A Frightening Increase in Cases of 'Children Dumping' in the Streets of Lebanon; Causes and Repercussions

Unusual phenomena that the Lebanese society is witnessing, affecting the family and threatening its entity, is likely to increase if the economic and social decline continues.

Press reports have reported that “the phenomenon of parents abandoning their newborn children has become widespread in recent times,” at a time when Lebanon is going through the worst economic, living and political crisis that has afflicted the country in decades.

The cases of child abandonment vary, between leaving him or her in front of a mosque, a church or a hospital, and between putting them in a garbage bag or inside a carton out of sight, according to eyewitnesses.

On September 03, 2021, Lebanese media reported that a newborn girl had been found in the Dhour Al-Miniyah area, next to Al-Farouq Mosque, after her crying filled the place, where she was starving.

On September 02, 2021, a five-year-old girl was found with fractures in both her legs and her pelvis, she was thrown on the side of a public road in the town of Al-Uqaiba, and she is in a deplorable condition.

On September 01, 2021, an infant in his first month was found, whose mother simply abandoned him and placed him on the staircase of the entrance to Al-Bahr Mosque in the city of Sidon.

On August 26, 2021, the people in Burj Hammoud area woke up to the news of finding an infant girl (no more than a few days old) near one of the garbage containers.

A few weeks before that date, a baby was found thrown in front of Salah El-Din Mosque in Al-Badawi area in the city of Tripoli.

Also, before that, a three-year-old boy was found lost on the side of the road in Arsal area, after his family abandoned him under the pretext of economic hardship.

 

Multiple Reasons

Observers believe that the phenomenon of parents abandoning their children is still in its infancy, and the numbers are expected to increase, with the worsening economic conditions and the cost of living that exceeded all expectations, parents are no longer able to secure the livelihood of their children.

This means that this is a dangerous indication of the state of despair that some Lebanese have reached in getting a better reality, until they decided to abandon their children.

According to social study, the most common reason for this phenomenon is the mother having a transient illegal relationship or being raped, what forces her to get rid of the child as soon as possible, because the revelation of her case means her death, whether at the hands of her family, or from her community, which will reject her, blaming her alone for the responsibility of pregnancy.

The study also adds that “recently, parents have abandoned their children for living reasons, since they are no longer able to take care of the child because of the economic hardship that all Lebanese are experiencing, and their inability to secure medical supplies, milk or diapers, what forces them to get rid of their children and leave them in front of a mosque, church or hospital.”

According to a survey conducted by UNICEF in Lebanon in July 2021, 77% of families in Lebanon do not have enough food or money to buy it. They do not receive social assistance from any party.

The World Bank described what is currently happening in Lebanon as one of the three largest economic collapses that have appeared globally since the mid- 19th century.

On his part, Dr. and lawyer Tariq Shandab, Director of the International Center for Legal and Political Studies and the Protection of Freedoms, said in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “the phenomenon of child abandonment has re-spread recently due to the bad economic situation.”

He explains that “the successive crises that afflicted Lebanon, including the complete economic collapse, it has left families and children in Lebanon in a pitiful state, and affected every aspect of their lives, in light of the scarcity of resources and the impossibility of realistic access to social support, what forced them to abandon their children because they could not afford their living costs, until it became a normal condition in society,” as he put it.

From a legal point of view, the Lebanese lawyer confirms that “there is a provision in Lebanese law that considers the mother's abandonment of her child to be tantamount to committing a crime, and it also exposes her to punishment.”

“The role of the authorities in curbing this phenomenon is, unfortunately, zero, as their only role is to send the children to charities to take care of orphaned children,” Shandab said.

 

Societal Crisis

Lebanese human rights organizations are of the view that despite the aforementioned reasons, nothing justifies dumping a child in his early days on the side of the road, leaving him to struggle between life and death. Neither poverty, nor cover the scandal, nor any other reason is capable of mitigating the ugliness of this crime.

On his part, writer and journalist Shadi Helena, sees in an article on the Lebanese website Akhbar Al-Youm that “Lebanon is suffering from a major social cultural crisis, so that every newborn child in an illegal relationship is considered a foundling in a conservative society that does not tolerate neither the mother nor the innocent child.”

“The fate of those who committed an illegal relationship will be murder in many cases, while the fate of the innocent child will be ostracized by society to the point of despair in many cases,” he adds.

From his point of view, the Lebanese writer sees that “the government must seek the assistance of social researchers to come up with the necessary solutions to stop this phenomenon. In addition to educating girls from a young age about illegal relationships and how to protect themselves and carrying out an awareness campaign for the Lebanese society from the inferior view of innocent children.”

The specialist in psychology, education and counseling, Dr. Ahmad Oueini, explains in a press statement to the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa Al-Watan that “the fear of society's view certainly overcomes the maternal instinct, that is why we see children who are the product of relationships outside the institution of marriage, dumping in the street.”

“One of the ways to treat this great humanitarian and social issue is by presenting abandoned children to families wishing to adopt,” Oueini asserts.

However, he points out that “the Islamic religion forbids adoption, and legislates what is called sponsorship, meaning donating for the benefit of orphan children, while the Christian religion allows adoption in words, but in practice there are no facilities by the authorities; Rather, there is a deliberate slowness in transactions, which require those wishing to adopt to resort to bribery and favoritism.”

On the other hand, Dr. Tariq Shandab told “Al-Estiklal”: “All Lebanese are currently unable to adopt due to the bad economic conditions that they are living in, and their inability to afford their living expenses and the livelihood of their children until they add new costs to it.”