The Bleak Life of Nadeem

The dark market

In a dark market in northern Syria, where living difficulties cast a shadow on the faces of people, Nadeem Abdul-Qader carries a teapot, stares well at it against a dim light to make sure that the luster of metal ware is enough for customers to appreciate his work.

In Nadeem's world, it seems like nothing shines but the metal utensils he has been scrubbing and polishing for hours.

A child of 12, the expressions and vocabularies Nadeem uses make you feel he is a grown-up man, since he knows nothing in life but the war, which made him lose his sense of stability.

For Nadeem, a routine day lacks the details of the normal life his peers, who live in safe countries, know. Instead of talking about the hours he spent playing electronic games, or football with his friends in the neighborhood, Nadeem would rather talk about his long working hours and responsibilities.

At the shop

Surrounded by teapots and metal utensils, Nadeem spends his entire day in the old market of the city of Al-Bab in Aleppo. Most of the time, he works standing up, and when his little legs get tired, he sits down and keeps working on a worn-out sofa.

Nadeem no longer goes to the school he used to attend. In a sad voice, he recalls the days he spent with his classmates, and the successive changes that afflict the child's life and leave nothing untouched including his classroom. “Only 5 or 6 students are still attending our old classroom,” he said.

Shelling and displacement were two main reasons for the family’s decision to stop sending Nadeem to school. With the family’s frequent displacement fleeing one area to another, and the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic on education, Nadeem’s father finally decided not to send him to school for good.

Nadeem is just one of the 2.5 million Syrian children who are not currently receiving any kind of education, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates. Another 1.6 million are at risk of dropping out.

Dream

“I work from morning till the evening,” Nadeem told Tiny Hind, “When the shop receives more orders, I have to work overtime to support my family.”

Now, Nadeem dreams of becoming a professional in his current job, and sees his future among the metal utensils he does his best to polish till they shine bright.

To steal moments of joy and happiness in their turbulent, weary life, Nadeem and his friends ride a bike to entertain himself on his day off.