Restavecs

In Haiti a particular form of child slavery is practiced, where very young children are sold by their poverty-stricken parents directly to another family, to be used as domestic slaves. In spite of government regulations surrounding child labor, they are brutally treated, and can be killed, sexually abused, beaten, or thrown out onto the streets. They do not attend school or church and work up to 18 hours a day.

There are estimated to be about 300,000 restavecs in Haiti, and others live with their "families" overseas, including in the USA.

References

Cadet, Jean-Robert. Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998)
Cadet, Jean-Robert. "The Cruelty of Invisibility: A First-Hand Account of Child Slavery in Haiti." Satya, December 2002-January 2003. Also available at: http://www.satyamag.com/dec02/cadet.html

Indexes

Haiti
20th Century
21st Century
Domestic Service
Poor Educational Opportunities, Self-taught
Multiple or Unspecified
Poverty
Slaves
Others ("Strangers")
Adoptive/Foster Family Included Birth Child(ren)
Customary or Traditional Adoption, Informal and Extra-Legal Care