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A boy pulls a cart loaded with goods in al-Rasafi Square in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- On a hot summer day in downtown Baghdad when the temperature reached 45 degrees Celsius, Ahmed Saad, 10, stood on the sidewalk of the al-Rasheed Street, selling bottled water and small bags of ice cubes to passers-by and nearby shop-owners.

Saad wakes up every morning in the poor al-Fadhil neighborhood in the Iraqi capital to work to earn money for his family.

It is not uncommon to see underage girls and boys, such as Saad, selling goods in Baghdad's crowded streets and markets, pushing carts to deliver goods, or unloading the trucks.

This is just part of the rising child labor problem in the war-torn Iraq, where the number of children forced to work is increasing due to the decline in Iraqi families' incomes caused by the political chaos and economic woes.

"We are a five-member family and live in a room rented in an old house. I have to help my father, who is a daily wage worker. I gain, sometimes 5,000 Iraqi dinars (about four U.S. dollars)," Saad told Xinhua.

"I left school in the 3rd grade and went to work to help my father because his income is not enough for the family," he said sadly.

Muthanna Ibrahim, 12, usually works in the nearby al-Shorja market in central Baghdad, pushing carts to deliver goods unloaded from trucks parked on the al-Rasafi Square to the wholesale stores.

He has been working to help his mother to support the six-member family, including four younger brothers, since his father died of cancer two years ago.

"The work here is hard, but what should I do? I have to help my mother, who bakes bread from morning to evening, to feed my younger brothers and help them complete their studies," Ibrahim told Xinhua.

Many Iraqi families choose one of their sons, usually the eldest son like Ibrahim, to quit school to work so that his younger brothers could complete school studies for a better future.

Mohammed al-Qaragholi, a retired engineer, told Xinhua that child labor is rejected because it deprives the children of education and increases their risk of exposure to dangers, including exploitation by drug and terrorist gangs.

"The reason for child labor is that our country has witnessed wars, displacement, and sectarianism. All these problems have become a pressure factor on families. The government must help these people and put them on the right path," al-Qaragholi explained.

He warned that working children face many risks, including the spread of drugs, urging the government to focus on scaling up social protection and increasing investments in public services such as education, health and child protection.

Ali al-Obaidi, a lawyer, told Xinhua that the Iraqi labor law sets a minimum working age of 15, and prohibits children from dropping out of school and engaging in activities that degrade their dignity.

"The government must pay very, very much attention to this issue (child labor) because the building of the nation depends on building the next generation. If one (of these children) is in the street, he will be subject to harassment and vulnerable to being exploited in terrorist operations," al-Obaidi said.

He slammed the lack of public awareness and the government's tolerance for the rise in child labor in Iraq, which has never restored normal life since the U.S. invasion in 2003 that opened the Pandora's box of chaos, violence, and sufferings for the Iraqi people.

In June, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Iraq said in a statement that "children make up the majority of 4.5 million Iraqis who are at risk of poverty due to the impact of conflict and COVID-19, with one in two children (48.8 percent) facing a high risk of multiple deprivations in education, health, living conditions, and financial security."

"Child labor has been on the rise in Iraq in recent years due to armed conflict, displacement, socio-economic challenges, and the pandemic; children were moved to remote learning, increasing the risk of dropping out of school and entering the workforce," the statement said.

It warned that depriving children of their childhood and education would expose them to the risks of serious hazards, illness and exploitations.

A boy loads goods on a cart at al-Rasafi Square in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

A boy pushes a cart loaded with goods at al-Rasafi Square in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

A boy sells pieces of ice at a market in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

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Feature: Child labor in Iraq on rise after years of war, instability - Xinhua

Jamel Herring is most known for his boxing success as the World Boxing Organization junior lightweight champion from 2019 to 2021 with a record of 23-4. He is a 2012 US Olympian competitor, the only Marine to compete in the 2012 games and the last active-duty Marine to qualify for the US Boxing team since 1992. Herring deployed twice, once with the 2nd Marine Division and once with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group. His first deployment was in 2005 to Fallujah, Iraq and again went to Iraq in 2007. His deployment experiences consisted of a lot of convoys and security details during his tours, and he served as a gunner on convoys during his 2007 deployment.

Can you share with us about your life growing up?

