A Senegal boarding school that drew students from the US is at the center of an abuse investigation

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The American Dara Academy in Senegal marketed itself to families in the United States as an affordable boarding school where their children could study the Quran alongside an American curriculum. Parents and families — many with West African roots — sent their children to the school believing it would be a rigorous and affordable religious education.

But the school is being investigated for alleged physical abuses, with hundreds of students withdrawing from the academy and one of two campuses — where most of the alleged abuses took place — now closed, according to an official close to the case.

In accounts shared with The Associated Press, students alleged that supervisors beat disobedient pupils repeatedly in a so-called “magic room.” The schoolchildren said they were sometimes ordered to strip to their underwear or be naked and told to squat with their arms extended, gripping heavy rocks. If the rocks fell, the beatings grew worse.

The authorities in Senegal confirmed to the AP that an investigation is underway. The country's gendarmerie, its child protective services and the Ministry of Justice are involved in the inquiry, according to an official close to the case.

In late January, the school's director and three administrators were arrested, according to parents and a person with direct knowledge of the arrests and investigations. They said the director was released and placed under house arrest.

Senegal's child protective services, known by its French acronym AEMO, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the gendarmerie, Ibrahima Ndiaye, confirmed that the force was notified about the abuses but said the investigation is now with the Ministry of Justice.

The school director and administrators who were arrested told the AP they could not speak on the matter due to the ongoing investigation. The exact charges have not been announced.

“The children are in the care of authorities, and charges will be filed against anyone found responsible,” Aminata Diagne, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, said of the ongoing investigations into the abuses.

Students said they were beaten with sticks

The American Dara Academy enrolled 311 students — including 120 U.S. citizens — across two campuses in Senegal. Most students were children of West African origin born in the United States, some from European countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. Only a few were from West Africa.

According to a Jan. 12 written complaint sent by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar to Senegalese authorities, several American students reported severe corporal punishment. The minors, according to the letter, identified the school’s director, who is a dual American-Guinean citizen, and three other administrators, as responsible for the abuses.

The AP has verified the authenticity of the complaint letter and its claims about abuses by speaking with dozens of parents and officials close to the case. The parents and officials who agreed to be interviewed did so without attribution to protect their children and because they were not authorized to speak about the issue.

In their accounts, the students described administrators beating them with sticks on their legs, backs, and genitals while being forced to maintain stress positions.

Some students said steel rods were sometimes used on areas that would not leave visible marks. At times, the blows landed on their heads, they said.

It is unclear whether any injuries required hospitalization, but some students reported receiving scars on multiple parts of their bodies.

The students were warned by their abusers not to speak to U.S. Embassy officials or to the police, or their parents in the United States could be arrested by immigration authorities and deported, according to the embassy’s complaint letter and a person familiar with the case.

The ministry and other relevant agencies have released few details about the case or potential charges.

'I really thought I was leaving them in a safer place'

Some parents told the AP they chose the American Dara Academy for its combination of religious instruction and a U.S. curriculum at a relatively low cost, of about $300 per month, including tuition, housing, and meals.

The school ran two campuses, one in the capital, Dakar, and the second in Toubab Dialaw, a coastal village 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the capital.

Before its closure, the high school campus in Toubab Dialaw — where most of the alleged abuse took place — consisted largely of a construction site with trailers, no running water, frequent power outages, and makeshift zinc latrines. Students, however, were being taught in the facility, according an official with direct knowledge of the investigation.

After the embassy contacted families, about two-thirds of the students — roughly 250 children, including around 100 Americans — withdrew from the school and returned to their home countries, according to parents and a person familiar with the investigation. The remaining students were transferred to the Dakar campus, which is in better condition.

The AP spoke to dozens of parents, many of them saying they were contacted by the U.S. embassy about the alleged abuses. None said their children told them about the abuses.

One parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their child’s privacy, said they have withdrawn their children and are waiting for them to be brought back to the U.S. They said their children were not among those said to have been abused.

“When I first visited the school, I stayed with them for a week,” the parent said. “I really thought I was leaving them in a safer place.”

Corporal punishment

In Senegal, corporal punishment remains lawful in homes under the country’s family law, which gives those with paternal authority a “right of correction,” though criminal statutes punish violence that causes severe injuries.

While corporal punishment is prohibited in schools for children under 14, the law does not explicitly extend to children outside that age range, private schools, or religious schools, where the “right of correction” can still potentially apply.

United Nations and children’s rights organization reports note that corporal punishment continues in practice.

It remains unclear whether prosecutors will file charges or what further actions are being considered.

For now, the investigation continues, and the children who once filled its dormitories are scattered — some back home, others still in the school waiting for answers.

The school building in Dakar is under tight security, with police guarding the site.

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Associated Press writer Babacar Dione in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.