LOST
CHILDHOOD
‘ I want to go to school but we don ’ t have any money ’
By KARIN RONNOW
B rothers Dawood and Alidad squatted next to an engine on the ground outside the mechanic ’ s shop . Like mechanics everywhere , their hands , all the way to the tips of their short fingernails , were coated with dirt and oil . The smudges on their faces revealed where they had reached up to swat a fly or scratch an itch . Their brown work clothes – pants , a jacket or sweatshirt , and brown watchcaps – were so encrusted with oil and grease they looked like they ’ d stand up by themselves .
“ Three or four years they ’ ve been working here ,” said Bashir , the mechanic who owns the shop in the local bazaar . “ They came here to work . We are good at our work . Any problem we can fix . So they are learning .”
The boys were 11 and 9 years old when they dropped out of school in Surkh Darah , a small mountain village southwest of here . They now live with relatives in this town on the Afghan-Tajik border and work full time to help support their impoverished family .
“ Our father comes regularly , takes money and goes back to home ,” Dawood , 15 , said shyly . “ My family is poor .”
As he spoke , 13-year-old Alidad listened quietly and shook his head when asked if he wanted to say anything .
The brothers worked side by side with
Khaliq Nazar , 15 . Although he , too , has to work to help support his family , he has remained in school , attending classes at the boys ’ high school in the morning before coming to work .
As the three boys squatted next to the engine , a few adult men who also work at the shop — some of whom also became mechanics when they were young boys — stood behind them , instructing the boys at every turn of the wrench .
An estimated 30 percent of Afghan children are forced to work everyday to help support their families . Some are orphans , or their families ’ breadwinners were killed or disabled during the past 35 years of war . Others reflect the economic reality : In a country where roughly 70 percent of the population is illiterate and the average person earns only $ 570 a year , according to UNICEF , there is an unspoken expectation that children will pitch in to help feed their families .
Child labor is a reality everywhere Central Asia Institute ( CAI ) works . Pakistan and Afghanistan are among the top 10 countries in the world where children are at extreme risk of hazardous labor , according to Maplecroft , a UK risk-analysis think tank . Tajik children are also at high risk .
Brothers Dawood , far right , and Alidad , second from right , stand with another boy and a young man at the mechanic shop where they work in Ishkashim , Afghanistan . The two dropped out of school in order to work and help support their impoverished family .
In all three countries it is not unusual to see young children working long hours for “ small money ” in shops or factories , on farms , and in rudimentary mining operations . Decreasing security , increasing conflict , and the global economic meltdown — which results in decreased donor money for education — have all made it worse , according to Maplecroft .
“ These children often work on the streets and in small car-service workshops at very
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