29 june 2014
15-year-old Awne
In Al-Khalil (Hebron) in the Tel Rumeida area, 15-year old Awne Shamsiyeh lives with his family.
After the Hebron Agreement (1997), the city was divided into two areas, H1 (supposedly under full Palestinian Authority civil and security control) and H2, (under full Israeli military civil and security control). Since 1974, many illegal settlements occupied land in the area now know as H2.
Awne is one of the many Palestinians living inside H2, door-to-door with Israeli settlers, checkpoints, army bases, and the Israeli military.
Over the years, ISM activists have worked with the Shamsiyeh family and spent time with Awne in Tel Rumeida, who experiences many problems with both settlers and the Israeli military. ISMers met with Awne to interview him, and hear his story of growing up under a military occupation.
How would you describe your daily life in H2?
Living in H2 in al-Khalil is very difficult. The Israeli army and settlers try to prevent us from living a normal life. They interrupt our lives on a daily basis and make it unsafe for us to live here. I never feel safe in H2.
What experiences have you had, living door-to-door with Israeli settlers?
In the beginning I didn’t know how to behave around them. Now I’m 15 and have had a lot of experience so I know how to deal with them. I’ve had so many troubles with them (settlers) but I’ve learned from it and know how to fight them. I’ve even learnt Hebrew just from my fights with the settlers and from talking to the Israeli soldiers.
In what way does the constant presence of the Israeli army affect your daily life?
I like to look at it in a positive way; I have become more brave and I now know how to control my fear. I can speak Hebrew now and I know how to deal with my oppressors.
Awne lives with his parents, Emad and Fayzeh, his two sisters, Madlin (16-years old) and Marwa (11-years old), and his two younger brothers, Mohamed (12-years old) and Saleh (9-years old). The roof of the family is often taken over by settlers who want to enjoy the view and harass the family. There is also a military watchtower, which is still occasionally used, on their roof. Their house has been locked in by a wall covered in zionist graffiti, leaving only one narrow entrance to the house. Next to the wall there is another watchtower, which means the family is totally exposed and being constantly watched by the Israeli military.
In Al-Khalil (Hebron) in the Tel Rumeida area, 15-year old Awne Shamsiyeh lives with his family.
After the Hebron Agreement (1997), the city was divided into two areas, H1 (supposedly under full Palestinian Authority civil and security control) and H2, (under full Israeli military civil and security control). Since 1974, many illegal settlements occupied land in the area now know as H2.
Awne is one of the many Palestinians living inside H2, door-to-door with Israeli settlers, checkpoints, army bases, and the Israeli military.
Over the years, ISM activists have worked with the Shamsiyeh family and spent time with Awne in Tel Rumeida, who experiences many problems with both settlers and the Israeli military. ISMers met with Awne to interview him, and hear his story of growing up under a military occupation.
How would you describe your daily life in H2?
Living in H2 in al-Khalil is very difficult. The Israeli army and settlers try to prevent us from living a normal life. They interrupt our lives on a daily basis and make it unsafe for us to live here. I never feel safe in H2.
What experiences have you had, living door-to-door with Israeli settlers?
In the beginning I didn’t know how to behave around them. Now I’m 15 and have had a lot of experience so I know how to deal with them. I’ve had so many troubles with them (settlers) but I’ve learned from it and know how to fight them. I’ve even learnt Hebrew just from my fights with the settlers and from talking to the Israeli soldiers.
In what way does the constant presence of the Israeli army affect your daily life?
I like to look at it in a positive way; I have become more brave and I now know how to control my fear. I can speak Hebrew now and I know how to deal with my oppressors.
Awne lives with his parents, Emad and Fayzeh, his two sisters, Madlin (16-years old) and Marwa (11-years old), and his two younger brothers, Mohamed (12-years old) and Saleh (9-years old). The roof of the family is often taken over by settlers who want to enjoy the view and harass the family. There is also a military watchtower, which is still occasionally used, on their roof. Their house has been locked in by a wall covered in zionist graffiti, leaving only one narrow entrance to the house. Next to the wall there is another watchtower, which means the family is totally exposed and being constantly watched by the Israeli military.
A wall covered in graffiti surrounding the home
What are your personal experiences with the Israeli army and the settlers?
