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Iraq's Lost Children
BAGHDAD — For nations the young generation always holds the hope for a better future but with thousands of its children forced out of school into the labor market to make ends meet, Iraq seems to be an exception.
"My mother told me that I had to leave school and even knowing there isn’t choice, I tried to convince by showing my good marks in math and science but it just made her angrier," says Waleed Saleh, 11.
One year ago his father, a waiter, was killed in a suicide attack on his restaurant in downtown Baghdad.
Saleh, the elder of his four brothers, had to find a job to help support the family with his house-keeper mother.
"She found me a job as helper in a carpentry factor near our home," he said.
Child labor has been increasing in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion largely because of the spread of poverty, unemployment and widows, observers say.
There are no accurate estimates on child labor but a 2006 UNICEF survey put the percentage at 11 in the 10-14 age group.
"It's very difficult to know whether this number is increasing as a result of the deaths of so many family wage-earners between 2006 and 2007," said Claire Hajaj, Chief of External Relations for UNICEF.
"However, anecdotal data tells us that many families are being pushed into poverty as a result of conflict and displacement," she added.
"Boys are more likely to work than girls in an average of 12 percent versus 9 percent and the problem is far higher in rural areas where poverty is most intense."
Five years after the US-led invasion, the daily lives of Iraqis have worsened with millions having insufficient access to clean water, sanitation, electricity and health care.
With estimates putting the death toll at between 100,000 and one million, millions of families are left without bread-winners.
Sons or Fathers
The new reality in war-ravaged Iraq left thousands of children playing the roles of their fathers in putting bread on the table.
"The pressure to contribute to a struggling family income can certainly keep children out from school," said Hajaj.
"In Iraq, this pressure combines with insecurity, school closures and a shortage of teachers in many areas to undermine children's right to learn," added the UNICEF official.
According to the United Nation, 17 percent of Iraqi children are permanently out of primary school.
More
One year ago his father, a waiter, was killed in a suicide attack on his restaurant in downtown Baghdad.
Saleh, the elder of his four brothers, had to find a job to help support the family with his house-keeper mother.
"She found me a job as helper in a carpentry factor near our home," he said.
Child labor has been increasing in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion largely because of the spread of poverty, unemployment and widows, observers say.
There are no accurate estimates on child labor but a 2006 UNICEF survey put the percentage at 11 in the 10-14 age group.
"It's very difficult to know whether this number is increasing as a result of the deaths of so many family wage-earners between 2006 and 2007," said Claire Hajaj, Chief of External Relations for UNICEF.
"However, anecdotal data tells us that many families are being pushed into poverty as a result of conflict and displacement," she added.
"Boys are more likely to work than girls in an average of 12 percent versus 9 percent and the problem is far higher in rural areas where poverty is most intense."
Five years after the US-led invasion, the daily lives of Iraqis have worsened with millions having insufficient access to clean water, sanitation, electricity and health care.
With estimates putting the death toll at between 100,000 and one million, millions of families are left without bread-winners.
Sons or Fathers
The new reality in war-ravaged Iraq left thousands of children playing the roles of their fathers in putting bread on the table.
"The pressure to contribute to a struggling family income can certainly keep children out from school," said Hajaj.
"In Iraq, this pressure combines with insecurity, school closures and a shortage of teachers in many areas to undermine children's right to learn," added the UNICEF official.
According to the United Nation, 17 percent of Iraqi children are permanently out of primary school.
More
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"The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable," Bush said in a televised speech from the Pentagon, later posted on the White House website, marking the fifth anniversary of the war.
"On this day in 2003, the US began Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the campaign unfolded, tens and thousands of our troops poured across the Iraqi border to liberate the Iraqi people and remove a regime that threatened free nations," he recalled.
"The men and women who crossed into Iraq five years ago removed a tyrant, liberated a country, and rescued millions from unspeakable horrors."
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