Solidarity or Slavery? Finding Solutions for Restaveks (Denise Green)By Bryan Schaaf on Monday, December 17, 2007.
The flow of children is almost always rural-urban or urban-urban, as the family is told that the child will receive education and support in exchange for their work. Though this arrangement is sometimes honored, it often is not. Further, restaveks are most frequently girls, and are vulnerable to gender based violence. Having growing up in Haiti, I ‘ve always realized that it was unfair for a child to have an adult job. For some, having a “restavek” at home is convenient because of the limitations of Haitian infrastructure - lack of direct source of water, washing machine, electric stove or other modern technologies.
We should note that, almost always, the restavek comes from a large family. Perhaps one of the most effective ways to counter the restavek phenomena is to ensure that families have the information and family planning commodities they need to have only as many children as they want. In a mostly rural country with an economy still based on agriculture, it is a challenge - but it has been done elsewhere and can be done in Haiti as well.
Sometimes the family concerned takes the initiative to help a child. This particular child often does not have any relationship with the family in the city. In this case, this child is considered as adopted or fostered. The family will help with the basic needs and also with schooling. In return, the child will help in the household chores such as cleaning the dishes, cleaning up the house, going to the grocery. The same family can have one or many servants in addition to the fostered child.
Other familise are in a financial struggle and may only wish to have a child to help them at home. In this situation, the child may be treated just like an adult or worse with some abusive conditions: lack of food or clothes, in some situations there is sexual and physical abuse, which reflect a disregard for human rights, which should apply to all regardless of gender, class, and social status.
Perhaps the process can be brought of the shadows by legalizing and regulating the process. First we need to ask who is the intermediary between the child ‘s parents and the “fostering “ family? It is usually another family member or friend, living in the city who thinks that they can improve the child ‘s condition by convincing his/her parents to let him/her go to the city. Is there anyone else involved in the recruitment? The family in the city who would like to find someone who will work for free in exchange for foods and home pays some recruiters.
So what can be done, short and long term?
1) Long Term: The obvious first step is the improve Haiti's economy, particularly in the rural areas. This means re-energizing the agricultural sector. Children are less likely to have to leave their families if the family can meet its own basic needs.
2) Long - Term: The second step concerns education, which improves the relationship of the individual to society. Education rarely does, but should, include training on human rights - what they are, why they are important, and how they relate to the individual, the community, and the world as a whole.
3) Medium Term: The government should create a supervised foster agency to monitor, regulate and respond to any abuses. Children under a certain age (16y for example) should not be allowed to perform adults’ works. Children should know they have legal rights and someone to go to in the event of any type of abuse. This sort of abuse is a blemish on Haiti's proud history - the government can show it is serious about addressing it by creating this agency, which could be included within the umbrella of another Ministry but will need a champion at high levels to succeed.
4) Short Term: Legal adoption remains an option. Government or private agencies should investigate the families before having a child adopted. Living conditions should be taken into account.
5) Short Term: The name “restavek” should be changed. In Kreyol, “ restavek” doesn’t give any sense of responsibility. Otherwise, the name itself is abusive. A tentative replacement should be “ protégé” or "adopté", which better acknowledges the inherent rights of the individual.
6) Short Term: I would encourage everyone to join National Coalition for Haitian Rights, which advocates for change against abusive labor practices. If we can build a constituency with an active voice, we can elevate the issue with Haitian policy makers.
Thanks!
Denise |
Search
Blogroll
Subscribe to our News
|
Restavek
Restavek is a grave problem like so many other problems that needs to be dealt with in this impoverish country.
The government should abolish this so call child labor, because most Haitians know the faith of these innocent children. It is time that the government takes it's responsibilities towards these poor families who are forced to send their children to work. Children must be given the opportunity to live their childhood, to attend schools and be respected.
Unfortunately most Haitians who have a Restavek are mistreating them, it's a fact. Certain Haitians can be cruel and ignorant, since it's not their children they treat these children like slaves and most of the time they are beaten and abused.
No child deserve a treatment like that.
It is time that children are protected from these ruthless beings.
Haiti is a long way from picking itself from the ground, I suggest that every Haitian start doing their part.
Stop the selfishness and start being human.
I speak especially for the well off who are living on that Island barricaded behind their high fences and pretending that the problem is only of the poor.
Well I have news for you all, it's everyones problem.
Reflect and Act!
Other Organizations
Johanna, thank you for this information. I am not familiar with this organization, so a variety of perspectives are useful. Can you advise on some human rights organizations that you feel are both reputable and doing good work in Haiti? Thanks!
Take a closer look at NCHR
Please post my comment.
I think it's really important to look at the history of an organization before endorsing it. NCHR's actions during the time of the 2004 coup and after were unforgiveable.
NCHR virtually ignored the huge wave of repression against Aristide's political party, Lavalas. Their indifference was worse than unprofessional and should be criminal. Especially when the most likely sources of the violence were such notorious human rights abusers (Haiti: Perpetrators of serious past abuses re-emerge..." http://archive.wn.com/2004/02/18/1400/p/fb/7bfc637933f224.html) . The trust given to a human rights organization should not be given lightly.
