BAGHDAD -- Iraq's children have suffered more than just successive wars and economic sanctions. The loss of parents and family resources has boosted child labor, homelessness and inclinations toward violence and rebellion.
They often now live in homes where 25 people share a space of 40 sq. meters. Even intact families may comprise parents and five children occupying a solitary six-meter room.
The increase in child labor reflects families' dire economic situation: Children are frequently a family's only breadwinners, and they work cheap. Contractors in municipal services, for example, prefer to use children in order to cut costs. Here, a child may be used for agricultural labor or for janitorial work. Many work in piles of garbage, either removing them to another place or collecting empty bottles and cans to sell.