Al-Ahram Weekly looks into the latest efforts to help the less fortunate youngsters Okay to play To mark World Day Against Child Labour, Nader Habib investigates civil society plans to help 2.6 million child workers in Egypt My name is Amr. I am 12 years old. I live in a rubbish dump in the rubbish collectors' neighbourhood [in Cairo]. I'm always dressed in dirty clothes, because I have nothing clean [to wear]. Two years ago, I ran away from home because my stepmother was very cruel to me, beating me with a metal chord. [The beatings] got worse after she had two babies of her own. My father did not stand up to her, nor give any support to me. She practically threw me out. I decided to drop out of school and ran away from everyone. But I realised I had to find a job to live, so I started collecting rubbish, and I met new friends of my age. I stopped seeing my school friends, I don't measure up to their level. At this moment, I wish I could go back to school, find protection, love and warmth." Do you believe Amr's story? Well, both Amr and his story are fiction, created in the course of a programme named Scream organised by the International Labour Office (ILO) at the National Centre for Children's Culture (NCCC) in Sayeda Zeinab. At the centre to celebrate World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) on 12 June, child workers mingled with school children, sharing stories reflecting their differing experiences last week. Established in 2002, in Egypt WDACL has acquired new overtones over time. This year it was the participation of an unprecedented range of social parties that marked the occasion: Scream, for example, brought together the NCCC, Terre des Hommes (TDH), New Horizons for Social Development (NHSD) and the Egyptian Association for the Ship for World Youth (EASWY). According to NCCC Director Mohamed Megahid, "Egypt signed several agreements on the prevention of child labour but we cannot disregard the fact that the country is facing critical social and economic circumstances [which] still force children to work irrespective of their rights." National Council of Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) statistics indicate that there are 2.76 million child workers in Egypt. The NCCC, as Megahid pointed out, helps improve the lives of child workers through cultural and artistic activities in an attempt to cultivate interests and eventually, hopefully, encourage them to return to school. Sama Abdel-Rahim, programme manager at TDH, views Scream as an attempt at something representative if by no means sufficient, and found it "suitable for Egyptian culture". It was only with help from the NHSD, which has a support base in Ezbet Khairallah, Batn Al-Baqar and Istabl Antar, that TDH managed to gather the children and obtain the necessary permission from their families and employers. "We managed to encourage cooperation and teamwork in the group we supported," says EASWY Director Amr Shamala, "by giving the children the one thing they were deprived of: [the opportunity to] play." A large group of children gathered to support under-age workers and workshops were held in which activities were used to enhance various skills. An example: two ropes were laid out at opposite sides of the room and, as if standing on the banks of a river, the children were asked to rush from one side to the other to help each other across. "[It's] just a game," says Shamala, "but it teaches team work. Listen to the commotion -- they are communicating, interacting. Which is the point, our aim being to pull the children out of their comfort zone of fulfilling their daily routine and facilitating the rapid absorption of a new skill." Getting children to play isn't always easy, however. According to TDH volunteer Irene Moawad, "I was deeply moved by a girl who was not used to playing because she works all day in a clothing factory, and just hadn't encountered any form of entertainment. We spent 15 minutes trying to convince her to play, and she agreed with embarrassment. It's a disaster. Why should a girl no older than 12 or 13 be ashamed to play, believing that working is all her life should be about?" Mariana Atia, a child protection advocate at TDH, says such incidents are common, however: "I had to make friends with them, bridging the gap to gain their trust." By taking them on tours to such public institutions as Al-Ahram Weekly and the ILO Cairo office, Atia eventually managed to give the children exposure to aspects of life they were unfamiliar with and in the process enhance their communication skills. Interestingly, as Hassan Khairi, another volunteer, explains, the rural-urban divide persists among child workers too, but in a rather peculiar way: whereas in Cairo the vast majority of under-age workers are orphans who have no other means of support or are forced to work by family circumstances, in other governorates they work, rather, to learn their fathers' trades and eventually succeed them; they are cared for, entertained and often educated, a far cry from their Cairo counterparts. As Omar Abdullah, yet another volunteer, puts it, those who enjoy their rights tend to take them for granted; they are seldom aware of being privileged: "we should always spread awareness of those who are deprived of even the most basic rights." The ILO's Nevine Othman believes Scream was the positive outcome of over a year of collaboration and work with children: "many talents came to the fore." For his part, Shamala hoped the children would remember the day, and the principles they were taught during it: when you play alone, you fail; when you play with others, you succeed. "We cannot solve all children's problems. Every one of us has his own problem. All we can do for these children is to change their way of thinking. They have rights to enjoy, and obligations to fulfil. They are not marginal." Partners in promoting children's rights - National Centre for Children's Culture: Founded on 1 July, 1980 by a ministerial decree 30/1980, this is a government agency that promotes culture by and for children. - Terre des Hommes: This is the Egyptian branch of the international non- governmental authority, located in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its work started in 1960 with aid and support for children in need, regardless of their race or religion. The authority has projects in 30 countries all over the world. It started working in Egypt in 1983, after an agreement with the Foreign Ministry, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Collaboration. - New Horizons for Social Development: This is an Egyptian NGO that aims to combat poverty and help ensure a better future for all, with equality across religious and gender lines as its guiding principle. It aims at spreading awareness of the right to a dignified life based on freedom, justice and peace all over the world, with democracy and human rights as the means to granting that right. - The Egyptian Association for the Ship for World Youth: Established informally in 1996, this NGO is based on an international programme sponsored and funded by the Japanese government. It invites 150 young men and women from 15 countries to live together with an equal number from Japan onboard a ship for 45 days, with the aim of exposing youth to an international climate.
