In an outstanding article the NYT reports that over one million Syrian children live in Turkey, and thousands work in factories or sweatshops to provide for their families, rather than attend school.

Source: In Turkey, a Syrian Child ‘Has to Work to Survive’ – The New York Times

This article deploys subjective research looking at the lives of individual children. It’s deeply alarming and worrying.

The EU is stumping up billions of Euro to help the plight of Syrian refugees, including the education of children. Surely, the EU authorities have checks and balances?

It’s easy to target the Turkish government for lapses but the article also highlights the greed of Turkish businesses.

For international buyers of good from Turkey, there’s a need to conduct surprise audits of the manufacturing facilities in Turkey. Responsible retailers should introduce new seals of quality, like for coffee.

Thoughts?