The Director of Social Affairs and Labor in Damascus, Daleen Fahd, attributed the increase in the number of beggars in the Syrian capital to poverty, lack of job opportunities, economic crisis and displacement.
Fahd said that the homelessness of children and their work by begging and digging up containers is caused by “family disintegration.”
She added that many beggars refrain from residing in the ministry’s centers because they are “accustomed to an unorganized and chaotic life,” in addition to the “money” they earn from begging, according to the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper.
She indicated that the Employment Home for beggars and the homeless in Al-Kiswah shelters 60 people over 18 years of age, while the Child Rights Association shelters 69 children, and the “Dafa” Association houses 50 children.
The government official pointed out that the labor law deals with child labor with the aim of protecting them, through the formation of a committee to prevent their employment, and organize the arrests against violators, including issuing a warning at the beginning and then closing the facility for a period of three months, noting that the law allows children to work after the age of 15 years.
