2017 and the world is churning out social reform left and right, fighting for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and greater acceptance of races. But...why is it that child labor still exists today in a country that is respectively advanced?

    Around 300,000 syrian refugees--who are indeed, children--are being forced to perform laborious acts such as candy-selling, cabinet-making, and produce-picking (the last which involves temperatures up to 104 degrees and baskets that weigh 35 pounds each) in Lebanon. Their schedules are usually long, with most lasting 12-hours a day for seven days a week.

    It seems that these employers have no age requirement as there is evidence of children who range from approximately 6-14 years of age, according to UNICEF.

    Lebanon’s forced labor is keeping kids from having an education and a childhood. One child, who is presumably said to be around 6-years-old, believes he is half that age as he tends to sheep so that his family may keep one come the end of the year (Liza Khoury, Vox.com).

    Many of these children aspire to become more with their lives. One child, 13-year-old Hamzi El Hassan, wants to serve society as a teacher or a doctor, but feels that his predicament will render him a laborer for the rest of his life (Liza Khoury, Vox.com).

    As being a member of one of the most politically and socially advanced countries in the world, it’s a shame that these refugees have to resort to centuries-old practices in growing countries to support their family when countries such as the United States are protesting their entrance.

    Recently, the state of Tennessee protested the resettlement program the government was following, as claims of the tenth-amendment being violated emerged. The Department of Justice fought against the claim made by Tennessee state officials, saying that the state was treating the refugees as inferior. The state said in response that the government was the one asking for special treatment for the refugees, treatment that was not given to other immigrants before. (Leo Hohmann, WND.com)
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    With Trump cutting the refugee quota at 50,000 a year, the search for a better home for refugees continues.