Child Slavery in Haiti

Poverty has pushed more than 225,000 young girls and boys in Haiti into slavery. According to the latest survey, poverty has pushed more than 225,000 Haitian children into becoming Restavecs, better known as slaves. These children suffer from psychological, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. They begin work early each morning, work all day while other children are at school, and continue working until bedtime. The poorest of families in Haiti may have as many as 10, 12, 14 children. Unable to care for them all, they give or sell children to families sometimes not much better off than them. It has even been found that some families hosting (as it is referred to in Haiti) a Restavec child may have one of their own children hosted out to another family. The plight of these children is widely know, though denied by the government, and a great source of shame for this Caribbean nation founded by a successful slave revolt more than 200 years ago. How does a nation that fought so hard for freedom turn around and place their children, descendents of those who fought for this freedom, back into bondage? If poverty is the reason, financial assistance is obviously the answer. According to this article, researchers conducted surveys in late 2007 early 2008 funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. UNICEF conducted a survey in 2002 to discover approximately 172,000 children as Restavecs. Haitian officials were asked to conduct a national survey. Would money not be better spent providing for these destitute children than on another survey? Pan American Development Foundation report recommended Haiti’s government and donors focus on educating the poor and expanding social services such as homes for young girls who make up more than 2/3 of the child slavery population.




As I watched the video on YouTube, this mother was explaining that she had too many children and was unable to care for them, thus she was giving two or three of them away to other families. The children had no reaction. This may be where the education needs to begin. A father stood with his children indicating he absolutely would not place his children in other homes even though there were times when the food was not sufficient. Placed as a Restavec himself, he could not inflict the same shame upon his own children.


There is ample documentation to verify slavery exists in Haiti. It is also obvious that the world needs to be educated to the living conditions of these children and their needs. Most Americans live in their own little world oblivious to the fact that slavery does still exist today.