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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A nine-year-old boy in the city of Kirkuk was brutally beaten and burned by his uncle for not earning a sufficient amount of money on Friday, according to local sources. Police have issued an arrest warrant for the abuser, but have returned the child to the same house.
The victim Hamid, his eleven-year-old brother Abdulrahman, and their mother live with their uncle in Kirkuk’s Nida neighborhood. His father, Majeed, died of a stroke eight years ago. The family are originally from the north-western city of Mosul, but moved to Kirkuk four years ago.
Hamid told Rudaw on the phone that he was beaten with a hose and heated kebab skewers by his uncle on Friday, “because I did not collect enough money. He wanted more.”
“As per the medical report, his back was exposed to beating and his hand is broken. The report says that the beating happened today,” Fadhil Ahmed, officer at Kirkuk family police, told Rudaw late Friday.
A vendor in Domiz bazaar, where the nine-year-old works as a porter, carrying people’s goods with a wheelbarrow, told Rudaw that after the uncle beat the child, he “threw” him in the bazaar, leaving him there.
The vendor - who asked not to be named - added that he informed police of the incident, but says the forces have not paid sufficient attention to the case.
Hamid’s mother, who is physically disabled, has not filed a lawsuit against her brother. Police told Rudaw that this has compelled them to return Hamid to the same house. However, police have warned that if the harm continues, the child will not be returned to the house again.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the uncle whose whereabouts are unknown.
As per Iraqi law, “it is the responsibility of the family to educate their children and provide them with a good life,” Ghalib Jabouri, head of the family affairs section at Kirkuk police, told Rudaw.
Hamid’s grandmother denied claims that her son beat his nephew for failing to collect enough money, claiming instead that he was beaten after stealing goods at the bazaar.
“His uncle asks them not to steal. He does not want him to steal. We bought a wheelbarrow for him to work with it. He [uncle] does not want his nephew to steal,” she told Rudaw.
The vendor says that Hamid and his brother may have stolen goods from the shop to avoid being beaten by their uncle when they didn’t make enough, however has never seen them stealing.
Hamid’s brother, Abdulrahman, told Rudaw that he, too, has been physically abused by his uncle for not earning enough money.
“My father died of a stroke,” he said, adding his uncle “has beaten me twice, but my mother does not protest as she is disabled and always sits on a wheelchair.”
Prior to coronavirus reaching Iraq, UNICEF estimated that 7.3 % of children between the ages of 5 to 17 were engaged in numerous forms of child labour, including perilous and exploitive work. The agency warns that this figure may have increased since the pandemic’s ensuing financial crisis.
Refugee and internally displaced children are among the most vulnerable to child labour.
Additional reporting by Hiwa Husamadin and Brwa Kyani
The victim Hamid, his eleven-year-old brother Abdulrahman, and their mother live with their uncle in Kirkuk’s Nida neighborhood. His father, Majeed, died of a stroke eight years ago. The family are originally from the north-western city of Mosul, but moved to Kirkuk four years ago.
Hamid told Rudaw on the phone that he was beaten with a hose and heated kebab skewers by his uncle on Friday, “because I did not collect enough money. He wanted more.”
“As per the medical report, his back was exposed to beating and his hand is broken. The report says that the beating happened today,” Fadhil Ahmed, officer at Kirkuk family police, told Rudaw late Friday.
A vendor in Domiz bazaar, where the nine-year-old works as a porter, carrying people’s goods with a wheelbarrow, told Rudaw that after the uncle beat the child, he “threw” him in the bazaar, leaving him there.
The vendor - who asked not to be named - added that he informed police of the incident, but says the forces have not paid sufficient attention to the case.
Hamid’s mother, who is physically disabled, has not filed a lawsuit against her brother. Police told Rudaw that this has compelled them to return Hamid to the same house. However, police have warned that if the harm continues, the child will not be returned to the house again.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the uncle whose whereabouts are unknown.
As per Iraqi law, “it is the responsibility of the family to educate their children and provide them with a good life,” Ghalib Jabouri, head of the family affairs section at Kirkuk police, told Rudaw.
Hamid’s grandmother denied claims that her son beat his nephew for failing to collect enough money, claiming instead that he was beaten after stealing goods at the bazaar.
“His uncle asks them not to steal. He does not want him to steal. We bought a wheelbarrow for him to work with it. He [uncle] does not want his nephew to steal,” she told Rudaw.
The vendor says that Hamid and his brother may have stolen goods from the shop to avoid being beaten by their uncle when they didn’t make enough, however has never seen them stealing.
Hamid’s brother, Abdulrahman, told Rudaw that he, too, has been physically abused by his uncle for not earning enough money.
“My father died of a stroke,” he said, adding his uncle “has beaten me twice, but my mother does not protest as she is disabled and always sits on a wheelchair.”
Prior to coronavirus reaching Iraq, UNICEF estimated that 7.3 % of children between the ages of 5 to 17 were engaged in numerous forms of child labour, including perilous and exploitive work. The agency warns that this figure may have increased since the pandemic’s ensuing financial crisis.
Refugee and internally displaced children are among the most vulnerable to child labour.
Additional reporting by Hiwa Husamadin and Brwa Kyani
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