A Lancet Journal study released in August 2006 determined approximately 8000 people were murdered in the two years after the 2004 coup (http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/12/news/CB-GEN-Haiti-Lancet-Study...). Where was NCHR? Still pointing their finger at Aristide who was long gone! Still pointing their finger at him though most of the violence was directed at his supporters!
Read their report about the first 45 days after the 2004 coup, at the height of this killing spree. NCHR (now RNDDH) reported "a decrease in the number of human rights abuses and common law violations being reported" and stated,"the acts of political persecution have also significantly diminished"
"Boniface-Latorture: the first 45 days"
http://www.rnddh.org/article.php3?id_article=161
Contrast this with with another report put out by the University of Miami School of Law by Thomas Griffin, (former federal law enforcement officer/current immigration law attorney). In a January 2005 article he comments “Haiti is such a hotly debated political topic that it is important for the report to be as objective as possible. The photos are necessary because they can’t be spun one way or another for political purposes. Anyone who sees these pictures will say this should not be happening to human beings anywhere, especially just a few hundred miles from Disney World....The General Hospital’s emergency room is a scene of bodies dripping blood, groans of pain from men, women and children and a nauseating odor...We need to look beyond the partisan debates to see that the very poorest of the poor are suffering in inhuman ways."
http://www.law.miami.edu/news/368.html
Additionally, here's what a National Lawyer's Guild human rights delegation experienced at the NCHR office in their trip to Haiti just after the US orchestrated Feb. 29, 2004 coup (April 11, 2004 report):
"• In a large meeting room the wall was adorned with a large wanted poster featuring Aristide and his cabinet, in small photos, across the top. It named Aristide a "dictator" guilty of human rights abuses. Among a long list of other charges, it condemned him for the murder of John Dominique and included a large photo of Dominique's dead body (-new arrest in Jean Dominique case-http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/en/2007/12/12/r043.htm). When delegation members pointed out that NCHR's neutrality and inclusiveness might be better expressed with additional posters condemning, for example, FRAPH, Jodel Chamblain, Jean Tatoune Baptiste, (http://www.amnesty.org/en/alfresco_asset/21640371-a425-11dc-bac9-0158df3...) etc...they, while acknowledging their existence, laughed at the suggestion of adding other wanted posters to the office.
• NCHR could not name a single case in which a Lavalas supporter was a victim.
• When asked to investigate the 1000 bodies dumped and buried by the morgue during that last few weeks at Titanye and the alleged malfunctioning of the refrigeration at the morgue, the director and his staff denied ever knowing about these events and laughed saying none of it was true."
Haiti can do better than this.
Only 600 miles off our shores!
It's time for a real change in Haiti.
Restavek
As an Haitian woman and a child advocate, I don't mean to legalize "Restavek" as a form of slavery.
By analyzing the situation, it will be very difficult to eliminate it . However, it can be controlled. A NGO can be in charge , not necessarily the police forces.
About family planning , we have one of the highest rate of infant mortality and morbidity and poor quality of life. It’s not about race but survival .
I do believe that we are sovereign nation and strong citizens. Nonetheless, we do need to act positively and with solidarity in order to progress!
Thanks. Denise
Commentary from http://www.globalvoicesonline.com
Below is a commentary from global voices online concerning Denise's post on Restaveks. Denise can best respond, but I believe what she is saying is that, as embedded as this problem is in Haitian society, it is not going away anytime soon....regardless of wheter it is legal or not. In order to monitor it and regulate it, it would need to be legalized. Saying "This is a bad practice!" will not change that. We definitely, definitely would not want the policy regulating the issue - therefore, we propose the creation of a separate government agency with high level support. The agency would need to be transparent and we propose the secondment of human rights officials from NGOs to its staff. As a health care specialist who has met highly vulnerable, highly poor (and sick) families with fourteen children in the mountains, there is a place for family planning. Haitians can make the decision whether to do it or not, but they should have the resources and information to make an informed decision.
----------------------------------------------------
2 Responses to “Haiti: Restavek”
December 18th, 2007 at 3:37 am Magbana:
I am a little confused about who is the author of this blog post – Denise Green or Bryan Schaaf who is on the Board of “Haiti Innovation” and works for the US State Dept.
At first, I was delighted to see the topic of restaveks being highlighted on the blog, that is, until I saw the proposed solutions:
-I don’t think it is a good idea, straight out of the box, to advocate “family planning” programs to address the restavek problem. It carries some very serious race and class implications and is best left to the Haitian government for discussion and action.
-So, you think legalizing the restavek situation is a good idea?? These are minor children, overwhelmingly female, and you want to further institutionalize this slavery? Further, legalizing this practice suggests that the Haitian National Police (HNP) would be the enforcer. If you recall, the HNP is best known for its summary executions of Aristide supporters after the coup and its specialty was assassinating unarmed Aristide supporters during legal demonstrations.
-You want to collaborate with the National Coalition on Haitian Rights? Are you aware that in the months after the coup the NCHR collaborated with the illegal government and the HNP to finger people falsely for arrest or worse. Hundreds of innocent Lavalas people went to prison and death squads on false claims made by NCHR. In fact, their behavior was so criminal, that their counterpart in New York had to break relations and give their group a different name. Former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune was detained in prison for 26 months based on a false claim by the National Coalition for Haitian Rights.
I would go back to the drawing board if I were you.
Post new comment