IDLIB, Syria — The war and displacement generated dangerous social phenomena in northern Syria, including panhandling and picking through garbage, as most people suffer from poverty, while other families have lost their main providers. Numerous child beggars are seen in the streets and denied access to education and basic care, whether they live in the displaced camps or the cities and towns of northern Syria. Scores of women are seen lining the streets begging passengers and shop owners for money, which point to a wide-scale phenomenon that has turned into a profession in itself for some. 

Fatima, 10, who fled along with her family from the town of Maaret al-Numan to Idlib city, is begging for money in the streets, although a splinter had previously hit her leg. “The high prices are forcing us to beg for money in the streets all day long so we can buy bread,” she said. “I need to make money to eat. My father died two years ago and there is no provider for the family."

Fatima said that her classmates mocked her tattered clothing, which stopped her from going to school.

Speaking to Al-Monitor on the reasons behind the spread of begging, Ismail Meshaal, a community health worker for Syria Relief and Development, told Al-Monitor, “The begging phenomenon worsened after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution [in 2011], given that most Syrians in the northern parts of the country suffer from harsh economic conditions, especially the displaced who abandoned their houses and sources of livelihood. Also many families lost their providers to the yearslong war and the education was halted in some parts [of the country] leading to the exploitation of children in begging.”