50,000 boys begging for survival while "teachers" pocket the cash. This isn't education—it's a broken system exposed.
The important tradition of Islamic education in Senegal has been left to develop in disturbingly perverted ways. 50.000 koranic students (Talibes), young boys between 4 and 15 years old are subjected to exploitation in conditions akin to slavery. They are forced to beg on the streets by their koranic schoolteachers and suffer severe physical abuse and neglect. Following the staff of local grassroots NGO La Maison de la Gare (MDG) in their efforts to combat this, the documentary sets out on a poetic exploration of the nature and circumstances that breed and prolong the suffering of the children.
Direction
Kon balances brutal truth with lyrical visual storytelling.
Production
Intimate NGO access captures what hidden cameras never could.
Director
Daniela Kon
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The talibé system originally provided rural families education and social mobility; economic collapse and urbanization transformed it into what activists call 'modern slavery.'
Director Kon spent three years embedded with MDG; several boys featured were later rescued, though the organization faces constant funding crises and government pressure.
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