In The Gambia, thousands of children beg on the streets and clear fields for Islamic teachers that promise their impoverished families spiritual salvation in exchange for indentured labor. These children, called talibes (also known as almudos), disappear from their families for years at a time, suffer daily beatings, face starvation, and are denied medical treatment for life threatening...
more »

In The Gambia, thousands of children beg on the streets and clear fields for Islamic teachers that promise their impoverished families spiritual salvation in exchange for indentured labor. These children, called talibes (also known as almudos), disappear from their families for years at a time, suffer daily beatings, face starvation, and are denied medical treatment for life threatening diseases and infections.

Most talibes try to escape from their Islamic masters. Many are at risk of recruitment by a growing number of militant Islamic schools offering better living conditions.

Despite laws against this practice in the nearby countries of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, tens of thousands of talibes exist in these West African nations. The Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has promised to end the practice of street begging yet the marabouts retain a spiritual hold on the government. No awareness campaigns, shelters, medical services, or job training programs are currently in place in The Gambia to assist the talibes. And media criticism is suppressed.
« less