There are approximately 800 working children in the Irbid governorate, according to the Family and Children Protection Association (FCPA), a child-protection association in Irbid.

"Eight hundred children work in collecting scraps and waste from streets, landfills and containers,” the FCPA stated.

The head of the association, Kathim Alkafiri, said that in the last two years the number of children working in scrap and waste collection has increased. 

"Collecting scrap does not require particular skills and can be found in a variety of places, but it does take a long time, since children search and gather scrap for long periods of time. Merchants often take advantage of these children and exploit them,” Kafiri told The Jordan Times on Monday.

Children experience great fatigue while collecting scrap because they work under the hot sun in summer and heavy rain in winter, Kafiri continued.

He pointed out that these children often collect scrap for more than eight hours a day, which they then sell to shops at very low prices. 

Many children roam the streets of Irbid with small carts of scrap and other materials they hope to sell, while others work for a minimal wage of JD2 in scrap-collecting trucks, he said.

According to Kafiri, this work offers children a source of income, as their families are unable to provide the necessities due to the economic crisis.

He also noted how the pandemic has contributed to the governorate’s high unemployment rates and the shift to distance learning, which has kept children at home and pushed many to look for job opportunities to help support their families.

"Many children are forced to work to help their families escape financial hardship caused by the current economic state,” Kafiri added.

Kafiri said that children do not usually follow proper health protection measures while working, which places them at risk for infection of not just the coronavirus, but also other dangerous diseases, such as Hepatitis.

Kafiri said that some scraps are extremely heavy for small children, which can expose them to later health problems and expensive treatments, a huge burden given their families often lack health insurance.

Syrian children make up a large number of the children workers due to the poor conditions their families live in and the recent suspension of relief from international organisations, according to Kafiri. 

Distance learning has also led to more child labour, as children have no obligations, especially those who were already skipping school in the first place, Kafiri said. 

Kafiri pointed out that education and returning to in-class education will help end child labour to an extent, in addition to empowering the entire family. "The family must be responsible as a whole. The whole family and all its members must be developed and job opportunities and training should be provided for those who are of age and able to work in the family,” he added.

He also noted that the government and social institutions should improve the education and school environment, as well as the neglected communities where high percentages of children work, "most of our studies show that children workers come from those neglected neighbourhoods. Therefore, we must improve the socio-economic environment and empower families,” Kafiri said