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Dakar. — A new initiative by Senegal to get child beggars off the streets was hailed yesterday by rights organisations, who also called for a legal crackdown on those who exploit the young.
The government’s action to remove children from the streets, “including those forced to beg by their Koranic teachers . . . is an important step in reforming a deeply entrenched system of exploitation,” Human Rights Watch and a coalition of 40 Senegalese children’s rights groups said in a statement.
The children are from a mix of poor or homeless families. Many are “talibes” — boys enrolled at Koranic schools who are sent out to beg by their tutors.
During the first half of this year, at least five children living in Koranic schools died, allegedly from beatings by their teachers or in traffic accidents while out begging, the groups said. — AFP.
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