I will give you one example. A year ago or something, Israeli settlers went on to the roof belonging to my family to look at the view. My family and I went up to them and told them they were trespassing and that they should leave.
They started spitting at us and claimed that our house belonged to them. We said “no this is our house”. The settlers were very aggressive and a fight broke out. The Israeli army came and defended the settlers. The settlers beat me and my father. They beat me unconscious so I don’t remember more. But it’s all on video. The soldiers took me in to an army jeep and drove me to Road 60 where they handed me over to a Palestinian ambulance. They don’t allow Palestinian ambulances in H2, not even in cases of life and death.
ISM were present and documented this attack.
What are your personal experiences with the Israeli army and the settlers?
I will give you one example. A year ago or something, Israeli settlers went on to the roof belonging to my family to look at the view. My family and I went up to them and told them they were trespassing and that they should leave.
They started spitting at us and claimed that our house belonged to them. We said “no this is our house”. The settlers were very aggressive and a fight broke out. The Israeli army came and defended the settlers. The settlers beat me and my father. They beat me unconscious so I don’t remember more. But it’s all on video. The soldiers took me in to an army jeep and drove me to Road 60 where they handed me over to a Palestinian ambulance. They don’t allow Palestinian ambulances in H2, not even in cases of life and death.
ISM were present and documented this attack.
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Do you know how many times you have been attacked by settlers, detained by the army and arrested?
Fights and troubles with the settlers happen regularly, so I have no idea. The same with detentions, it happens so often, almost every day. I have been arrested four times. The longest arrest lasted for a day in a police station. Usually they take me to the army base and keep me there for some hours.
ISM have documented numerous detentions of Awne.
What are your hopes and dreams?
I have the dream that the occupation will end and all Palestinians will be free. Also I want to be a mechanic when I’m older.
What about fears?
I don’t fear anything but God.
Are you afraid that the settlers or Israeli army will attack your family?
I was only scared the first time I had a problem with them. Since then I’ve never feared them. If the soldiers or settlers come to my home and make trouble and hurt my family, of course I won’t be silent. I will do anything to prevent the attack, to make it as difficult for them as possible. I will always protect my family. But I am not afraid anymore. This is the life here. You can’t go around being scared all the time. For the Palestinians its like a routine, something almost normal.
A few meters from the family home is a checkpoint with one or two soldiers 24 hours a day, leading up to the Tel Rumeida Settlement. The family is often stopped and regularly have their ID checked, even if they are just playing in the street or going to the shop further up the road.
Fights and troubles with the settlers happen regularly, so I have no idea. The same with detentions, it happens so often, almost every day. I have been arrested four times. The longest arrest lasted for a day in a police station. Usually they take me to the army base and keep me there for some hours.
ISM have documented numerous detentions of Awne.
What are your hopes and dreams?
I have the dream that the occupation will end and all Palestinians will be free. Also I want to be a mechanic when I’m older.
What about fears?
I don’t fear anything but God.
Are you afraid that the settlers or Israeli army will attack your family?
I was only scared the first time I had a problem with them. Since then I’ve never feared them. If the soldiers or settlers come to my home and make trouble and hurt my family, of course I won’t be silent. I will do anything to prevent the attack, to make it as difficult for them as possible. I will always protect my family. But I am not afraid anymore. This is the life here. You can’t go around being scared all the time. For the Palestinians its like a routine, something almost normal.
A few meters from the family home is a checkpoint with one or two soldiers 24 hours a day, leading up to the Tel Rumeida Settlement. The family is often stopped and regularly have their ID checked, even if they are just playing in the street or going to the shop further up the road.
The family home, a military checkpoint can be seen on the roof of the house in the upper left hand corner
What do you do for fun in Tel Rumeida?
There is no fun here. There is always a problem with either the settlers or the Israeli army. Even if we just play football they will interrupt.
How do you personally resist the Israeli occupation?
With my mind! I don’t use violence. If there is a situation with the soldiers or settlers I count to ten and breathe before I react. I use my words to resist, like I told you I’ve learnt Hebrew, so I can talk to them in their language. I also use a camera. The camera is like a weapon, so I can resist non-violently. With video and photos I can expose what is happening here to me and all Palestinians.
