Mick Hartley

The first prize winner for Contemporary Issues in the 59th annual World Press Photo Contest (also below) is Mario Cruz, with “Talibes, Modern-day Slaves", his phot0 essay on the boys who live at Islamic schools, known as Daaras, in Senegal. In the time they're not studying the Koran they're forced to beg in the streets while their religious guardians, or Marabout, collect their daily earnings. They often live in squalor, and suffer abuse and beatings. 

Talibe is an Arabic term for disciple. The number of talibes is increasing: there are more than 30,000 boys subjected to forced begging in the Dakar region alone. Most of the talibes are Senegalese, but the number of children trafficked from neighbouring countries such as Guinea-Bissau has increased. They live in overcrowded and unsanitary Daaras. Malaria, skin diseases, breathing problems, parasites, are common.

Abdoulaye, 15, imprisoned in one room of a daara in the Diamaguene area, city of Thies, Senegal, May 18, 2015. The rooms have windows with security bars to keep the talibes from running away.

Talibes sleep together inside a daara in Saint Louis, north of Senegal, May 21, 2015. The daara with over 30 children has no clean water and barely no electricity. Children sleep on the concrete floor without any protection

Ibrahima Ndao, Marabout of a Daara in Rufisque, whips a talibe child after he mistakenly read an excerpt of the Quran, May 17, 2015. The Talibes are subjected to physical violence when they fail to get the daily quota imposed by the marabout or if they make a mistake while reading the Quran.

Demba Fati, 14, outside the medical support room of Mason de La Gare center in St. Louis, Senegal, May 20, 2015. His marabout beat him with an iron rod after he tried to escape. Since then he goes to the center whenever he needs medical care.

A talibe reads the Quran inside a daara in Keuer Massar district, Dakar, Senegal, May 25, 2015.

A young talibe bound by chains in an isolation area of a daara in the city of Touba, May 27, 2015. In this daara the youngest talibes are shackled by their ankles to stop them from trying to run away. The chains length only allows them to use an improvised bathroom in a separate area of the daara. These children can stay like that for days, weeks, even months until they gain the marabout's trust. Their guardian explains " When I release them, I give them the freedom to beg like the rest of the Talibes"

A talibe checks on other talibes sleeping in a street of Saint Louis, Senegal, May 21, 2015. Many talibes who ran away from daaras, sleep on the streets in groups to protect themselves from child prostitution networks.

From the Anti-Slavery site:

Seydou is 15 years old and has lived in the daara for seven years. Recently one of his younger brothers came to join him. Seydou usually wakes up at 6am and spends the first hour of the day learning the Koran. Then, with an empty tin can, he goes from one house to another to beg for food for his breakfast. He returns to the daara at 9am, at which time the morning courses begin.

At 1pm Seydou goes to neighbouring houses to beg for his lunch, coming back to the daara for an hour or so to rest and eat. The afternoon classes begin at 3pm. At around 5pm every day, Seydou goes to collect water for the daara with other talibés. He then studies the Koran for another three hours, before going out at 8pm to beg for his dinner.

He comes back to the daara to study the Koran some more before bed time at around 10pm. He sleeps in a small hut with a straw roof alongside seven other children. Seydou says that if he doesn’t beg, he won’t eat, and if he doesn’t bring back enough money on two or three occasions, his Koranic master will beat him. He misses his parents and would rather be at home with them than in the daara. He says that he likes learning the Koran, but would also like to know some French so that he could read road signs.