I grew up in Long Island, Gordon Heights, and was always out and doing sports. Im still close today with one of my friends from childhood who is an Army veteran. One of my influences from growing up was Stephen Brown (pronounced Stefan) and he was a Marine. He encouraged me to join the Corps and I already loved sports, so it made sense. He died in 2004 from lung cancer while still in the Corps and I named my oldest son after Stephen. Stephen was a year older, and he came back from boot camp in the Corps. Im now a world champion boxer and U.S. Olympian and the only U.S. Marine to represent the Corps in the 2012 Olympics. The deployments made me appreciate the simple things in life. I came back and was happy to see grass and a good lawn, even proper plumbing. Now, even today I dont ask for much. Ive been to places where people dont have much but then are grateful for what they do have. My deployment experience gave me a better aspect of how I look at things in my own life. Ive seen people with little, but they are happy. Theres always somebody out there that wishes they were in your place. So, I was never the type of person who needed to have more. In reality, I have more than enough. I could be out chasing what I could have, or I could be happy for quality time with my friends and family.

Do you have a spirituality?

I lost a daughter in 2009 due to SIDS. It took a lot of faith for me not to break. I took that negative and turned it into a positive. I look at my daughter as a Guardian Angel and I look at every decision based on character. I ask myself, If I do this, how would my daughter view me and keep her in mind when I do things more impactful for othersI go off of thathaving my faith intact kept me on the right path.

What got you into Boxing?

A good friend of mine named Ashanti Henderson introduced me to boxingI grew up watching it with my parents and friends but didnt ever see myself doing it, especially when you come from watching the Rocky movies, I didnt want anything to do with boxing. Growing up I wanted to stay out of the streets and would go from school to gym and then from home to bed. I didnt have time to mingle and get in trouble. Thats the main reason why I picked up boxing and to stay busy. Over time I fell in love with the sport, took it more seriously, and then started studying it a lot more to get where Im at now. Another influence was a fellow veteran (Army), Lindberg Freeman. We started boxing together around the same time and motivated each other.

Are there certain key traits and memories from the Corps?

When Im in the boxing ring and am having a rough fight and go back to the corner, I always think about what Ive been through just to get to this point. I always go back to a place in Iraq and have seen roadside bombings and had RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) flying directly towards me and stuff of that nature. Basically, it could be worse, and I have been through worse. More importantly, I know for a fact that there are Marines out there that look up to me and would love to be in my place. Its more of a sense of, theres no room for me to complain about the situation that Im in. Ive overcome so much, and Ive been through worse and there are people who would love to trade places with me. I always think about those tough times in the Corps and think about everything Ive learned from the beginning in basic training. Because a lot of people dont know I spent my 18th birthday in basic training. I was still a kid when I went to boot campstraight out of high school and right in the fire. I had to mature and grow quickly. Most of my adulthood so far took place as a United States Marine. Its all I knew as a Marine growing up, so a lot of those Marine Corps traits stick with me.

Are there a top two or three of those traits that come to mind?

Ill share a story that opens my eyes to this life and how serious it can be. In 2007, I was expecting my oldest son, who was named after Stephen. His mother was pregnant with him, and I happened to be deployed at that time. Ill never forget this EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Sergeant giving us a class on what to look out for, like roadside bombs. Ill never forget he had a 2-week-old son, and a few of the Marines I was in class with out there in Iraq were fooling around and not taking him seriously. Rightfully so this Sergeant lost it and went off and he told us, Hey Im a father trying to get home to my newborn son and you guys are out here playing around. Im giving you my time so that you all go home safely.

The guys wisened up and stopped fooling around, but a week later that same sergeant lost his life to a roadside bomb. I always think, this is really serious. This is really real life here. This was a man who was a good man and had a 2-week-old son. He has a son now that will never meet him. All his son will hear are his stories. I didnt want to be that guy. I didnt want to be the Marine who falls victim to the war. I actually matured a lot more because of that real-life scenario and grew up a lot faster. That always sticks with me. I always share that story when other people take things for granted. There are people out there who really will put everything on the line for you to get to the next level. Its my duty to give back.

About a year agoI went down to Camp Hope (PTSD healing center/foundation) to speak with Marines and veterans in general about their personal issues and what they have dealt with. I may be the champion of the world but at the same time, Im a fellow brother to you guys as well and am still human. I go through the same hardships at times that we all do. Once I felt like we all connected, it just got a lot easier to communicate with these individuals.

