A plastic art exhibition sheds light on impact of children’s work in their childhood

The National Museum in Damascus exhibited more than 50 oil paintings that differed in their art schools and agreed on their theme, which is the impact of the phenomenon of children’s work on their childhood and dreams.

The exhibition, in which 30 male and female artists participated, came as a conclusion to the event (Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, Art and Media), which was launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the International Labor Organizations and (UNICEF) last week on the occasion of the World Day for Combating Child Labor.

Plastic artist Adnan Qassem said that he participated in six paintings in which he expressed through the realistic school the reality of these children and touched their sorrows imposed by the bad economic reality of their families and the conditions of war that increased their suffering.

The artist Nour Arar and the two artists Reem Al-Adawi and Rana Taha presented various visual messages through various paintings from the two schools of impressionism and abstraction. The paintings showed, through the contrast of colors, images of the reality of children who were forced by circumstances to work and who were deprived of their rights and the image they should be in. The artists emphasized the role of plastic art alongside the media outlets in conveying the reality of these children and simulating the concerns of society.

In a press statement, the Assistant Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Dr. Wael Badin, considered that the event in general and the exhibition in particular are a form of art’s contribution to serving interests of community issues. The paintings express a deep understanding of the phenomenon of child labor and play pivotal role in opening windows of hope to combat it through joint efforts to create a better future for them.

The Assistant Minister  pointed out that two years ago, the ministry launched the national plan to combat the worst forms of child labor in coordination with a number of concerned authorities, in addition to a cooperation program with the International Labor Organization with the aim of identifying the reality of the phenomenon of child labor and working to return them to their normal conditions. He noted that the Child Rights draft law which is under discussion by the People’s Assembly will be a broad umbrella for the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

The International Day for Combating Child Labor on June 12, focuses on paying attention to the causes and factors of the spread of child labor in the world and working to exert the necessary efforts to eliminate the phenomenon by 2030.

Inas Abdulkareem