Back to work, not school: Yemen’s crisis forces children to drop out

Taiz, Yemen – It was around the middle of the morning, and children at a nearby school were preparing for their break. But 11-year-old Hasnaa Jaber was walking through empty farmland on the outskirts of Taiz city, collecting discarded plastic bottles.Hasnaa lives with her impoverished family in an informal settlement for people displaced by the country’s more than decade-long war. Instead of going to school, she works alongside her family to help make ends meet.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Breaks my heart’: Yemen jab shortages spark fears for millions of childrenlist 2 of 3Qatar says reopening Strait of Hormuz ‘unconditionally’ is a prioritylist 3 of 3Yemen’s war is back: A new battle for Sanaa and the Red Seaend of list“My dream is to become a teacher. I studied up to the third grade, but then I dropped out of school along with my two older brothers to help my father,” Hasnaa told Al Jazeera.The new academic year began in government-controlled areas of Yemen on August 30, but Hasnaa and other children from families in difficult financial situations like hers are not in the classroom.She is one of 3.2 million children who are out of school in Yemen this year, acco...