Another trait I learned from the Corps is leadership. A great prime example: As a leader you have to learn how to deal with all types of personalities and people from all over. On the 2012 Olympic team, they voted me in as the team captain because of my military background. I took the honor very seriously. Ill never forget, as a Marine, you can easily talk to Marines in a stern way and with civilians, you have to take a different approach. I can talk to this individual strictly and sternly, but for another individual, I might have to have a lighter tone and open up more not only to them but to patiently get them to open up as well.

At the end of the day, as long as I got the same results down the road, I was happy with that. That is when leadership really came in. True story, these individuals, these Olympianswe actually still speak today because of having a great relationship and knowing how to be a good leader and to be more understanding of others.

I owe that due to the Marine Corpswhen I went to the Marine Corps, I was a kid and was in no position to lead. As time went on, I really grew into that leader that was expected of me and I have nothing but the Marine Corps to thank for that.

In what ways did the Corps prepare you as a boxer and in the community?

Boxing is 80% mental, and 20% physical. The Corps strengthens you more mentally and even in basic training, your drill instructor will always tell you its to break you down and to build you up stronger. I truly understand the meaning of that even in the boxing world, even just in life in general. The Corps actually makes life easier for me to speak in life openly. When I went to Camp Hope, I respect every one of those men and women out there who open up about their traumas and past experiences in their lives, making it a lot easier for me to do the same. I instantly, as soon as I walk into the room, find something that can be picked out and connect with them. We will all be laughing and joking as if we knew each other for years. That just comes from great qualities and speaking skills thanks to the Marine Corps.

Is there anything you are doing for community service?

Ive traveled out of the country and have gone from defending a world title and winning on Saturday to being, sore and bruised up on Sunday to getting on a plane just to go see fellow veterans around the world. Giving them a few days of my time. I have been really sore and in pain, but I felt there is a greater need out there and the greater good for me to do. I got on a plane, went out there for a few days and had a blast. I can honestly say that is probably a moment that I wont forget, and they wont forget as well.

What are your next goals and plans?

Its many times day by day, but I want to continue laying down a foundation to where I can help others. Honestly, even though Ive been through tragedies, Ive lost my best friend and I lost a daughter, yet I still look at the great things I have in life. My next thing is to better themselves in their life and to continue going out there and speaking out. I also lost good friends I served with because they didnt have someone to talk to or they couldnt get the help that they needed. I dont want to see that on my watch. Im going to continue to speak to others, help others and be the best individual I can be in life. Taking my free time to go out there and share my love with others as well.to give back.

If it wasnt for the Marine Corps I probably wouldnt be in the position where Im at. People thought I was a good boxer, but, the mental aspects of the Marine Corps are what made me into a better boxer and a better fighter, not only inside the ring but out of it. Thats why I give so much love and respect back to the Marine Corps. Whenever they called me to come back and visit, hey Im there. Give me the date and time and Ill fly myself out there. I already had Marines ask me a few weeks ago to come to the Marine Corps ball. Give me the details and Ill be there in my dress blues. I can still fit in them. I just need a haircut and a proper shave and Im fine.

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How faith, family and focus took this Marine through Iraq and to the Olympics - We Are The Mighty

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the fourth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Iraq (S/2022/46), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

To the armed conflict in Iraq, in particular the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also referred to as Daesh, while it also concerns all other parties mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General, including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF):

To Daesh

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the abhorrent violations and abuses and extreme violence committed against children, including children belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, by Daesh, including their killing and maiming, abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence, noting that such violations and abuses may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity; and furthermore reaffirming that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever and by whomsoever committed

Strongly urging Daesh to immediately:

Cease all attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, including those resulting in the killing and maiming of children, and comply fully with international humanitarian law by, inter alia, putting an end to any targeting of the civilian population, especially children, as well as to disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks in populated areas, including through terror tactics, attacks by suicide bombers or any other forms of extreme violence or the indiscriminate use of weapons, in particular improvised explosive devices, and any use of weapons prohibited by international law;

End and prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, including through abduction, end the military training of children and release without preconditions all children who remain under their control;

Cease the rape of and other forms of sexual violence against children, such as child, early and forced marriage, sexual slavery and human trafficking for sexual exploitation, including against children belonging to ethnic and religious minorities;

Cease the abduction of children and all violations and abuses committed against abducted children, notably girls who face higher rates of abductions in Iraq, and release without preconditions all abducted children, and allow for swift family reunification in the best interests of the child or provide information as to their fate if no longer alive;

To community and religious leaders:

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Public Statement by Chair of Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (2 September 2022) - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Support and advice for Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is being offered by a Nuneaton charity. Operation Freespeech has been launched by the Veterans Contact Point,which has its HQ in Nuneaton with satellite centres in Atherstone, Dordon and soon in Warwick.