Do you have anything else you want to share?
Just that everywhere I go there seems to be trouble. At the moment I have a summer job in Azaria in Israel, and after I came the army started to raid a lot of Palestinian houses in the village. It’s like the trouble follows me.
Update 2 july 2014 VIDEO: Soldiers and Settlers Attack Palestinians, ISM Volunteers in Hebron
What do you do for fun in Tel Rumeida?
There is no fun here. There is always a problem with either the settlers or the Israeli army. Even if we just play football they will interrupt.
How do you personally resist the Israeli occupation?
With my mind! I don’t use violence. If there is a situation with the soldiers or settlers I count to ten and breathe before I react. I use my words to resist, like I told you I’ve learnt Hebrew, so I can talk to them in their language. I also use a camera. The camera is like a weapon, so I can resist non-violently. With video and photos I can expose what is happening here to me and all Palestinians.
Do you have anything else you want to share?
Just that everywhere I go there seems to be trouble. At the moment I have a summer job in Azaria in Israel, and after I came the army started to raid a lot of Palestinian houses in the village. It’s like the trouble follows me.
Update 2 july 2014 VIDEO: Soldiers and Settlers Attack Palestinians, ISM Volunteers in Hebron
8 june 2014
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For children in al-Khalil (Hebron), the journey to school can be filled with fear, fear of Israeli soldiers, of military weapons, detentions, and arrests. The violence is all too real in this city, and it is unfortunately not an uncommon experience for children, some as young as four-years-old.
International activists try to monitor the checkpoints the children are forced to pass through on their way to school, both to document the events and to stand with the children. ISM activists monitor checkpoint 29 each school day morning and afternoon. Over the last month, this is what the ISM activists have witnessed: May 7th: A group of four Israeli soldiers tried to enter in the boys school and detained two young children. However, the teachers of the school were able to convince the soldiers to release both boys. After the soldiers ended the detention, they ran up the street and threw one tear gas grenade and two stun grenades at other schoolchildren. In cases like this it is clear how important the job of the teachers is in this area, and how difficult it is to is educate under military occupation. 13th May: In the morning one 12-year-old boy was stopped and searched by Israeli forces at the checkpoint, he was forced to empty his school bag before the soldiers would release him. After school ended, a 7-year-old boy was detained for 10 minutes with the accusation that he threw stones, he was released without charges. 14th May: Israeli soldiers went through checkpoint 29 in al-Khalil (Hebron), appearing from an alleyway and threw two stun grenades at the children waiting to go to school. No stones were thrown before their weapons were used. Some of the children then threw stones towards the soldiers, who then fired one tear gas grenade. One of the Israeli soldiers repeatedly aimed his gun at both an adult in the area, and the children outside their school. 15th May: One young child threw one stone towards the checkpoint and four Israeli soldiers entered through checkpoint 29. Several children then threw approximately four stones towards the soldiers, one of the Israeli soldiers drew the Star of David (symbol of Judaism) and a crescent moon (possibly symbolizing Islam) on a car window, and then wrote, ‘I want peace’. The same soldier who wrote ‘I want peace’, then threw a stun grenade at the children as they gathered to go to school. 19th May: Nine Israeli soldiers entered through checkpoint 29, several of the children then began to throw stones towards the soldiers. The soldiers then threw three stun grenades towards the children and fired one tear gas grenade. The second tear gas grenade was fired directly into Khadeagah Elementary School. An ISMer present said: “Today the children are writing one of their final year exams, it’s a terrible way to start the day and many of the kids were really afraid of both the soldiers and their weapons. This sort of aggression in the morning is common in Hebron, the soldiers don’t seem to care that they’re terrifying and tear gassing children, some as young as four-years-old”. 21st May: Several children threw stones towards checkpoint 29 on their way to school. At approximately 07:40, 13 Israeli soldiers and border police officers entered through the checkpoint and fired four tear gas grenades and four stun grenades at the children. When the exams finished in the late morning and the teachers and school children were on their way home, the harassment began again. The Israeli military detained seven teachers for 20 minutes. One of the teachers spoke to an ISMer present: “We are used to this kind of violence and disturbance, the harassment is continuous and often twice a day”. 25th May: At approximately 07:50, three Israeli soldiers ran towards a group of children standing in front of their school. Some of the children threw several stones towards the soldiers. The soldiers then threw one stun grenade and fired two tear gas grenades at the children. Whilst the children was throwing stones, the soldiers were standing behind a group of internationals, seemingly trying to use them as some form of ‘shield’. The incident lasted for approximately 20 minutes, which prevented the children from entering their schools, delaying the start of their end of year exams. 27th May: In the afternoon as the children were leaving school, one Palestinian youth was detained for 20 minutes and five teachers, from the local schools, were detained for 15 minutes. No explanation was given for the detentions. 1st June: Several children threw stones towards checkpoint 29. Israeli forces then fired one tear gas grenade, dangerously close to several children standing to the side of the road. |
6 june 2014
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights inside the Green Line (Adalah) sent an urgent letter to the Israeli Attorney General demanding an end to the practice of physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment against Palestinian children from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) during their arrest and interrogation by Israeli security personnel.
