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For the
children who work in the slaughterhouses of
southwestern Sulaimaniyah's Animal Square, blood
stained clothing and unpleasant odours go with the
territory.
"When we go home we have to wash right away, because
we smell bad and no one can sit near us, especially
on buses," said 15-year-old Khalid Hassan.
He's one of the around 100 children aged nine to 17
who gather daily in the square, vying for jobs
draining blood from animals after their throats have
been cut.
The children are hired to blow into a second opening
made in the leg, forcing the blood out of the
animal's throat and causing it to blow up like a
balloon, giving the practice its name - puffing.
Butcher Ibrahim Sadiq said his customers consider
freshly killed meat to be more flavourful and that
50 animals are butchered at the square some days.
The children carry sharp knives with them as part of
their job, and sometimes fights break out over
payment or who gets the next animal.
Ali Ibraheem, who is in charge of the child
protection sector at Kurdistan Save the Children,
said the exposure to the daily killings on Animal
Square is harmful.
"Seeing the slaughtering of all these animals has a
bad effect and makes violence seem like it is
something normal for the children," he said.
Rizgar Ali, an inspection manager at the city's
health department, also worries about the effects of
the slaughterhouse work on the children's health.
"It causes asthma, hernias and sometimes the
children bleed under the whites of their eyes," he
said.
Karwan Ghedan, 16, suffered vomiting and severe
coughing when animal flies went down his throat. "I
have got flies in my throat four times, and it made
me very sick," he said.
The slaughterhouse bosses also often flout Iraqi
labour laws, which forbid children under 16 from
working.
Twelve-year-old Kocher Salih said he needs the 2,000
dinars (1.40 US
dollars) he can make each day to help support his
family. "I have learned how to slaughter animals,"
said Salih. "I hope I will be able to open a
butchery shop when I grow up."
Sabir Ismael, acting labour minister for
Sulaimaniyah, said the ministry is working to
resolve the problem and educate families about child
labour. He added that the government is also
providing financial aid to 55,000 poor or disabled
residents.
Despite the dangers and difficult conditions, it
remains money that draws the youthful slaughterhouse
workers back to the square. "With all this fatigue,
they don't give you enough money to keep you happy,"
said Barhem Fayaq, 15, as he headed off in search of
another job.
Barham Omer is an IWPR trainee in Iraq.
www.iwpr.net
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