Its aim is to provide a safe, non-judgemental environment where veterans can talk freely of their experiences both within these arenas and the problems they face in civilian life. The project is being delivered by a veteran who has seen active service in both Iraq and Afghanistan and believes in the help this project will bring, working in conjunction with the VCP and its partners.

"Sometimes having the support of those that care and understand you can make the world of difference" said a spokesman.

Operation Freespeech will offer non-clinical, one-to-one meetings, online video calls and group activities. It is being funded by the Office of Veterans Affairs administered through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund.

Those who would like more detail about the project should either go along to the Veterans Contact Point, which is based in the Horsa Building off Bentley Road , call 024 7634 3793 or via email at contactus@veteranscontactpoint.co.uk

READ NEXT

See more here:
Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans urged to join new local project - Coventry Live

In the spring of 1989, a 21-year-old Iraqi university student named Ali came home and made a shocking discovery: On the living-room table of his familys home was a copy of The Satanic Verses. A friend of Alis father had smuggled Salman Rushdies controversial book from London, removing its distinctive blue cover and hiding it in his luggage. This was like finding a bomb.

Ali, a shy and curious young man with a passion for reading, was thrilled to be holding such a forbidden object. Ayatollah Khomeini had recently issued his notorious fatwa condemning Rushdie to death, and protests by Muslims were erupting around the world against what they claimed was an intolerable insult to their faith. Crowds gathered in public squares to burn the book; bookstores were being firebombed. Alis father, a relatively liberal man, had taken a risk just by letting a copy enter his home.

Ali, who left Iraq more than a decade ago, told me recently that he could still remember the intense excitement he felt on first touching the pages. But The Satanic Verses was no easy novel. Ali had studied English for years, but Rushdies language was sophisticated and inventive, so much so that reading it required great mental effort and frequent recourse to the Oxford English Dictionary, which he kept beside him. He took notes as he went, partly out of habit and partly because his fathers friend wanted the book back in a week. When he finished it, he was exhausted.

What Ali remembers most is a feeling of admiration for the depth of Rushdies knowledge and the richness of his imagination. Rushdie had used religious names and narratives like scraps of cloth and woven them together, past and present, into a bizarre, multicolored garment. It was clear enough that Rushdie was deliberately provoking Islamic sensibilities with his overlapping of sacred and profane. But Alia practicing Muslim at the timewas not offended. It seemed to him that Rushdies intention was not to spit in the face of believers but to create stories that teased and fused the cultural narratives of East and West. The books broader message, as far as he could understand it, seemed true to Ali: that good and bad mingle. They fight each other at times, but they cant always be easily separated.

Read: Salman Rushdie and the cult of offense

Ali may have been exactly the kind of reader Rushdie most hoped for, someone who would be simultaneously challenged and inspired by his fictions. Sadly, The Satanic Verses had something like the opposite effect for much of the world, a hardening of perspectives. The outcry set a pattern that has been repeated with depressing regularity in the decades since, a kind of passion play that entrenches resentments on every side. Some sacrilegious image or comment or artwork made in Copenhagen or London is discovered and then rebroadcast in Cairo or Tehran. Threats are issued, protests ensue, people die.

It is tempting to see these outbreaks as an unavoidable feature of globalizationa measure of the gap between a secularized society, where the idea of blasphemy is a joke, and a more traditional one, where it remains a powerful taboo enshrined in law. But the conflicts are often amplified by some opportunistic cleric or politician looking for excuses to stir up anger and throw red meat to hisit is always menpolitical or religious base. These demagogues are enabled, to some extent, by the relative absence of wide-ranging readers like my friend Ali in the Middle East. Go into a library or bookstore in that part of the world, and you will see just how limited the offerings are.

They may not know it, but the people of the Middle East are surrounded by homegrown provocateurs more dangerous than Rushdie. During the years I lived in Baghdad, a book began making the rounds among the countrys shrunken elite: The Personality of Muhammad or the Elucidation of the Holy Enigma, by the Iraqi scholar and poet Maruf al Rusafi. The book presents a demythologized reading of Muhammads life and work, arguing that he was a great political and military leader, but nothing more. Rusafis book was written in the early 20th century. If it were published today, the author would likely need an army of bodyguards.

