Published TUESDAY February 20, 2024: 'Small Hands: HEAVY BURDEN' by ZUMA Partner agency dpa photo-journalist Anas Apkharboutli: After more than a decade of conflict, children in Syria continue to pay the heaviest price. They live a life riddled with fear. Fear of violence, loss of friends and loved ones, landmines, and explosive remnants of war. They struggle with physical and psychological injuries. Many know nothing but the conflict, and were born into it. Syria continues to be one of the most dangerous places for children to live in. Across the country, some 2.4 million children, aged 5-17 years, are out of school. They represent nearly half of the about 5.52 million school-aged population. In Aleppo children are involved in many different forms of labor, from selling vegetables and other much-needed food, to collecting metal scrap and working in mechanic shops. What all children here have in common is desperation as their future hangs by a thread. Welcome to 'Small Hands: HEAVY BURDEN'
© zReportage.com Issue #927 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY February 20, 2024: 'Small Hands: HEAVY BURDEN' by ZUMA Partner agency dpa photo-journalist Anas Apkharboutli: After more than a decade of conflict, children in Syria continue to pay the heaviest price. They live a life riddled with fear. Fear of violence, loss of friends and loved ones, landmines, and explosive remnants of war. They struggle with physical and psychological injuries. Many know nothing but the conflict, and were born into it. Syria continues to be one of the most dangerous places for children to live in. Across the country, some 2.4 million children, aged 5-17 years, are out of school. They represent nearly half of the about 5.52 million school-aged population. In Aleppo children are involved in many different forms of labor, from selling vegetables and other much-needed food, to collecting metal scrap and working in mechanic shops. What all children here have in common is desperation as their future hangs by a thread. Welcome to 'Small Hands: HEAVY BURDEN'
AHMED KAMEL, 17 years old, shows his hands covered in silver metal dust at a workshop where he manufactures aluminum utensils in Aleppo. Across Syria, some 2.4 million children, aged 5-17 years, are out of school. They represent nearly half of the about 5.52 million school-aged children.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
MAHMOUD KILO, 16 years old, manufactures aluminum utensils in workshops in Aleppo Governorate. The lives of children in Syria have changed over the past decade. Many know nothing but the conflict, many were born into it. The future for all children hangs by a thread.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
With his face covered in silver metal dust, and with no protective gear, AHMED KAMEL, 17 years old, manufactures aluminum cooking utensils at a workshop in Aleppo. There is no official data in Syria on child labour rates. But they are believed to have steadily increased throughout the course of the conflict, with an economic crisis fueling further spikes over the past year.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
His face covered in metal dust, AHMED KAMEL, 17 years old, manufactures aluminum cooking utensils at a workshop in Aleppo. There is no official data in Syria on child labour rates. But they are believed to have steadily increased throughout the course of the conflict. After more than a decade of conflict, children in Syria continue to pay the heaviest price.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
Hands covered in silver metal dust, AHMED KAMEL, 17 years old, manufactures aluminum utensils in workshops in Aleppo. There is no official data in Syria on child labour rates. But they are believed to have steadily increased throughout the course of the conflict, with the economic crisis fueling further spikes over the past year.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young Syrian worker stands next to stacks of aluminum utensils manufactured at a workshop in Aleppo Governorate. Today, 90 per cent of people in Syria live in poverty, most are unable to make ends meet or bring food to the table. Families have had their resources depleted, with limited employment opportunities, skyrocketing prices, and shortage of basic supplies.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
Covered in aluminum dust a young boy sits at a metal work machine with no protective gear and works at manufacturing aluminum cooking utensils in workshops in Aleppo. In Syria children are involved in many different forms of labor, from selling vegetables and other much-needed food, to collecting metal scrap and working in mechanic shops.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young Syrian boy, covered in metal dust works at a small workshop that manufactures aluminum utensils in Aleppo. In Syria the number of children in need, more than 6.5 million, has increased by seven per cent in the past year alone.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young Syrian boy, covered in metal dust works at a small workshop that manufactures aluminum utensils in Aleppo.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
Syrian workers melt chunks of aluminum in a furnace to eventually be used to manufacture cooking utensils in workshops in Aleppo.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young worker carries a heavy chunk of waste aluminum ready for recycling to manufacture aluminum cooking utensils in workshops in Aleppo.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
Three young boys take a lunch break while working at a workshop that manufactures aluminum cooking utensils in Aleppo. Across Syria, some 2.4 million children, aged 5-17 years, are out of school and many fall prey to child labour, early and forced marriage, trafficking, and recruitment into the fighting.
© Anas Alkharboutli/dpa via ZUMA Press