Adalah requested that the AG open criminal investigations into such cases and prosecute those responsible for these serious crimes, the center's statement said.
According to the human rights center, Adalah's letter is based on 21 shocking testimonies made by Palestinian children and recorded by lawyers from "the Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS)."
"The dangerous practices described in the testimonies constitute serious criminal offenses such as assault, damage, threat, sexual harassment and other unlawful activity committed by security authorities, ranging from soldiers, to GSS interrogators, and to prison wardens."
"The children's testimonies revealed that most of the arrests were made during raids in the late hours of the night. Their homes are violently broken into by dozens of soldiers who intimidated both the children and their families. In all the testimonies, the children acknowledged the binding of their hands and feet, blindfolding of their eyes, and their transfer to military vehicles which were hundreds of meters away from the location of the arrest. In many cases, the soldiers went into the children's rooms, aggressively woke them up, and shackled their hands and feet while they were still in bed."
In one of the testimonies documented in the statement, "a child spoke of how he woke up to the brutal kicks of the soldiers as he was sleeping in his bed. After they woke him, they tied his hands and feet for more than half a day, even though the child's finger was severed up to the middle from a previous incident; this led to a serious infection and forced the doctors to amputate the child's entire finger. In many cases, when parents spoke to soldiers for information regarding the arrest of their children, the soldiers responded with beatings and insults against the family members."
In most cases, the child was arrested without them or their families knowing the reason for the arrest, without a relative accompanying the child during the arrest, and without informing them or the families where they would be moved to. The testimonies also reveal that during the child's transfer to the interrogation site, the soldiers used extreme physical and verbal abuse against them, including beatings, smashing the child's head against a wall, threats of violence, and threats of sexual assault and rape, according to Adalah.
In one of the testimonies, a child reported that "after the soldiers beat him in his own home, they isolated all his family members in one room and kept him in the main hall of the house. After the soldiers finished interrogating him, they brought four other children, who were friends of the detained child, into the house and began beating him in front of them. Amidst the torture and beatings, the child "confessed" to throwing stones and "confessed" that his friends also participated. Later in the interrogation site, the child withdrew his confessions and said he only admitted to the misdemeanors in order to stop the beatings."
Investigators used interrogation techniques that are prohibited by law. For example, all the children acknowledged that the interrogations lasted for many hours and that they were left handcuffed on both their hands and feet while seated on a low chair. The investigators threatened the children with beatings, isolation, torturing their fathers and raping their mothers and sisters, the statement continued.
Most of the children also said that "they had been strip-searched while naked through many phases of the investigation. Children who refused to be strip-searched while naked were violently assaulted by the wardens as a result."
Furthermore, the children's investigations were conducted without the company of a lawyer or a relative. When the children asked the investigators if they could receive legal advice from a lawyer, the investigators responded by saying that it is "forbidden" to meet with a lawyer. The experiences of long hours of investigations while being denied access to a toilet, and denied food and sufficient drinking water, were common among the testimonies. In some cases, investigators refused to give the children food for dozens of hours unless they confessed to the charges against them.
