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Gaza: Mother of Seven Has No Choice But to Send Kids to Work to Make Ends Meet
Gaza: Mother of Seven Has No Choice But to Send Kids to Work to Make Ends Meet
Sputnik International
According to official statistics, in 2019, the Gaza Strip registered nearly 5,000 of its 372,600 children as engaged in full or part-time labor. All of them... 29.07.2022, Sputnik International
2022-07-29T12:00+0000
2022-07-29T12:00+0000
2023-12-05T09:22+0000
gaza strip
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For Khadijah Abu Salama, a 49-year-old Palestinian woman from the city of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, September is a period of sadness, primarily because three of her seven children will not be joining all the other children by returning to school."Mohammed, Ahmed and Mahmoud left school three years ago, when my husband, who was the sole bread winner, died. So to keep us all afloat, and in a bid to let the other four siblings continue their studies, they decided to drop out from school and go to work."Young BreadwinnersAll the three are younger than 12. They are working as fruit and vegetable sellers, roaming around local markets offering their produce to passers-by. Each makes up to $12 a day, which roughly amounts to $300 a month - much more than what an average child usually brings home which is roughly $100 a month.Mohammed, the eldest son, who also spoke to Sputnik earlier this month, does not complain. But for Abu Salama, seeing her children skipping studies and sacrificing their childhood is painful. She admits she often feels wracked with guilt because of the situation.Abu Salama says she would have preferred to work herself than to send three of her children to hunt for money. But in a traditional society, where women are required to stay at home, leaving the house might be challenging. The fact that Abu Salama has four younger children to take care of doesn't make job hunting any easier. And this is why she - as well as many other families in a similar condition - rely on the donations given out by the United Nations refugee agency, UNRWA.Each such family gets $100 but the money arrives in Gaza once every three months and it is far from sufficient for keeping a family of eight above water.Abu Salama admits she is angry with the situation. Her frustration is directed at the Israeli blockade that has been in place since 2007, when Hamas - deemed a terrorist organization by the Jewish state - took control of the enclave. But she also blames the Palestinian leadership and the divisions within its ranks.According to official statistics, in 2019, the Gaza Strip registered nearly 5,000 of its 372,600 children as engaged in full or part-time labor. All of them are below the age of 17. But experts believe the actual numbers are much higher and that the situation in the coastal enclave has only worsened, forcing many more youngsters to seek work.
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Gaza: Mother of Seven Has No Choice But to Send Kids to Work to Make Ends Meet
12:00 GMT 29.07.2022 (Updated: 09:22 GMT 05.12.2023) According to official statistics, in 2019, the Gaza Strip registered nearly 5,000 of its 372,600 children as engaged in full or part-time labor. All of them are below the age of 17. But experts believe the actual numbers are much higher.
For Khadijah Abu Salama, a 49-year-old Palestinian woman from the city of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, September is a period of sadness, primarily because three of her seven children will not be joining all the other children by returning to school.
"Mohammed, Ahmed and Mahmoud left school three years ago, when my husband, who was the sole bread winner, died. So to keep us all afloat, and in a bid to let the other four siblings continue their studies, they decided to drop out from school and go to work."
All the three are younger than 12. They are working as fruit and vegetable sellers, roaming around local markets offering their produce to passers-by. Each makes
up to $12 a day, which roughly amounts to $300 a month - much more than what an average child usually brings home which is roughly $100 a month.
Mohammed, the eldest son, who also spoke to Sputnik earlier this month, does not complain. But for Abu Salama, seeing her children skipping studies and sacrificing their childhood is painful. She admits she often feels wracked with guilt because of the situation.
"It wasn't easy for me, when my children left school and started working. I felt especially sorry for Mohammed because he was an excellent student with a bright future ahead of him," she lamented. "I cry every day when I think that they could have become doctors, teachers or engineers, and when I realize that these opportunities were withdrawn by our poverty.”
Abu Salama says she would have preferred to work herself than to send three of her children to hunt for money. But in a traditional society, where women are required to stay at home, leaving the house might be challenging. The fact that Abu Salama has four younger children to take care of doesn't make job hunting any easier. And this is why she - as well as many other families in a similar condition - rely on the donations given out by the United Nations refugee agency, UNRWA.
Each such family gets $100 but the money arrives in Gaza once every three months and it is far from sufficient for keeping a family of eight above water.
Abu Salama admits she is angry with the situation. Her frustration is directed at the Israeli blockade that has been in place since 2007, when Hamas - deemed a terrorist organization by the Jewish state - took control of the enclave. But she also blames the Palestinian leadership and the divisions within its ranks.
"Hamas and Fatah [a Palestinian faction that controls the West Bank] have destroyed all our optimism because they are divided against themselves and they don't care about the population. All they care about is building their own empire, at the expense of ordinary Gazans," she concluded.
According to official statistics, in 2019, the Gaza Strip
registered nearly 5,000 of its 372,600 children as engaged in full or part-time labor. All of them are below the age of 17. But experts believe the actual numbers are much higher and that the situation in the coastal enclave has only worsened, forcing many more youngsters to seek work.
