Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Evans Antoine begins his day early in the morning. He rises from the floor. This is where he sleeps. He puts broken shoes on his feet. Then he begins his work. Antoine washes cups, plates and other dishes from the family meal. He washes the floors. Then he goes to the market. He also does work on the family’s property. This is difficult work. Antoine is only fifteen [15] years old and he has been working since he was twelve [12]. Antoine works while other children go to school.
Voice 2
Antoine is a restavek. You may have heard of the restavek system in an earlier Spotlight program called Stopping Modern Slavery. In Creole, the official language of Haiti, the word restavek means “stay with.” A restavek is a child who stays with a wealthy family, a host family. Restavek children work for these families. The children do not get paid for their work. They are child slaves.
Voice 1
Sometimes, the host family promises food, shelter, and education in exchange for the child’s work. But sadly, most of the time, the host family does not keep this promise. Instead, the restaveks do not attend school. They must work long hours. Often they must do work that is too difficult for a child to do. The families give them very little food to eat. And some restaveks even experience physical, mental, or sexual violence and abuse.
Voice 2
This is what happened to Antoine. His host family hit him with sticks. They told him he was worth nothing. This was the family that promised to pay for his education. But when school began, Antoine says something very different happened.
Voice 3
“Instead of sending me to school, my host father said I was lying and he beat me.”
Voice 1
In Haiti, there are many children like Antoine. As many as three hundred thousand [300,000] children are restaveks. That is ten percent of all the children under age eighteen [18].
Voice 2
There are many ways that children become restaveks. Some are children who have run away from home and live on the street. Children also often become restaveks when their parents die. Sometimes family friends will take them in. But other times those family friends will find a wealthier family for the child to work for.
Voice 1
However, the majority of restaveks still have families. Their parents give them away. They do so because they are very poor. Often these families are from rural areas. They live away from the city. These areas do not have much work. And they do not have many schools. The poor parents send their children to the city where there are more schools. They hope that another family will be able give their child an education. Sadly, many parents do not know about the violence their children suffer.
Voice 2
Poverty is a big problem in Haiti. In fact, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western side of the world. More than eight million [8,000,000] people live in Haiti. And sixty-five [65] percent of those people do not have enough money to meet their daily needs.
Voice 1
Rodette Clermanceau is a mother of ten children. She lives in Fond des Blancs, a country village in Haiti. She raises her children alone. Their father is in prison. She is sending two of her children to Port-au-Prince. They will work for a family in the city.
Voice 4
“I am afraid to send them, but I do not have any choice. If I had the financial means, I would not give them away.”
Voice 2
Guerda Constante works for children’s rights in southern Haiti. She says it is not easy for parents to send their children away. But the poor parents find the promises for food and education very appealing.
Voice 5
“It is not in Haitian culture to send children away. Parents do this because they do not have the resources to provide for the child’s needs. It seems strange, but the parents are acting with love.”
Voice 1
The life of a child restavek does not get easier. Many of the host families want younger children. They believe it is easier to control a young child. When a restavek reaches about age fifteen [15], a family will replace him or her.
Voice 2
The replaced restaveks have nowhere to go. They often live on the streets. Constante says the restaveks will not have much of a future.
Voice 5
“With poor education, there is no future. The little girls for example, they become young mothers or sex workers. For the little boys, they some times join groups of violent gangs, or they go directly to the streets.”
Voice 1
Education is important for these children. And it is important to their parents. They believe education will lead to a better life. But their hopes lead them into the restavek system. The restavek system does not improve children’s lives. Instead, they remain in poor conditions. The National Coalition for Haitian Rights says the restavek system denies children their basic rights. This includes the rights to food, school, rest, and play. They also say the children lose a family’s love.
Voice 2
Education may be the solution to ending the restavek system and Haiti’s poor economy. The people in Fond des Blancs want to keep their children in the village community. They believe fewer parents would send their children away if they had local schools. So they formed a group. This group is called the Committee to Protect the Rights of the Children of Fond des Blancs.
Voice 1
This committee believes that the problems of the restavek system are directly related to the poor economy in areas like Fond des Blancs. As a group, they are working to get more local education and to stop poverty. These are the conditions that cause the restavek system to continue. By doing this, they hope to stop the restavek system in their community and in Haiti. Breil Leveille is a member of the Fond des Blancs community and a member of the committee. He says,
Voice 6
“It is said that education is the base for development. It is through education that Haitians will one day come out of this sad and difficult time.”
Voice 2
No person should hurt a child. Hopefully, the Fond des Blancs community will be able to protect their children, and build a better future for their country.
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