There are many other examples. The medieval Persian poet Abu Nuwas wrote poems about wine drinking and sex with both men and women; he often invokes Quranic imagery in an ironic way that would seem scandalous today. But no one has issued any fatwas against these writers. A bronze statue of Rusafi has stood unmolested by a bridge in Baghdad for decades, outlasting several wars and invasions. As for Abu Nuwas, he is revered (though not much read) to this day in Iraq. One of Baghdads most beloved and beautiful streets, along the Tigris river, is named for him. When Abu Nuwas died in the year 814, the reigning caliph declared Gods curse on anyone who has insulted him.

Read: All because Salman Rushdie wrote a book

Soon after I met Ali, one of the deadliest of the blasphemy crises broke out, its trigger a set of cartoons published in Denmark in 2005 that depicted the Prophet Muhammad. We were working in the Baghdad bureau of The New York Times, I as a reporter, and he as a news editor. Ali is an instinctively gentle, kind manit is one of the first things you notice about himand he was horrified by the violence of the protests. But he was also upset by the way the controversy was being framed in the Western press. He felt that there was an absolutism about free speech that worsened the problem. I remember him asking me if it wouldnt be possible to carve out some kind of religious exception to free speech, to avoid conflicts like this one.

I got the sense that Ali was groping for a balance between his own Muslim upbringing and the more secular perspectives hed been exposed to as an adult. It wasnt easy. The years after the Rushdie fatwa had brought a series of wars and disasters that sharpened the sense of a collision between East and West: the Gulf War of 199091, the rise of al-Qaeda, the September 11 attacks, the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In the years after our conversation about the Danish cartoons, Iraq descended into civil war. Ali reluctantly joined the wave of refugees fleeing the country. He was luckier than most; with his superb education and wide network of friends, he reached the United States and got a job teaching at one of the countrys best universities. He was not oblivious to the irony that the collapse of his country had given him a better lifein many respectsthan he could have led in Iraq.

Ali remained an admirer of Salman Rushdie. About a decade ago, he went to a public reading, and was disappointed to find that the novelist would appear only by video link because of the ongoing danger to his life. During the isolation that came with the pandemic in 2020, Ali told me, he paid for a subscription to an online writing course that featured Rushdie. I watched him for hours, he said.

Over the years, Alis perspective on freedom of speech changed. He came to feel that words can only be fought with words, as he told me. He resented the arrogance of religious figures from any culture who value their sensibilities more than human lives. He also felt embarrassed at the way Arab and Islamic publishers censor and bowdlerize their own literary tradition. He told me how he had bought a copy of One Thousand and One Nights, the great medieval folktale collection, during a trip to Mosul with his aunt when he was 9 years old. He didnt understand the sexual references in the stories, and when he asked his parents, they just smiled and told him to keep reading. Today, Ali said, it would probably be hard to find such an uncensored version in an Arab bookstore. Many contemporary authors who write on sensitive subjects see their books banned.

In a sense, the attempt on Rushdies life marked a bookend for Ali. He had first been challenged to think beyond the Islamic orthodoxy of his childhood by reading The Satanic Verses. Now, reading the Arab medias coverage of the attack, he was sickened and enraged to see some people praising the would-be killer and calling him a hero. The entire 33-year campaign against Rushdie, he felt, was motivated not by genuine religious feeling but by cynical political agendas and sectarian grievances. He had become a full-fledged believer in freedom of speech, and a defender of Rushdie and others like him.

But as Alis views shifted, he found himself noticing a curious irony: Many of the people around him in the West were moving in the opposite direction. At the university where he now teaches, strenuous efforts are being made to respect students beliefs and sensitivities, to avoid offense. Speakers who might upset students are less likely to be invited. The goals are progressive, but the methods feel reminiscent to him of theocrats from the world he thought he had left behind.

It is strange, Ali told me. Nowadays, if you want to criticize Jesus, thats okay. But if you criticize Muhammad, wellthis might be a problem. Because people will say youre offending the Muslims.

So they will. The same demands for respect will come from other believers, sacred or secular. Rushdies own insistence on the right to blaspheme has always been ecumenical. If youre offended, he once said, its your problem.

See the article here:
Reading Rushdie in Iraq - The Atlantic