Lina (1) remembers exactly what day it was “everything is wrong” at his daughter’s small school, in Haute-Garonne. Juliette (1) was at CM1 when the arrival of a new member disrupted the entire atmosphere after school, both morning, afternoon and evening, when there was no longer a school to supervise the children. Three agents started shouting from morning to evening, insulting the children – “little shit”, “you are worthless” – forbid them from playing or blowing their nose. In the cafeteria, you have to do it “shut up”. One lunch time, one of them pulled down Juliette’s shorts in front of everyone.
In a neighboring town, Farah (1), another mother, met the same team, which rotates between several schools. Her 10 year old son received insults – “bastard”, “little bastard” –, became the midday soundtrack. One day, when he was late for the canteen, they refused to serve him. The agents also insist on the long term “meditation” half an hour: students must remain seated on the floor with legs crossed, eyes and mouth closed, without moving.
If multiple extracurricular teams are in control, often in close proximity, these two stories are similar to many others. From Haute-Garonne to Seine-Maritime, from kindergarten in Paris to school in Guyana, Release collected about fifteen testimonies from leaders and families. They all describe the same mechanism. Systemic violence that thrives in this gray zone of extracurricular time. Children
