Tariq and Majid - Dangerous work

Tariq and Majid are brothers aged ten and eleven. Their father died in the violent aftermath of the Samarra mosque bombing in 2006.

With virtually no means of support and in the face of escalating violence their mother decided to relocate with them, to another city in southern Iraq where she had some relatives. Her relatives took them in, but made it clear that they would be unable to provide food, clothing or medicine.

Tariq and Majid had little choice but to find work on the streets, sometimes selling bananas and sometimes selling alcohol. But their mother fell sick and they did not have enough money for medicine. So Tariq took matters into his own hands. He knew of a scrap metal dealer in town who paid good money for cabling.

Tariq climbed a pylon not far from their home in order to detach the cables and sell them. He was electrocuted.

Tariq’s body hung on the pylon for two days. His relatives would not claim him just in case the police arrested one of them, which would spell disaster for their ability to provide for themselves. Living with the loss of his brother and with double the pressure to support himself and provide food and medicine for his mother, Majid found life on the streets very difficult.

Eventually, Majid was referred to one of the drop in centres that War Child has helped to rebuild and equip. These drop in centres are a place for children who work and live on the streets to go to. We help them to improve their prospects by offering training in literacy, vocational skills, computers and medical care. Many of the children go on to get jobs with local businesses where they are treated and paid fairly.

At the drop in centre he went to, the staff - also trained by War Child - worked through Majid’s situation with him and assisted him in developing a programme that would enable him to earn money in a safer way, and which also gave him time for education and training.

Majid now has numeracy and literacy lessons five mornings a week. During the afternoons, he works as an apprentice in a local mechanics workshop, a placement which is negotiated and monitored by the staff at the drop in centre.

The owner of the workshop has a structured training programme with Majid, feeds him, and pays him a basic allowance. Majid has earned enough to buy medicine for his mother and make sure that she has food every day. She is, apparently, making a good recovery and he is now off the streets. He has hope for his future and ideas about what he will do with his life. He prays that the security situation will improve so that he can make these dreams a reality. And he prays for his brother Tariq.