'Baby Warehouses' Spreading Across Israel, Affordable Child Care Puts Children At Risk

A small day care in Tel Aviv serves as a temporary shelter for dozens of children who are left by their African refugee parents. As their moms and dads work to provide for the family, the children are entrusted to this daycare which is managed by a Ghanian woman. The site is just one of the many other "unlicensed establishments" that cropped up in the city, according to Yahoo.

Since these daycare centers offer affordable rates, the immigrants and asylum seekers take advantage of its services. However, the conditions around the establishments have right groups and the press calling the sites as "baby warehouses," where some children have, in fact, died.

The Haaretz reports that in the last few weeks, five deaths have been reported in one of these daycare centers and the circumstances revolving around it has given clues to neglect by its caregivers. The children, who stay at the center for the entire day, are housed in crowded, moldy rooms. They are not given proper meals, nor provided with basic amenities.

About 70 facilities like this operate in Tel Aviv, where 2,500 children are at least under the age of three-years-old, said the Haaretz report. Authorities can't close the establishments down, because this will leave the immigrants without any other option, according to Unitaf's Maya Peleg.

Refugees are not eligible for free health care in this city, according to the Times of Israel, and health insurance cost can run up to NIS 200 ($50) per child, which can be quite steep. Immigrants also have jobs that do not afford them to bring their children to work. They're not even given a time off from work when their child dies. The simple fact is the country doesn't want these refugees to stay, hence they receive no incentives and benefits, according to the Yahoo report.

Peleg is one of the many other NGO's that provide licensed and better daycare service, but the need is just too high. These NGO's have been seeking to raise funds in order to expand and help these immigrants and their families. At the moment, the rate for proper daycare service is at $655 monthly. The baby warehouses only charge about $153.

"Their goal is to work as many hours as possible, to look after the maximum number of children with the fewest number of people and spending as little as possible on food and equipment," said Peleg of the baby warehouses.