The boys roved by themselves and in small packs up and down Hamra Street in Beirut, shoeshining equipment in one hand and attracting the attention of passers-by with the other. Ahmed Hamsa, 15, from Daraa, Syria, is the unofficial ringleader of a group of about 20 boys on the streets of Beirut. They come and go all day long, nearly all from Daraa. Some shy away from the cameras while others, like Ahmed, speak boldly. All refuse that I meet their families. “They wouldn’t like it,” Ahmed said, while pointing to another boy. “His father would beat him if he knew.”
These are some of the shoeshiners of Beirut, transported from the neighboring country embroiled in a civil war. They are among the estimated 180,000 child laborers in Lebanon, according to the Ministry of Labor. UNICEF communication specialist Miriam Azar said that number is higher. “[That number] is an estimate … basically we’re talking about hundreds of thousands,” Azar said.
