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Article: Beggar, serf, after two years in Senegal, a Times correspondent tells why much of Africa is an appalling place to be a child.(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
- March 7, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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They stand at my taxi window, scrawny and unwashed, holding up empty tomato tin cans. They scratch their scabby arms. They wipe their running noses. Listlessly, they chant verses from the Koran. More often, they dispense with me formalities and beg.
These are the talibes, or beggar boys, of Senegal, sent onto the streets by Muslim religious leaders, called marabouts, and ordered to collect a daily quota ranging from 250 francs to 650 francs (50 cents to $1.30), along with whatever else is dropped in their tin cans. If they fail, they face a beating.
EXTREME DEPRIVATION
The talibes who greet me every time I return home to Dakar, Senegal's ...