Gaza children forced into work because of endless war and poverty
Instead of going to school, Walid and Ibrahim spend hours each day rummaging through houses destroyed in Gaza’s wars in search of scrap to raise a few shekels for their families.
They were once good students but Walid Maaruf, 11, and Ibrahim Ghaben, 12, had to quit school and earn a living when their fathers lost their jobs.
Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fought three wars since 2008, including a devastating 50-day conflict in 2014 in the tiny Mediterranean territory.
My father is unemployed, he used to gather stones and scrap metal... but now I work
Residents have lived under a punitive Israeli blockade imposed 10 years ago and their options are further limited by Egypt, which has largely kept its border with Gaza closed since 2013.
Nearly half the enclave’s 1.9 million inhabitants live under the poverty line, with 80 per cent surviving on humanitarian aid.
Unemployment has risen dramatically to reach around 45 per cent – one of the highest in the world – forcing many children to become bread-winners.
On Sunday, the International Labour Organisation marks World Day Against Child Labour, an initiative that has seen the number of child labourers drop to 168 million from 246 million in 2000.