Unicef alarmiert: Vierjährige arbeiten auf Feldern im Libanon
Published: Tuesday, Apr 30th 2024, 12:50
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According to aid workers, the fighting between the Shia militia Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon is plunging tens of thousands of children and young people and their families into misery. Almost daily air strikes from Israel have destroyed the livelihoods of many people who were already living in precarious conditions.
This is what a spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund Unicef said on Tuesday in Geneva about a new report on the situation of minors. Child labor is on the rise. Some families are sending children as young as four to work in the fields to help earn a living, said Ettie Higgins, deputy head of the Unicef office in Lebanon.
Doctors have told her about seven-year-olds who come with back problems because they have to carry heavy bin bags every day. Many children are malnourished and many suffer from anxiety. This has consequences for their entire lives, Higgins emphasized. Children are often unable to make up for early developmental disorders throughout their lives.
According to Higgins, several countries have reduced their humanitarian support for Lebanon. As a result, many Unicef programs have been cut. At the same time, more support is actually needed than before. Schools and water supplies have been partially destroyed by Israeli air strikes and health centers have been closed.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war more than six months ago, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has been firing rockets, artillery and anti-tank shells at Israel from Lebanon - according to its own statements, out of "solidarity" with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel, in turn, is fighting Hezbollah positions with air and artillery attacks. The mutual attacks are mostly concentrated in the border region.
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