Damascus-SANA
On the occasion of the International Day against Child Labor, which falls on June 12, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, held an educational, artistic and entertaining event in which about 150 boys and girls participated, in Al-Sobki Park in Damascus.
The event, which is held with the support of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), included games, singing and interactive theatre, presented by a number of volunteers from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor team and Al-Nada Development Association, and targeted children visiting the park and the Institute of Special Education for Intellectual Disabilities.
18 students and graduates from the Adham Ismail Center for Fine Arts also participated in a drawing forum, where they drew paintings that expressed the dangers of child labor and the rights that the family, the state and society should provide for them. The paintings will be displayed on 16 and 17 of this month at the National Museum in Damascus in cooperation with the Association of Friends of Museums
In a statement to SANA, the event’s coordinator, Dalal Al-Zein, indicated that the event is a translation of the “Scream” program launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor with the International Labor Organization last year to support children’s rights, which began on the 9th of this month and targeted more than 200 children from the Al-Ghazali Institute for Juvenile Care in Damascus countryside and a nursing home The homeless and beggars with a variety of recreational and educational activities.
For her part, the Director of Social Affairs and Labor in Damascus, Nazik Rahma, explained that Syrian law allowed the work of children over the age of 15 under special conditions, and stipulated heavy penalties for child operators to beg or traffic in, and others.
Mona Al Kilani and Doaa Awad, students of the Adham Ismail Institute of Fine Arts, pointed out the role of art in expressing community issues, including child labor, and the importance of shedding light on this through realistic and symbolic paintings to spread awareness to join efforts to combat the phenomenon of child labor.
Wael Rihawi, case manager at the Child Protection Department at Al-Nada Development Association, pointed out the role of the civil sector in protecting children from violence in all its forms and raising community awareness of the dangers of child labor and the laws that prevent it.
It is noteworthy that the International Labor Organization launched the World Day Against Child Labor to focus attention on the extent of the phenomenon of child labor in the world and to work on making the necessary efforts to eliminate this phenomenon by 2030.