Human Trafficking in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Republic of Lebanon                                                                  [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Lebanon [map] is located in SW Asia and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea (W), by Syria (N & E), and by Israel (S).  Its capital is Beirut.  The country requires major reconstruction and rehabilitation, revitalizing key social sectors and stimulating economic growth.  This includes plans to rehabilitate water networks and school buildings, improve school programs and rehabilitate the healthcare infrastructure.  Lebanese youth below the age of 25 years, who constitute more than half of the population, suffer from weak integration in the social environment.

 

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Lebanon.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Lebanon), and Years Missing

UNICEF - The Big Picture

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - It is common for children to earn family income by working in the fields or begging in the streets.  Non-Lebanese children constitute 10 to 20 percent of children working in the formal sector, but make up a larger share of children working on the street.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [d] In December 2004 the MOL completed a study on working street children, which provided a snapshot of the condition and nature of street children in the country. The report showed that the average street child was a boy (9 percent were girls), foreign (only 15 percent were citizens, the others were most often Palestinian and Syrian), 12 years of age, and poorly educated or illiterate. Street children were concentrated in large urban centers where approximately 47 percent of them were forced to work long hours on the streets by adults. The most common types of work were selling goods, including lottery tickets, shoe polishing, and washing car windshields. The children earned between $2 and $15 (3 thousand to 25 thousand pounds) per day. Only 19 percent of the children interviewed said they kept their income.

LEBANON: Government could do more to tackle child labour

Abdullah lives like no eight year-old-boy should. Two years ago, the youngster from Raqqa, a town in the north of Syria on the banks of the River Euphrates, travelled to Lebanon with his three brothers, looking for work.  Today, Abdullah lives with around 20 other workers in a ramshackle encampment on a patch of wasteland in Lailaki, a poor suburb of south Beirut.  By night, the boy picks through the city’s rubbish, hoping to find objects of value.  By day, instead of going to school, Abdullah sorts through his discoveries with his “boss”, an aggressive middle-aged woman who claims to own the camp and who, Abdullah says, beats the children if they do not make her enough money.  A few hours sleep in a filthy, cramped tent with no heat or running water and a bowl of rice is his reward.

Eter estimated Lebanon has as many as 5,000 street children, 80 percent of them foreigners mainly from Syria, Jordan, Iraq or the Palestinian territories, who carry no identification papers and who therefore cannot attend state school and can be arrested any time.

LEBANON: Street children - victims of organised crime

In Beirut, you can find street children at almost every major traffic intersection, washing car windows, selling chewing gum or begging. Their dirty little hands tap the car window while their bright eyes look into yours in search of signs compassion.

Samir is only 12 years old, but living on the streets has made him grow up quickly. Palestinian of origin, his story is a sad –but all too common – one. “I’ve been begging since I was eight,” he said. “My mother left when I was five, and now my father beats me and makes me beg for money.”

Information about Street Children - Lebanon [DOC]

Most children on the streets spend their days selling trinkets or begging for their parents/other family members before returning home at night. However, there is a small number for whom the street is their permanent residence, and these are usually children who have suffered emotional and/or physical abuse within their families due to poverty, overcrowding, or family disintegration.

Global Family Program - Lebanon

There are many street children living in the main cities of Lebanon. Most of them are not Lebanese and come from around the Middle East and are abandoned by their parents.

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Human Trafficking in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Lebanon]  [other countries]