According to a study done by the CDC, about 15% of the population of 13-24-year-olds in Haiti are Restaveks. They are children living in domestic servitude, working for long hours every day to perform housework for their host families. They are often neglected and abused in their communities. To understand why the Restavek system thrives …
Why the Restavek system exists: a history of Haiti Read More »
Negligence is a form of abuse Due to their living conditions, Restavek children are often malnourished and prone to illnesses. They receive little care from the host families, who do not provide enough nutrition for them to grow healthily. Jean R. Cadet, an anti-Restavek advocate and former Restavek from the age of 5 until …
The majority of children in Haiti earn one dollar or less for doing domestic work, according to data from 2013-14. The most common payment for all children is 90 cents for doing hard domestic work daily. The earning power of a Child Domestic Worker or CDW is much worse than a non-CDW. A very small …
Majority of Children Earn Less than One Dollar in Haiti for doing Domestic Work Read More »
Objectively, paying Haitian workers less than US$0.50/hour has produced slums and squalor. The US foreign policy to promote US corporate interests as a matter of national security has undermined Haitian sovereignty and supported a culture of labor exploitation. The aftermath of these policies is also domestic servitude. Conveniently there is a narrative that wants to …
Haiti Now interviews Gabriel Osson, author of Hubert, le restavèk, to hear his thoughts and hopes for survivors of domestic servitude. Gabriel Osson is a poet, novelist and a painter. Born in Port-au-Prince (Haiti), he lives in Toronto. He gives lectures and conducts writing workshops for different audiences, whether retirees or high school students in …
Haiti Now interviews Gabriel Osson, author of Hubert, le restavèk Read More »
