When Childhood is Denied. Mezanmi bay restavek yo yon chans. Se ti Ayisyen yo ye

When Childhood is Denied: Underage Domestic Servants in Haiti

Contact: Juan Michel, World Council of Churches, +41 22 791 6153, +41 79 507 6363, media@wcc-coe.org;
MEDIA ADVISORY, Dec. 9 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Manuel Quintero (*):

In Haitian Creole they are called "restaveks" (from French rester avec - to stay with) because they live with a family that is not their own. Rather than foster children, they are like slaves to their host families.

180.000 to 300.000 children in Haiti - the number varies with the source - work as domestic servants.
Between 8 and 10 percent of Haitians under the age of 18 are in this situation which denies them basic rights.

These children represent the most vulnerable social sector in a country plagued by dire poverty, huge ecological degradation, blatant corruption and recurrent political instability.

Many of them are born to big and destitute families in the countryside, and their parents send them to a host family hoping they will be adequately fed and cared for.

"Instead, they spend their days doing backbreaking housework, frequently beaten when their work is not found satisfactory enough by their foster parents", said Wenes Jeanty, executive director of the care centre Foyer Maurice Sixto, speaking to a Living Letters team from the World Council of Churches (WCC).

"Living Letters" are small international ecumenical teams travelling to locations around the world where Christians strive to overcome violence.

At the end of November one such a team of Christians from France, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Canada and Cuba visited the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and other areas affected by recent hurricanes.

The team spent some time at the Foyer Maurice Sixto care centre to learn more about the plight of domestic child slaves, victims of a bond servitude deeply rooted in the country's history.

Many "restaveks" lose contact with their biological families. Some are passed from one host family to another without their consent, and without their parents being informed.

Physical and psychological abuses are common, explained Jeanty.

Foyer Maurice Sixto was founded in 1989 with the assistance of Terre des Hommes, a Swiss-based international charity.

The centre was named after Maurice Sixto (1919-1984), a well-known Haitian intellectual who scorned the national elites for their abuse of domestic child servants.

"Our mission is to assist children and youth who are forced to leave their biological families to be placed with host families. After finishing their labour at home, they come to the Foyer for education, animation and handicraft."

"All children are equal"

Located in Carrefour, a poor and densely populated district in the south of Port-of-Prince, the Foyer works with some 300 children, mostly girls. There they get a hot meal daily, and medical and dental assistance in the nearby clinic where Haitian doctors offer their services free of charge.

The Foyer staff also work with host families, in an effort to make them sensitive and responsive to the needs of their child servants. "We tell them that all children are equal and have the same rights", said Jeanty.

There is no ready-made solution to this complex issue in a country with a rapidly growing population, half of which lives below the international poverty line of one US dollar a day, and with 76 percent living on less than two dollars a day.

"Regrettably, these children cannot just be released from this bond of servitude. There are no resources to cater for their needs, nor can they be sent back to their biological families, neither better, caring families can be found to host them", he explained.

Meanwhile, the Foyer Mauricio Sixto guarantees that at least some of Haiti's "restaveks" have the opportunity and the time to play, to express themselves and to enjoy their own identities.

"We endeavoured to give them back the childhood to which they are entitled", concluded Jeanty.

At the end of the visit, the members of the Living Letters team committed themselves to denounce the plight of these modern domestic slaves.

"Through its member churches, the WCC should be able to advocate for these children vis-à-vis governments and international organizations," said Genevieve Jacques, leader of the Living Letters team.

Mwen ajoute yon pòs lan fowom saa pou m pa kite l mouri anvan gen oken kòmantè.

Mezanmi, nou tout konnen kisa ti ayisyen parèy nou ap sibi lan yon eta esklavaj modèn saa.

Eske nou aksepte ke sa kontinye kom yon eritaj kiltirèl?

Oubyen, eske nou pa kwè ke sa dwe chanje?

Di sa n panse, konsa mwen pap mete sije saa sou fowòm nan anko.

Men, jis mwen mouri mwen pap janm sispann denonse injistis saa.

Se pa pousa Desalin te goumen.

men se yon wont natyonal ke tout ayisyen kelke swa koulè, orijinn sosyal,ideoloji politik te dwe kondane e lite pou li disparet nan peyi ya.

genyen yon seri de bagay fok nou pa kite yo sou kont politisyen selman paske nou dwe rann nou kont koulyè ya politisyen ayisyen la plipa se pale anpil selman yo konn fè.Se nou ki konsyan e ki wont de sa ki ap pase nan peyi ya ki pou organise pou nou kreye strikti ki pou ede pep la.Mwen nan plenyen an tou tan tou e mwen pran vye preteks ke mwen finn gran moun mwen pa ka nan chire pit ankor.men genyen jan ke mwen ka ede san mwen pa beswen ale an ayiti.

Se bagay konsa mesye gran pret vodou yo te dwe komanse ap travay sou yo pou yo retabli relijyon pep la , kreye orfelina pou ti moun ,. azil pou vyeya, lopital pou malad, lekol pou 1/2 milyon ti moun ki pa ka ale lekol.etcLè genyen yon organisatyon byen striktire ki ap travay sou bagay sayo lè sa nou tout a mete men.sa ki ka bay lajan a bay lajan sa ki ka pran yon konje pou yo al anseye ya fè sa.

keen sigjere yon bagay lotrejou fok nou kreye lot kominote nan peyi ya kote moun yo panko pouri.Mwen pa konnen sim ka twonpe men mwen kwè jeneratyon ki fet ou grandi an deyor peyi ya si yo pran konsyans e yo mete tet yo ansanb yo ka chanje visaj ayiti.Yo rekonet se pa lit pou pouvwa ki ap regle anyen an ayiti se tet ansanb lan ki pou fè chaj la pa lou.

marc henry te fè yon sigjestyon yon fwa li di si chak moun ki nan dyaspora te adopte yon ti moun an ayiti e byen pwoblem la ta mwen grav.Semen saa mwen pral voye yon ti chocho ba organisatyon ki ap ede Pè Jean Juste lan ,men mwen ta swete ke jean juste vinn pale ak kominote nan dyaspora pou li bati yon orfelina an ayiti.Nou ka fè sa si nou vle.

Fok gouvenman an tou pran responsabilite poul kontwole kwasans demografik la.Bagay saa tounen yon kochma pou mwen paske map anvisaje ayiti ak 15 milyon ayisyen menm si mwen pap la poum wè misè saa.Se yon bagay ki banm yon syè fwad nan do m.Ki jan yo pral fè pou nouri tout moun sa yo?eske Ministè planifikatyon an pran bagay sa an konsideratyon.Ayisyen ap jwe ak yon di fe ki ka detwi peyi ya net wi.

Sanmalis, mesi pou komante w yo.
Sesa net. Ou vini avek eleman ki kapab ede ti ayisyen parey nou yo.
Lot patisipan yo, ann kontinye diskisyon an.