E/CN.4/2006/73/Add.2 page 16 77. It is very common for people in Burkina Faso to want to leave their village and their families in order to “seek a better life” elsewhere. Of all Burkina Faso children 9.5 per cent (330,000) aged between 6 and 17 do not live with their parents. Of these 29 per cent (95,000) live abroad, mostly in Côte d’Ivoire (73,000).18 78. These children work mainly in the primary sector (agriculture) and secondary sector (domestic service in the case of girls). There is also a widespread tradition of placing children with Koranic teachers. 79. The Koranic teachers are known as “marabouts” and the children “talibes”, students of God, or pejoratively “garibouts”. Most of the time the parents entrust their children to Koranic teachers as a result of conditions of extreme poverty, in the belief that this might give them the opportunity to receive some education. The talibes have to gather a minimum amount of money, which they must hand over to the marabout or be punished. They beg or do odd jobs in small trade, catering or agriculture. They are easy to recognize because they wear white hats and carry 5-kilo tomato tins, which they use as begging bowls throughout the day. The talibes themselves describe their living conditions as miserable: they are not sufficiently fed; the marabouts ill-treat them and they have to spend their whole day begging.19 80. Many children work on the plantations of Côte d’Ivoire. Working conditions vary from region to region but are often akin to forced labour. 81. Girls leave their families mainly to take up domestic service. This is either internal migration (from the countryside to the towns) or from neighbouring countries like Mali. 82. For instance, in the province of Sourou in the north-west of the country, most children leave the villages to go and work in towns, either in Ouagadougou or in Bobo-Dioulasso. Young girls tend to leave home for the first time when they are between 10 and 12 years old, and more girls tend to leave home than boys. Most children take their own decision to leave. Most of them have had no schooling before they go. Many parents agree to their decision. There is a minority, however, who are not keen to leave the village. They are often persuaded to do so by pressure from the parents, especially the mother, or they are influenced by friends who have already left or are preparing to leave. Girls employed in domestic service face considerable risks of exploitation. Many girls give accounts of being subjected to physical, psychological or sexual abuse. Besides the children’s physical integrity, some of their fundamental rights are also disregarded, on account of being made to work too early, being exposed to harsh living conditions, etc. The problem of education is ever-present too; in the towns, children who work do not attend school.20 83. Thanks to the coordination provided by the Ministry for Social Action and National Solidarity, the Government of Burkina Faso has set up 73 local watchdog committees in the country, made up of various members of the local community, such as administrative and religious authorities, local associations and non-governmental organizations, and unions of bus drivers and truck drivers. The establishment of these watchdog committees is very helpful in creating awareness among local communities of the phenomenon of child trafficking and of its underlying causes.21 For instance, in 2004 watchdog committees in the region of Ouahigouya intercepted some 100 children who had been trafficked. These were mainly children on their way to Mali to live with Koranic teachers.