In all the testimonies gathered by Adalah center, "the children were held under solitary confinement and isolated from the outside world for days, and sometimes even weeks, at a time. One of the children said in his testimony that he was kept in solitary confinement for 28 consecutive days. All the minors also described their cells as being in very poor conditions; the cells were very small, without any windows, and comprised of a small mattress and a toilet which had a terrible smell."
The walls of the cells, according to the testimonies, were rough and could not be leaned on. The testimonies also showed that the cells are kept lit 24 hours a day by a bright yellow light that hurt the children's eyes and prevented them from sleeping, causing them to lose comprehension of time.
In its letter, Adalah Attorneys Fady Khoury and Nadeem Shehadeh stated in the letter that: "The practices that appear in the testimonies constitute a serious violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Israeli law and international law, including the right to dignity, the right to physical integrity, the right to liberty, and the right to privacy. These rights must be respected by all authorities in Israel, from the army to the investigation authorities."
Adalah’s attorneys further highlighted the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) treaty, to which the state of Israel is a signatory, obliges Israel to immediately inform the child and his relatives regarding the charges against the child and to ensure adequate legal representation for the child from the moment of his first arrest.
The CRC also obliges Israel to refrain from extorting children through physical and psychological pressure in order to attain confessions under duress. Furthermore, the treaty forbids children's exposure to any type of abuse, torture, humiliation and inhuman treatment.
Adalah requested that the AG open criminal investigations into such cases and prosecute those responsible for these serious crimes, the center's statement said.
According to the human rights center, Adalah's letter is based on 21 shocking testimonies made by Palestinian children and recorded by lawyers from "the Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS)."
"The dangerous practices described in the testimonies constitute serious criminal offenses such as assault, damage, threat, sexual harassment and other unlawful activity committed by security authorities, ranging from soldiers, to GSS interrogators, and to prison wardens."
"The children's testimonies revealed that most of the arrests were made during raids in the late hours of the night. Their homes are violently broken into by dozens of soldiers who intimidated both the children and their families. In all the testimonies, the children acknowledged the binding of their hands and feet, blindfolding of their eyes, and their transfer to military vehicles which were hundreds of meters away from the location of the arrest. In many cases, the soldiers went into the children's rooms, aggressively woke them up, and shackled their hands and feet while they were still in bed."
In one of the testimonies documented in the statement, "a child spoke of how he woke up to the brutal kicks of the soldiers as he was sleeping in his bed. After they woke him, they tied his hands and feet for more than half a day, even though the child's finger was severed up to the middle from a previous incident; this led to a serious infection and forced the doctors to amputate the child's entire finger. In many cases, when parents spoke to soldiers for information regarding the arrest of their children, the soldiers responded with beatings and insults against the family members."
In most cases, the child was arrested without them or their families knowing the reason for the arrest, without a relative accompanying the child during the arrest, and without informing them or the families where they would be moved to. The testimonies also reveal that during the child's transfer to the interrogation site, the soldiers used extreme physical and verbal abuse against them, including beatings, smashing the child's head against a wall, threats of violence, and threats of sexual assault and rape, according to Adalah.
In one of the testimonies, a child reported that "after the soldiers beat him in his own home, they isolated all his family members in one room and kept him in the main hall of the house. After the soldiers finished interrogating him, they brought four other children, who were friends of the detained child, into the house and began beating him in front of them. Amidst the torture and beatings, the child "confessed" to throwing stones and "confessed" that his friends also participated. Later in the interrogation site, the child withdrew his confessions and said he only admitted to the misdemeanors in order to stop the beatings."
Investigators used interrogation techniques that are prohibited by law. For example, all the children acknowledged that the interrogations lasted for many hours and that they were left handcuffed on both their hands and feet while seated on a low chair. The investigators threatened the children with beatings, isolation, torturing their fathers and raping their mothers and sisters, the statement continued.
Most of the children also said that "they had been strip-searched while naked through many phases of the investigation. Children who refused to be strip-searched while naked were violently assaulted by the wardens as a result."
Furthermore, the children's investigations were conducted without the company of a lawyer or a relative. When the children asked the investigators if they could receive legal advice from a lawyer, the investigators responded by saying that it is "forbidden" to meet with a lawyer. The experiences of long hours of investigations while being denied access to a toilet, and denied food and sufficient drinking water, were common among the testimonies. In some cases, investigators refused to give the children food for dozens of hours unless they confessed to the charges against them.
