Ali Reza Vahidzadeh, the director of social welfare in Kerman, Iran, stated that out of 602 child laborers in the city, only eight are Iranian, while 594 are Afghan.
Mr. Vahidzadeh made this statement during a press conference, referring to child labor as a “chronic wound.” He emphasized that Afghan families are indifferent to the issue of their children’s labor.
He noted regarding the Afghan child laborers in the city: “Although we have tried multiple times to communicate with these families, they are not as concerned about this issue as we are.”
The director mentioned that Afghan families in the city see their children “only as a source of labor.”
The significant presence of Afghan child laborers in Iran has previously faced negative reactions from Iranian officials.
Earlier, Ahmad Vahidi, Iran’s Minister of Interior, stated that most child laborers on the streets of Iran are foreign nationals. Mr. Vahidi emphasized that the majority of them are “illegal” Afghan migrants and “should return to their country.”
Additionally, the head of Iran’s National Migration Organization announced at the end of last year that Afghan child laborers would be collected and returned to their homeland.
It is worth noting that there is currently no accurate statistic available regarding the number of Afghan child laborers in Iran; however, a member of Tehran’s City Council previously stated that there are approximately 70,000 child laborers in Tehran alone, with 80 percent of them being Afghan.
The spokesperson for Tehran’s municipality also mentioned a plan for collecting Afghan child laborers and waste pickers, stating that they will be returned to Afghanistan.
