wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Child slaves in Haitian homes

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World Council of Churches - Feature

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>For immediate release - 09/12/2008 14:14:12

WHEN CHILDHOOD IS DENIED: UNDERAGE DOMESTIC SERVANTS IN HAITI

>Free photo available, see below
>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 (

http://overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)" 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 Sixtocare 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 Sixtowas 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 Foyerfor
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 Foyerworks 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 Foyerstaff 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 Sixtoguarantees 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. 

>[645 words]

(*) Manuel Quintero, from Cuba, is director of the Frontier
Internship in Mission programme based in Geneva, Switzerland.

A free high resolution picture can be downloaded at:
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/images/wcc-main/news/2008/december/Haiti_037.jpg
Please credit: © Manuel Quintero/WCC

More information on the Living Letters visit to Haiti:
http://overcomingviolence.org/en/iepc/living-letters-visits/haiti.html

>WCC member churches in Haiti
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4691

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

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