Ti moun se bèt,” (Children are animals) or so the saying goes. When I was a child, I preferred to think of this proverb as a kind of endearing pejorative, something an exasperated adult might say after a child had made a really bad mess. However, as I grew older, it became apparent that not all children were treated equally. Some were pampered and adored, while others were regarded as beasts of burden and were given away, or bartered, into the restavèk system.