Unfortunately, the phenomenon of Infant abandonment in Syria is no longer strange to any Syrian. It is a dangerous phenomenon that represents the clearest, most painful, and cruel remnants of war and ignorance.
According to an article in Al-Watan newspaper on May 12, 2022: “The General Director of the General Authority for Forensic Medicine, Dr. Zaher Hajjo, revealed that 38 foundlings have been documented since the beginning of this year until the date of preparing the news, including 17 female and 21 male.” [1]
This phenomenon is a clear reflection of the catastrophic conditions experienced by the Syrian people, which include economic conditions and moral tragedies as a result of the ugliness and violence of the war that the people have lived through for a long time.
In addition to the difficulty of a simple routine life, which is loaded with the constant burden of waiting for the most basic necessities of life. And the psychological effects resulting from this, and always expecting the worst, the situation is in a permanent decline.
There are several reasons that create this severe phenomenon:
As the war in Syria enters its eleventh year, families across the country are facing unprecedented levels of poverty and food insecurity. More Syrians today than ever are struggling to put food on their tables.
Large-scale hostilities and mass displacement across the northern governorates, along with a severe economic downturn, suggest that the overall food security situation is deteriorating across the country, and families need support to meet their needs and rebuild their lives.
The World Food Program estimates that 12.4 million Syrians are currently food insecure. This is an increase of 4.5 million in the last year alone and the highest number ever recorded.
The ongoing Syrian war has depleted community assets, wiped out livelihoods, and weakened the resilience of the family and society. [2]
Despite the bad economic conditions and the permanent deterioration, the prevailing social patterns are the main cause of child abuse.
Constant social pressure from society regarding the imperative of marriage and childbearing is the biggest cause of phenomena such as child throwing, domestic violence, and child labor. Because the reasons that cause individuals to have children are not based on personal convictions.
Moreover, many parents may be psychologically unfit to take responsibility for their children.
In addition to many of the prevailing ideas that encourage procreation without recognizing the economic reality experienced by the family, such as the popular saying: “when a child comes, his livelihood would come with him”. Unfortunately, many believe that and cause a permanent decline in the living situation of many families.
In many Syrian regions, the culture of birth control is still weak due to ignorance and insufficient awareness of how and the importance of using contraceptive methods.
Many members of society still do not differentiate between the criminal and the victim in rape crimes, and they always punish the weaker party, which is the woman. Therefore, instead of the victim seeking to expose the criminal and obtain her right, she is satisfied with silence for fear of the rulings of society and in many cases out of fear for her life from those close to her, especially in the event of pregnancy. Either she resorts to illegal abortions, which puts her life at risk, or she waits for the baby to come and gets rid of him by cruel methods if she is not killed by those close to her.
Illicit relationships are usually characterized by evasion of responsibility without realizing the disastrous effects of abandoning children.
Article 484 of the Penal Code stipulates that whoever puts up or abets a child under the age of seven, or any other person who is unable to protect himself due to a physical or psychological condition, shall be punished by imprisonment from 3 months to a year. If the child or the incapacitated person was thrown away or left in a desolate place, the punishment will be from one to three years.
Article 487 of the Penal Code: “A father or mother who leaves their legal, illegitimate or adopted child, whether they refuse to implement the maintenance obligation that falls on them or neglect to obtain the means that enable them to fulfill it, shall be punished with imprisonment for three months at most and a fine not exceeding one hundred Syrian Pounds.” [3]
Syrian law defines the unknown parentage as “every child whose parentage is not proven or whose father is not known, in addition to children who have no breadwinner, and who cannot be asked about their relatives because of their young age; and children born from an illegal relationship, even if their mother is known.”
The Syrian law for people of unknown parentage was enacted in 1970, and has not undergone any fundamental amendment since that time, except for the issuance of some decrees, such as changing the word “foundling” to “unknown parentage.” In 2018, a new draft law for persons of unknown parentage was presented in the People’s Assembly for discussion. Although it is not new in its content and is only formulated according to the new legislative language, it has not been approved.
There is only one government care home for people of unknown parentage, and it is located in Damascus. In the city of Aleppo, the “Childhood Guaranteeing Association”, commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, was recently allowed to establish a home for them that has the same powers as the governmental care home, and the same laws are applied to it under the supervision of the Ministry. As for the children found in the rest of the governorates, they are referred to as Damascus.
According to the law, whoever finds a child must immediately inform the police or the mayor, in order to organize the necessary report, and hand him over to one of the institutions or persons approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. [4]
Unfortunately, regardless of the suffering that these children may suffer in care homes, and the constant feeling that they are not desired by their parents, it is a society that plays the biggest role in abusing them instead of sympathizing with them as victims without guilt. Society reinforces the sense of rejection they feel by ostracizing them in many situations, especially with regard to marriage and establishing a family, and what they may need most is a sense of belonging and warmth.
Unfortunately, no real action was taken on the ground to reduce this phenomenon, and it was not considered a phenomenon in the first place. A member of the Executive Office of the Health, Social Affairs and Civil Defence Sector in Damascus Governorate, Basil Mihoub, told the local “Sham FM” radio: “The graph related to the presence of children left in the street does not indicate an increase, and within a period of one to two months, the situation turned to be points. He pointed out that “increasing means the transformation of the situation from a behaviour to a phenomenon, in addition to the finding of 4-5 cases per day.” [5]
We hope that this phenomenon will be taken into consideration and its catastrophic effects on the structure of society and that its causes that may lead to other problems will be addressed.
In our initiative, we seek to change the wrong prevailing ideas in society, and we try to spread awareness of the importance of equality between men and women and bring about positive change by discussing topics of interest to society. Real change results from the gradual change of ideas.
Also read: Role of Education in Peacebuilding.
♀ (Uplifting Syrian Women) is an initiative that seeks to build sustainable peace in Syria by focusing on and assisting women by providing free online courses, workshops, discussions and trainings; With the aim of achieving the goals of gender equality, quality education and improving the economic situation, which are in the interest of society in general and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.
References
[1] Alwatan
[2] WFP
[4] Assafir Alarabi
[5] Al7al