In all the testimonies gathered by Adalah center, "the children were held under solitary confinement and isolated from the outside world for days, and sometimes even weeks, at a time. One of the children said in his testimony that he was kept in solitary confinement for 28 consecutive days. All the minors also described their cells as being in very poor conditions; the cells were very small, without any windows, and comprised of a small mattress and a toilet which had a terrible smell."
The walls of the cells, according to the testimonies, were rough and could not be leaned on. The testimonies also showed that the cells are kept lit 24 hours a day by a bright yellow light that hurt the children's eyes and prevented them from sleeping, causing them to lose comprehension of time.
In its letter, Adalah Attorneys Fady Khoury and Nadeem Shehadeh stated in the letter that: "The practices that appear in the testimonies constitute a serious violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Israeli law and international law, including the right to dignity, the right to physical integrity, the right to liberty, and the right to privacy. These rights must be respected by all authorities in Israel, from the army to the investigation authorities."
Adalah’s attorneys further highlighted the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) treaty, to which the state of Israel is a signatory, obliges Israel to immediately inform the child and his relatives regarding the charges against the child and to ensure adequate legal representation for the child from the moment of his first arrest.
The CRC also obliges Israel to refrain from extorting children through physical and psychological pressure in order to attain confessions under duress. Furthermore, the treaty forbids children's exposure to any type of abuse, torture, humiliation and inhuman treatment.
5 june 2014
A total of 196 Palestinian children were imprisoned and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system at the end of April, according to rights group Defence of Children International-Palestine (DCI-Palestine). This represents a decrease of 3 percent from March.
The number of young children detained between the ages of 14 and 15 was 27, an increase of 13 percent from March. There were no children detained in the Israeli military court system under 14 years old.
DCI-Palestine notes that each year approximately 500-700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system.
The most common charge is for throwing stones. Currently, 100 Palestinian child prisoners are detained inside Israel in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Additional information may be found here.
The number of young children detained between the ages of 14 and 15 was 27, an increase of 13 percent from March. There were no children detained in the Israeli military court system under 14 years old.
DCI-Palestine notes that each year approximately 500-700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system.
The most common charge is for throwing stones. Currently, 100 Palestinian child prisoners are detained inside Israel in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Additional information may be found here.
4 june 2014
By / Fedaa al-Qedra
Omar sits at the roadside on a cardboard box, resting against his bag. His knees are pressed against his chest. He rolls himself up into a ball like a fetus, perhaps hoping and believing that he has not been born yet.
Sounds grow around him but the silence of the world possesses him.
Coins are dropped in front of him and people pass where he sits, but for him his name and his existence are both just a curse.
A girl of the same age passes him. Taking a coin from her hand and giving it to him, she thanks Lord that she has not experienced a similar fate as this boy has.
Another child from Gaza sits at a crossroad west of Gaza City. He is carrying a can filled with chewing gum in his hand, and offers his tears to passers-by who will never know the secrets behind those tears. He does not speak a word, and pretends that he is unable to speak.
For these children, and for dozens of others who are forcibly driven to the streets to work, there is no official recognition. Government officials refuse to characterize their existence as a reality in the life of Palestine, despite the fact that findings of a labor force survey in 2012 clearly indicated that the number of working children between the ages of 10 to 17, whether paid or not paid, was 4.1 % of the total number of children in Palestine - 5.8 % in the West Bank, and 1.5 % in the Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, some non-governmental organizations, who advocate against child labor, observe that the hidden statistics for working children are twice the official numbers that have been released. And they refuse to describe the issue as one of isolated cases.
It is not difficult to find these vendor children, both male and female, in a community where the poverty rate has reached 39% and the unemployment rate has reached 40%, according to statistics released by the Human Rights Protection center. There is no corner in the park or the beach free of these children, who never tire from wooing customers with a language closer to begging, a situation that makes them vulnerable to exploitation and extortion, and easy prey for criminals.
A short visit to the Unknown Soldier Park in central Gaza City, for example, is sufficient to discover the large number of the children who are working in this park as street vendors or as footmen for others. And the truth is that they work for pittance.
