Low Income and No Prospects for Education: 12-Year-Old Opens Up About Child Labour in Gaza

Mohammed Doghmosh, a 12-year-old Palestinian from Gaza, remembers vividly the moment his mother told him he would need to go to work.

"I was seven back then. My father died in a car accident and my mum told me that from that moment on I would be the one responsible for my family of eight siblings", said the boy.

"So I didn't go to school, I needed to feed my family, and I started working instead", he added.

Tough Days

Mohammed started roaming around the streets of Gaza with his donkey, approaching customers and suggesting they buy his vegetables.

Recalling those days, Mohammed says he was fearful of what the future would hold for him.

"I cried a lot during those days because I didn't know how to control such a big animal as a donkey. Also, I was shy and didn't know how to approach adults and suggest they buy my products".

But he managed to curb those fears and keep going.

"The first weeks were exceptionally difficult for me", says the boy. "I remember the gazes people gave me. Many felt pity for me. They looked at me as if I was a beggar and they gave me more money as charity. It hurt my feelings and I decided to be a man".

Palestinian children pose for a photo at the Jebaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 14, 2015.

With time, Mohammed says he has become more professional. He now earns $26 per day, something that not only enabled him to replace his donkey with a horse, but also helped him to keep his family afloat.

"I sacrificed my studies so that my siblings could go to school. I am paying for their daily expenses and I hope that they will finish their education and will be able to get good jobs in the future".

Child Labour is Common

Mohammed is not the only Palestinian child who has been forced to go to work to ends meet.

According to official statistics, in 2018 nearly 5,000 children aged 10 to 17 were involved in full-time labour in Gaza. Additionally, 1,490 children held down jobs while attending school.

Yet, the numbers are believed to be much higher, specifically because there are many working children below the age of 10 who haven't been properly registered.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in the Palestinian territories in February 2020 has only made the situation worse. The shutdown of private businesses and the closing down of the Strip forced many Gazans into unemployment. And that subsequently pushed the poverty rates even higher.

Mohammed is extremely frustrated with the current situation, and he blames the Hamas government for the mess.

"They don't seem to care about ordinary people. Neither do they cater to the needs of poor families, those who lost their fathers, and those who are forced to work hard to make ends meet".

Hamas, an Islamic group that assumed control over the Gaza Strip in 2007 after a violent coup, has long been blamed for the dire economic situation in the Strip.

Palestinians shop for traditional Ramadan lanterns for the month of Ramadan, at the main market in Gaza City, Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Sporadic protests against the group have been taking place in the enclave since 2019. Those protests - organised by the movement Bidna Naish (Arabic for We Want to Live) - have recently reemerged, with people calling on Hamas to take action in order to improve the lives of ordinary Palestinians.

Mohammed says he is not taking part in those protests. His job consumes most of his time, leaving him very few options for rest.

But he is hopeful that the situation will improve and he has dreams for the future.

"I hope that one day I will be able to open my own vegetable market instead of relying on animals for the distribution of my products. I also hope that one day I will be able to study and achieve something in life".