Since the founding of the Haitian nation, children’s rights and the cross of their poverty had been always the center of national debates so much a convention was held in 1994 to promote increase and promote awareness on the Right of the Child. In Haiti, the restaveks are estimated at 300,000 with 75% of girls, 70% of whom are under 15 years
The first national day against the practice of domestic child was celebrated November 17, 2006 in Haiti, at the initiative of a network of organizations promoting the rights of the child. The Foundation Limye Lavi and network Aba Restavek Sistem accompanied a march of tens of children in the streets of Port-au-Prince.
The day before, participants at a roundtable called for the eradication of child domesticity in Haiti. “We want to open the eyes of the whole population on a degrading, humiliating, and dehumanizing that is gnawing our society and still continues in this third millennium, said one participant.
The Associate Press (AP) reported on 22 December 2009 that over 300.000 Haitian children worked as slaves in several households. The report continued to say that poverty is the cause of that slavery. Another report from The Pan American Development Foundation said that these children “mostly young girls suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while toiling in extreme hardship.”
A Haitian restavek is what is called a maid in America. She is more often a female domestic servant who helps to keep a house in order. The difference between a restavek and a maid is that the former is a child “sent by parents who cannot afford to care for her to a family just slightly better off whereas the latter is a professional primarily responsible for cleaning, but no other tasks. A restavek does everything for the family such as cleaning, laundry, cooking, ironing, grocery shopping, taking care of the younger children and most of them are not allowed to play with other kids.
The reports, by calling this practice “slavery” imply that these children are forced to work and are considered to be the property of the family. These children are not held against their will and are not deprived of the right to leave. However, it is agreed upon that they are not being compensated in money but this is an historical Haitian practice where people work for food and shelter. If they are not paid it is simply because their status is based on Haitian traditions and customs.
These reports failed to take into account the history and the ground culture shaping the phenomenon “restavek” (Stay With) in Haiti.
This practice is not for Obama to fix, nor is it for Al Sharpton to bring to the attention of the American media and the Haitian authorities. It is neither for France to resolve. It is maybe for the government, NGOS, UNICEF, etc. even for the government to reeducate receiving parents on the most moral ways to treat these children as their own as to provide them the opportunity to sit at the table to eat with the rest of the family, enroll them in school, allow them to play with the other kids, etc.
If this is really slavery; any Haitian can take the liberty to blame each other because we are all guilty of fostering a child under our roof thinking we are doing good to a family that is struggling to make ends meet.
The mistreatment of the restavek is based on traditions and cultures. The mission of local NGO, NFP, and other worldwide organizations should be to reeducate the population to be better parents rather than calling them violators of human rights.
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