It may seem that the reason for child labor is the deteriorating economic situation, but the primary reasons behind this phenomenon are families who are unaware or in outright dereliction, where families and the government choose not to follow regulations that are defined under the Palestinian law – regulations that define the responsibilities of these parties regarding children.
Mohammed Kahlout, an official in the Ministry of Social Affairs, said that his ministry, through a network of child protection agencies, helps the working children by integrating them into the national program for social protection, where they can benefit from the funds provided by the Social Affairs Ministry and from food parcels for their families, as well as health insurance benefits.
He explained that a local cultural attitude sees in the work of children a necessary social inheritance, on the grounds that it creates people who are able to rely on themselves in the future. This attitude contributes to an increase in the number of the children working.
He added that the high rate of reproduction of Palestinian families was also a motivation behind child labor – as a way of compensating for the shortages that families experience with lower incomes and higher expenses.a
He stressed that the number of female child workers is much lower than the number of males, but he pointed out that these girls become vulnerable to blackmail through their presence on the street
As to the statistics available for these working girls, the results of the Labor Force Survey 2012, indicate that the number of girls enrolled in school and working is 0.5% while the number of girls not enrolled in school and working is 2.8%.
Omar sits at the roadside on a cardboard box, resting against his bag. His knees are pressed against his chest. He rolls himself up into a ball like a fetus, perhaps hoping and believing that he has not been born yet.
Sounds grow around him but the silence of the world possesses him.
Coins are dropped in front of him and people pass where he sits, but for him his name and his existence are both just a curse.
A girl of the same age passes him. Taking a coin from her hand and giving it to him, she thanks Lord that she has not experienced a similar fate as this boy has.
Another child from Gaza sits at a crossroad west of Gaza City. He is carrying a can filled with chewing gum in his hand, and offers his tears to passers-by who will never know the secrets behind those tears. He does not speak a word, and pretends that he is unable to speak.
For these children, and for dozens of others who are forcibly driven to the streets to work, there is no official recognition. Government officials refuse to characterize their existence as a reality in the life of Palestine, despite the fact that findings of a labor force survey in 2012 clearly indicated that the number of working children between the ages of 10 to 17, whether paid or not paid, was 4.1 % of the total number of children in Palestine - 5.8 % in the West Bank, and 1.5 % in the Gaza Strip.
On the other hand, some non-governmental organizations, who advocate against child labor, observe that the hidden statistics for working children are twice the official numbers that have been released. And they refuse to describe the issue as one of isolated cases.
It is not difficult to find these vendor children, both male and female, in a community where the poverty rate has reached 39% and the unemployment rate has reached 40%, according to statistics released by the Human Rights Protection center. There is no corner in the park or the beach free of these children, who never tire from wooing customers with a language closer to begging, a situation that makes them vulnerable to exploitation and extortion, and easy prey for criminals.
A short visit to the Unknown Soldier Park in central Gaza City, for example, is sufficient to discover the large number of the children who are working in this park as street vendors or as footmen for others. And the truth is that they work for pittance.
It may seem that the reason for child labor is the deteriorating economic situation, but the primary reasons behind this phenomenon are families who are unaware or in outright dereliction, where families and the government choose not to follow regulations that are defined under the Palestinian law – regulations that define the responsibilities of these parties regarding children.
Mohammed Kahlout, an official in the Ministry of Social Affairs, said that his ministry, through a network of child protection agencies, helps the working children by integrating them into the national program for social protection, where they can benefit from the funds provided by the Social Affairs Ministry and from food parcels for their families, as well as health insurance benefits.
He explained that a local cultural attitude sees in the work of children a necessary social inheritance, on the grounds that it creates people who are able to rely on themselves in the future. This attitude contributes to an increase in the number of the children working.
He added that the high rate of reproduction of Palestinian families was also a motivation behind child labor – as a way of compensating for the shortages that families experience with lower incomes and higher expenses.a
He stressed that the number of female child workers is much lower than the number of males, but he pointed out that these girls become vulnerable to blackmail through their presence on the street
As to the statistics available for these working girls, the results of the Labor Force Survey 2012, indicate that the number of girls enrolled in school and working is 0.5% while the number of girls not enrolled in school and working is 2.8%.