Child labour in Gaza-Egypt tunnels is a growing phenomenon

Border tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian territories remain the main source of income for thousands of unemployed Palestinians in Gaza, despite talks of reducing the occupation of the Strip. The tunnels, which separate the two countries by a few of metres, are the main form of commercial transport between Gaza and Egypt. The tunnels are used to transport goods such as Egyptian fuel, food, clothes, animals, and even cars. They have revived Gaza’s markets and stores, as only a limited amount of merchandise is allowed through Israeli borders, causing a scarcity in various goods such as buildings materials, and cars, among others. Children, youths, and elderly people from Gaza work in the tunnels despite the hardship and fatigue it causes them to suffer, as well as the numerous health risks. Many lives have been lost in the tunnels, but these Palestinians are obliged to undertake this kind of work in order to provide for themselves and their families. It is not unusual to see children working in Gaza, especially in the summer. They work to provide for their families, but it is extremely concerning to see them working in the tunnels, and what is more, their numbers have increased over the past few years. ArabsToday spoke to one Rafah tunnel worker of only 17 years of age, who said: “I want to go to university. I graduated from high school with a 70% average that qualifies me to go into a respectable university, but I can’t afford to, and after the death of my father I am the only provider for myself and my family.” Another 30-year-old tunnel worker said: “I’m unemployed, my wife is ill, and I have four children at university whose tuition fees need to be paid. This job is tremendously exhausting and dangerous, but I have no other choice.” A 20-year-old worker explained: “I graduated high school, and thinking of my future I realized that many university graduates are unemployed. For this reason I decided to work in the tunnels to help my father with the household expenses, and to make something of myself.” He added: “I work in the lower tunnel daily from 4pm until 10 pm. My colleagues and I transfer 100 tons of cement from the Egyptian to the Palestinian side. I used to get paid 250 shekels for doing this - that’s around $70, whereas I now get $20.” Although many workers have died or had near-death experiences, due to electric shocks inside the tunnels which cause them to collapse, Palestinians still insist on working in them to combat unemployment, to provide for their families, and to do business deals with Egypt. Dr. Moein Rajab, Professor of Economics and Political Sciences at Al-Azhar University, sees working in tunnels as a necessity that began because of the occupation. The majority of workers are young men and boys who exert themselves physically in return for unpredictable and very meagre pay. Rajab stressed that illegality of this job, and emphasized the necessity of setting rules and regulations for tunnel work in order to guarantee workers’ rights, reducing the risk that they will be abused, exploited, and scammed. He suggested that an organization should be responsible for the management of the tunnel jobs, and that government agencies should oversee and follow-up the operation, even if it is only a temporary measure until the jobs are up-and-running. Human rights organizations have warned of the dangers of child labour and abuse through the smuggling of goods and digging tunnels. They consider them to be acts which violate Palestinian and international laws, and condemn the recklessness of the children’s parents who push them into taking these jobs on when they are fully aware of the dangers involved. The National Assembly for Democracy and Law in Gaza noted the obvious failure of concerned government agencies and human rights organizations to prevent child labour, especially in dangerous jobs like the ones in the tunnels spreading across the Southern border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The Assembly stressed their utmost objection to this dangerous phenomenon, demanding that we release the children from the dark tunnels, and take them into the light of education, helping those who suffer from psychological problems, and drug addictions. Human rights and children’s rights organizations have called upon everyone to work with them in lobbying the concerned parties into ending this phenomenon, asking the international community to help them end this occupation and open up commercial routes – the only way in which the tunnels will ever be closed.