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Log book: Senegal and the Talibe children

After having worked for Dynamo International for almost a year, I decided to go and see the world, knowing that I would come across street children. I had always been interested in this issue but never had the chance to really see it for myself...

First of all I crossed Morocco and Mauritania and I found the same situation in both countries: no structure to provide help for young people who were left to themselves to face the dangers of the street. Then I continued my journey on to Senegal, where I was really struck by the number of young beggars in the towns. Like all good Europeans, I slipped them a coin or two, more to be able to finish my shopping in peace, rather than from a surge of generosity.

I have been meeting more and more of these young people as the days go by. There are so many of them that I wondered about it, and asked the local people. They told me that they are “Talibes”, children handed over to Marabouts who take care of their Islamic education. I soon realised that it is very difficult for a European to have an objective opinion on the matter. Indeed, a large number of Senegalese believe that these young people (mostly boys aged between 4 and 18), are learning about life; a harsh life which will one day lead them to become men who are prepared to face life’s many problems. My eyes, for their part, simply see barefoot children and young people, who are often dirty and who look as though they have not had a good meal for a very long time. So I continue to ask the people that I meet about this situation, and I learn that parents who entrust their child to a Marabout do it mainly for one of the following reasons:
- Either they cannot afford to pay for their education.
- Or they choose to do so for religious convictions or beliefs.

Once the Marabout is in charge of these children, he should look after their needs and take the decisions necessary to ensure their wellbeing. Children will therefore then have very little chance to see their parents again. The individual Marabout are very different from each other, and so the living conditions of these young people vary greatly according to the Marabout’s interests. It is not unusual to hear that some of these children are really ill-treated, do not have enough to eat and live in unstable accommodation, suffering from ill-health and poor hygiene. Some Marabouts apparently do take on this role in an honest manner. However, for others, the children are merely a workforce and a source of income. Here exploitation is the order of the day. Shady stories of child recruitment are rife in countries bordering on Senegal. Once the child arrives in Senegal, they will no longer be able to find a trace of their family and their new guardian will make the most of that.

The life of these Talibes revolves around the begging that they do every day in the streets or by going into houses and shops. A certain amount of money must be taken back to the Marabout every day. The Talibes must also collect the food needed to prepare the meals. They carry around a jam jar with them, and they ask passers-by to put their leftovers in it, a glob of rice, millet or any other food. If the child does not take back what he was asked to, he will probably be subjected to corporal punishment. These young Talibes also spend part of their time working, mainly in the fields or livestock farming. Again, the circumstances vary. It may be hard work where they actually learn something, or more often a job which children of that age should never be forced to do as the conditions are so appalling.

In Senegalese streets, the majority of the children I come across are boys. Indeed, even if some young girls do study Islamic teaching like the Talibes, they do not have to beg like the boys. People try to keep them in the family home and even if some do decide to risk the street experience, they are quickly collected and returned to their families or to children’s centres.

To end this piece on street children in Senegal, it is worth pointing out that the Talibes are not the only young people in street situations. Some have no access to even the most appalling accommodation and spend their days and nights in the ‘great outdoors’. In very many cases, these are Talibe children who have fled a Marabout’s ill-treatment, or they are older Talibes who have chosen to live in the streets. Some will also try to return to their parents who have almost never had the chance to know them…but they lose their way in the streets of the towns.
 

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