The Observatory for Social and Economic Policies (Al-Marsad) issued a report entitled “Disguised Begging: Children in the Nets of Begging Brokers,” which discusses the work of children in disguised begging, which is a pattern of begging that includes the presence of children in the streets and at traffic lights either to sell goods, Or wipe car windows.
The study linked this pattern of begging to the economic and social context and the absence of a social protection system.
The report indicated that this pattern exists in many areas throughout historical Palestine, where in addition to the presence of the phenomenon in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the study showed that there are groups of children who are targeted by employment brokers and transferred to work as beggars in Jerusalem and the areas of Palestine occupied in 1948. Statistics indicate that the Ministry of Social Development dealt with about 459 children in cases of economic exploitation in the West Bank, and 190 cases of economic exploitation of female teachers in the territories occupied in 1948 (data for the period 2018-2022).
The researcher at the Observatory, Abdulaziz Al-Salhi, pointed out in the report that the pattern of work in “disguised begging” for children is not considered a phenomenon according to the data and numbers that were monitored based on the sources available for the study case, but this does not mean that the centers of responsibility do not have to work to combat This type of work, specifically for children, as working in disguised begging exposes the child to many violations and risks that go beyond his work in begging.
The report stressed the risks to which children who go out to work as beggars in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 and in Jerusalem are exposed. The report explained that these children are transported through a broker, and if they are found, they are dealt with by the Israeli police and handed over to the checkpoints. Military. Recently, the media published news about a 15-year-old boy who was arrested by the Israeli police while begging in one of the areas of the occupied interior. The child described, in his statement to the police, that he was detained by a broker in harsh conditions during which he was beaten and exploited to work in... Begging and using it to settle scores with people in dispute with the operating broker, the boy was detained for a month and a half by the Israeli police.
The main problem that must be worked on is the phenomenon of “labor brokers,” that is, employers of children. In any case, the child may have no options but to work on traffic lights and in the central account in many cases, as long as there are those who place financial conditions on him, which makes him vulnerable to exploitation. And violation. Therefore, the executive authorities must deter “brokers” and impose the maximum punishment on them.
Addressing this phenomenon also requires the concerted efforts of a group of agencies, most notably the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Education, in addition to giving more importance to building an integrated social protection system within public budgets and distributing spending allocations, as there is a shortage in the numbers of childhood counselors and labor inspectors. In addition to the weakness of the supporting infrastructure to shelter children and provide them with protection and rehabilitation
Source: Maan News Agency