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

Dakar, Senegal — The American Dara Academy in Senegal was marketed to families in the United States as an affordable boarding school where their children could study the Koran alongside the American curriculum. Parents and families – many with West African roots – sent their children to the school believing it would provide a rigorous and affordable religious education.

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

In accounts shared with The Associated Press, students alleged that supervisors repeatedly beat unruly students in the so-called “magic room.” The schoolchildren said they were sometimes ordered to strip to their underwear or naked and told to sit with their arms outstretched while holding heavy rocks. If the rocks fall, the blows are aggravated.

Senegalese officials confirmed to the AP that an investigation is underway. The country’s gendarmerie, its child protection services and the justice ministry are involved in the investigation, an official close to the case said.

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. The director has been released and placed under house arrest, he said.

Senegal’s Child Protection Services, known by its French acronym AEMO, did not respond to a request for comment. Ibrahima Ndiaye, a spokesman for the gendarmerie, confirmed that the force had been notified of the abuse but said the investigation was now with the Ministry of Justice.

Arrested school principals and administrators told AP they could not talk about the matter because of the ongoing investigation. The exact fee has not been announced.

“The children are in the care of the authorities, and charges will be filed against whoever is responsible,” Justice Ministry spokeswoman Aminata Diagne said of ongoing investigations into the abuses.

The American Dara Academy has enrolled 311 students, including 120 US citizens, at two campuses in Senegal. Most of the students were children of West African descent born in the United States, with some from European countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. Only a few came from West Africa.

According to a January 12 written complaint sent by the US 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 verified the authenticity of the complaint letter and its claims about the abuses by speaking with dozens of parents and officials close to the case. Parents and officials who agreed to be interviewed did so for no apparent reason to protect their children and were not authorized to talk about the issue.

In their accounts, students described being forced to maintain stressful positions by administrators beating them with sticks on their legs, backs and genitalia.

Some students stated that steel rods were sometimes used in areas that did not leave visible marks. At times, he said, the blows landed on his head.

It’s unclear if any of the injuries required hospitalization, but some students reported getting scars on multiple parts of their bodies.

According to the consular complaint letter and a person familiar with the case, the abusers warned the students not to talk to US embassy officials or the police or their parents in the United States could be arrested and deported by immigration officials.

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

Some parents told the AP they chose the American Dara Academy for its combination of religious education and a US curriculum at a relatively low cost, about $300 a month including tuition, room and board.

The school operated two campuses, one in the capital Dakar and the second in the coastal village of Toubab Diyala, 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the capital.

Before the closure, the high school campus in Taubab Dailaw – where most of the alleged abuses took place – consisted mostly of trailers, no running water, frequent power cuts and a construction site with makeshift zinc toilets. However, according to an official with direct knowledge of the investigation, students are being taught at the facility.

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

The AP spoke with dozens of parents, many of whom said they had been contacted by the U.S. Embassy about the alleged abuses. None of them told their children about the abuse.

One parent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their child’s privacy, said they had taken their children back and were waiting to be brought back to the US, adding that their children were not among those who were abused.

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

In Senegal, corporal punishment remains legal in households under the country’s family law, which gives paternal authority holders a “right to redress”, although criminal laws punish violence that causes severe injuries.

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

Reports from the United Nations and the Organization for the Rights of the Child note that corporal punishment continues to be practiced.

It’s unclear whether prosecutors will file charges or consider further steps.

For now, the investigation continues, and the children who once filled its dormitories are scattered — some back home, others still at 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 Dion in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.