Khalid is 12 years old and works as a shepherd in the village of Kafruma in Idlib’s countryside.
“My father is an opposition fighter, and he entrusted me with looking after his sheep,” he told Damascus Bureau.
“I had to leave school, but I don’t regret it. Most of the schools in my village have been shut anyway.”
Child labour is on the increase in Syria’s opposition-held areas. In Idlib governorate, the on-going war has forced many children to become family bread-winners.
Rajab, a 15-year-old from the city of Kfar Nabel, has been working as a blacksmith’s apprentice for the past four years.
“I wanted to learn a skill that would earn me a steady income so I could support my father after he lost his job,” the teenager said. “Studying at school won’t earn me a living. Besides, most people with academic qualifications in our area are jobless.”
The most usual employment for children is in manual labour, such as working with electricians, blacksmiths and car mechanics and painters.
Mohammad, 13, works at a garage in his city of Maarrat al-Numan. His mother told Damascus Bureau she had no choice but to send him out to work after his father was martyred, so he could help her raise his younger siblings.
According to Syrian law, it is illegal for children under the age of 15 to work, but these laws are being ignored in opposition control areas.
Damascus Bureau’s Hazaa Adnan al-Hazaa took the following photos that document child labour in Idlib governorate.
