Noo00oory
18-01-2006, 05:32 AM
Palestinian Children: Facts and Figures
The International Pres Center
April 5, 2005
The Palestinian society is characterize as a young one, as the number of Palestinians under 18 years of age reached 1.9 million in 2004 and represent 52.8 percent of the entire Palestinian population in the occupied territories.
From this ratio, the children under five years old represented 17.7 percent of the whole population, while teenagers between 10 and 17 years old represented almost 20 percent.
On the annual day of the Palestinian child, which is celebrated on April 5th of every year, Palestinian children continue to be deprived of their simplest rights, due to the cruelty of the Israeli occupation. According to the figures of the Ministry of Health, 749 children under 18 years of age were killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada, while 42.3 percent of those wounded during the same time were children.
As for the children imprisoned by Israeli authorities, the statistics of the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs revealed that 310 children are still imprisoned in the various Israeli jails, detention centers and concentration camps, including eight females. 450 children were under 18 years of age when they were arrested and spent their 18th birthday inside prison.
Four percent of the arrested children, according to the Ministry's figures, are administratively detained, which means that they're held without trial or official charges, while 64 percent are pending trial.
As for the psychological effects of the occupation on children, the mental health survey of Palestinian children for the year 2004 showed that 1.5 to 11 percent of the children between 5 and 17 years old suffer from negative psychological effects, as nervousness and continuous screaming were detected as the primary symptoms. Suffering from loneliness and fear of darkness were also detected among 10 percent of the children, followed by bad moods, depressions and nightmares.
Palestinians' keenness of education has lead to the increase in the number of children admitted to pre-schools and kindergartens, as 1.6 percent increase was revealed, while the number of school children in different stages rose to 1.02 million students, almost half of them are females.
The total number of children admitted to school reached 85.3 percent in the basic stage, and 52.2 percent in the secondary stage, with only 0.7 percent of the students dropping out, as recorded in the school year 2002/2003.
However, the increasing number of students has caused the classroom crowdedness to increase, as UN-run schools scored the highest classroom crowdedness ratios, as 43.4 students are crammed in each classroom, compared with 35.2 students per classroom in Palestinian Authority-run schools and 24.4 students in private schools.
As for the recreational activities, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) showed in its 2004 survey of the use of computers, internet and mobile phones that 37 percent of the children aged between 10 and 17 years take part in sports activities, while 29.3 percent paint, 11.8 percent are members of clubs or other societies, and 10.3 percent have writing as their main hobby.
According to the same survey, equal percentages of Palestinian families having children under 18 years of age (28.5) have a home library or personal computer at home.
As for the impoverished children, the 2003 poverty survey in the Palestinian territories made clear that 42.1 percent of the children live under the poverty line (the level below which people are deemed poor, determined by the World Bank as having $1 per person per day). 29.4 percent of those children are living in extremely poor conditions.
These poor conditions have driven some Palestinian families to put their children to work early, as the child labor survey for 2004 showed that 3.1 percent of children between 5 and 17 years old are working in the Palestinian territories, whether with or without wages. 71 percent of the working children said their reasons were financial.
However, 55.6 percent of the working children who are in school work less than 15 hours per week, compared to 71.2 percent of children not going to school and work more than 34 hours per week. 7.6 percent of the working children have suffered work injuries or chronic diseases due to their line of work.
The International Pres Center
April 5, 2005
The Palestinian society is characterize as a young one, as the number of Palestinians under 18 years of age reached 1.9 million in 2004 and represent 52.8 percent of the entire Palestinian population in the occupied territories.
From this ratio, the children under five years old represented 17.7 percent of the whole population, while teenagers between 10 and 17 years old represented almost 20 percent.
On the annual day of the Palestinian child, which is celebrated on April 5th of every year, Palestinian children continue to be deprived of their simplest rights, due to the cruelty of the Israeli occupation. According to the figures of the Ministry of Health, 749 children under 18 years of age were killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada, while 42.3 percent of those wounded during the same time were children.
As for the children imprisoned by Israeli authorities, the statistics of the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Prisoners Affairs revealed that 310 children are still imprisoned in the various Israeli jails, detention centers and concentration camps, including eight females. 450 children were under 18 years of age when they were arrested and spent their 18th birthday inside prison.
Four percent of the arrested children, according to the Ministry's figures, are administratively detained, which means that they're held without trial or official charges, while 64 percent are pending trial.
As for the psychological effects of the occupation on children, the mental health survey of Palestinian children for the year 2004 showed that 1.5 to 11 percent of the children between 5 and 17 years old suffer from negative psychological effects, as nervousness and continuous screaming were detected as the primary symptoms. Suffering from loneliness and fear of darkness were also detected among 10 percent of the children, followed by bad moods, depressions and nightmares.
Palestinians' keenness of education has lead to the increase in the number of children admitted to pre-schools and kindergartens, as 1.6 percent increase was revealed, while the number of school children in different stages rose to 1.02 million students, almost half of them are females.
The total number of children admitted to school reached 85.3 percent in the basic stage, and 52.2 percent in the secondary stage, with only 0.7 percent of the students dropping out, as recorded in the school year 2002/2003.
However, the increasing number of students has caused the classroom crowdedness to increase, as UN-run schools scored the highest classroom crowdedness ratios, as 43.4 students are crammed in each classroom, compared with 35.2 students per classroom in Palestinian Authority-run schools and 24.4 students in private schools.
As for the recreational activities, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) showed in its 2004 survey of the use of computers, internet and mobile phones that 37 percent of the children aged between 10 and 17 years take part in sports activities, while 29.3 percent paint, 11.8 percent are members of clubs or other societies, and 10.3 percent have writing as their main hobby.
According to the same survey, equal percentages of Palestinian families having children under 18 years of age (28.5) have a home library or personal computer at home.
As for the impoverished children, the 2003 poverty survey in the Palestinian territories made clear that 42.1 percent of the children live under the poverty line (the level below which people are deemed poor, determined by the World Bank as having $1 per person per day). 29.4 percent of those children are living in extremely poor conditions.
These poor conditions have driven some Palestinian families to put their children to work early, as the child labor survey for 2004 showed that 3.1 percent of children between 5 and 17 years old are working in the Palestinian territories, whether with or without wages. 71 percent of the working children said their reasons were financial.
However, 55.6 percent of the working children who are in school work less than 15 hours per week, compared to 71.2 percent of children not going to school and work more than 34 hours per week. 7.6 percent of the working children have suffered work injuries or chronic diseases due to their line of work.