Sunday, May 15, 2016

Iran: Labor Children، a Devastating Social Reality



We invite you to a brief glance at the atrocious conditions of Iranian children forced to quit school and work. This is the true face of the mullahs’ rule in Iran. 
Iran state TV, 12 June 2015:
At least 15,000 labor children are roaming the streets of Tehran
Child: I am a street vendor
Reporter: Where?
Child: Tehran’s Tajrish region
Another child: I sell omens
Reporter: How old are you?
Child: 8
Reporter: How much do you earn?


A small girl: 3 million rials a month (around $100)… 
From elementary to middle school, a total of 800,000 children were deprived of education, said Ali Zarafshan, Deputy Minister of Education in Iran said back in October 2015.
Iran state TV, 12 December 2015: Report on a school for working children
… a female teacher dictates: “Child, space, work”
The children write: “labor children”
Reporter: Should a child be working?
Child: I don’t know... 
One of the most horrible phenomenon’s in Iran resulting from the mullahs’ rule is how children are forced to work to help families make ends meet. This is a very clear indication of extreme poverty and the major gap amongst various classes in Iran’s society. 
This is a country where state media, including ‘Work & Worker,’ wrote in April 2015: 
“Out of a population of 79 million people, 54 million have no role in production. Many children are forced to quit school and go to work to help their families make ends meet.” 

A short talk with a child on the street:
Reporter: How old are you?
Child: 8
Reporter: Why are you working?
Child: I want to make money
Reporter: Where is your dad?
Child: He’s sick
Reporter: Are you the only one working?
Child: No, my brother’s over there 
Factories closing, unemployment, skyrocketing prices for basic daily needs and education, numerous economic and social dilemmas all accumulate into extreme poverty. More and more poor families simply cannot provide the expenses needed to send their children to school, and these innocent kids are left with no choice but to quit school and start working, many resorting to harsh labor.
Iran state TV, 26 May 2014:
Small boy: “I start working at 7 in the morning, and if I don’t make any money until 11, I will have to go on without any lunch.” 
25,000 children and juveniles are working instead of receiving an education at school, said Iran’s Director General of Education.
90,000 children and juveniles deprived of education have been identified in this province alone, said Abdul-Hossein Moghtadaie, Governor of Khuzistan Province in southwest Iran.
“60% of the 500 children deprived of education in 2015 were girls,” said Education Director General of the city of Dezful, southwest Iran. 
Extreme poverty in itself is forcing families to leave their children stranded on the streets, and forced into selling them.
Iran state TV, 5 August 2015 - “Stranded Children”
Anchorman: The welfare service has officially announced each year over 1,000 children under the age of 3 are stranded in our country.”
“Some of them, unfortunately, are left stranded on the streets,” one individual says.
Anchorman: The children one sees on the street behind red lights, they may have been left stranded by their families… 
Fars news agency (associated to the Revolutionary Guards) – 12 April 2016
“Babies born homeless in Iran! Price of tomorrow’s working children: 20 million rials (around $675).”
This is a reference by one of the Iranian regime’s own media outlets to just a tip of the iceberg of this humanitarian catastrophe in today’s Iran under the mullahs’ rule. 
“Unborn homeless babies are pre-sold at prices of 1 to 2 million rials (around $35 to $70),” Iran’s state ‘Siyasat-e Ruz’ daily reported on 9 October 2015. 
The mullahs’ ruling Iran have no shame in admitting to such a catastrophic status quo, despite President Hassan Rouhani’s promises of economic recovery. In fact, with the utmost audacity, this regime is known to even hold ceremonies for working children, going as far as describing them as role models for other children.
“A ceremony of child breadwinners in Bandar Abbas (southern Iran) held by the ‘Home of Wishes’ institute,” state ISNA news agency reported on 16 February 2016. 

This is the true face of Iran ruled by the mullahs today, where workers are deprived of their rights and salaries, and children are spending their precious years of childhood working to help provide for their families.

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