Why Senegal's jailed minors are taught Olympic fencing
Image: Sam Phelps/OSIWA
Welcome to Senegal's fight club, its only rule is that you must obey all rules...
(CNN) Inside Senegal's state penitentiary, jailed minors form an orderly queue. They are being driven away from the prison in Thiès to enter a studio and fight.
Senegal is experimenting with a new form of restorative justice where these child prisoners - whose offenses range from violence to theft - are being taught to fence in twice-weekly classes that take place outside of prison walls.
The aim? Teach the kids how to follow rules and regulations once they are released from prison.
The program was developed by Association Pour le Sourire d'un Enfant (ASE) working with Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
While fencing may seem aggressive, officials with these groups say it's taught the children, ages 13 to 17, how to respect each other and deal with sometimes losing matches.
Senegal's incarcarated youths begin warm up practice before fencing sessions start.
"There are a lot of rules in fencing," explains program manager Hawa Ba, " [but] it's a sport that is helping you regain your self esteem."
When the concept was first proposed, many involved had reservations.
"They were like, 'This fencing, what is it?'" laughed Ba. "Because it was really unconventional, and the first time we were doing something like it."
Senegal's Ministry of Justice was also worried about giving weapons to minors, some convicted of stabbings, as well as the risk of prisoners escaping when traveling to sessions.
But Nelly Robin, who came up with idea, was resolute.
"The weapon, the white attire, the mask, rites and rules, and situations of combat and arbitration. No other sport can bring together all these elements," said the ASE founder. "The gradual change in behavior of jailed minors in the detention space and during hearings has convinced all prison staff and magistrates of its merits."
Currently Senegal's prison population of children stands at 1,780, according to a recent UN report. The country's excessive use of detention for minor offenses has drawn criticism.
"It's working with the justice system to work out how we can evolve our laws and regulations to have a justice system that is more inline with human rights standards in general," said Ba.
Prison guard fencers?
Prison guards are taught fencing and in turn act as trainers during sessions with the children. Ba notes that this permanently changes the dynamics of the relationship from that of prison guards who are there "to punish you when you do something wrong or somebody watching you to make sure that you don't run away" to something quite different where prison guards are akin to social workers. Children learn to trust them.
Prison guard Fatoumata Sy referees a fencing match between minors.
It's an important distinction in the relationship, she notes, and indicative of a wider problem in Senegal: that many of its prisoners are there for social offenses.
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