Abstract:

The civil war in Syria and mandatory migration displaced many people and caused mass migration flows. The Syrian refugees, whose daily life practices changed as a result of migration experience, changed their strategies of survival, as well. One of these strategies is the inclusion of children in the working life. As a human rights problem first and foremost, the child labor means the exploitation and abuse of bodies in childhood and their labor. The Syrian children have to work owing to the reasons such as economic insufficiencies, supporting the family, lack of parents/illnesses of parents or parents’ struggle to find a job, not being able to go to school etc. Consequently, the working conditions of Syrian children, who try to hold onto life in a new place after the mandatory migration, should be examined. Within the scope of this study, a survey form was conducted among 308 Syrian children in city centrum of Elazığ. The main themes of this study include the works done by working children, their working hours, salaries paid, their willingness to work, their dilemmas between school and workings. In this respect, the labor of Syrian children is significant in terms of presenting the problematic aspects of the topic and depth of it. 

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