Haiti, Human Trafficking and Hope

By now, many of us are familiar with the earthquake tragedy in Haiti of which many have worked directly or indirectly to support efforts to assist the Haitian people. There continues to be an outpouring of support in terms of immediate needs such as water, shelter, food, and emergency medical attention. These efforts are greatly needed; however, the concern for many anti-trafficking activists is the long-term implications for those who are now even more vulnerable to becoming human trafficking victims—particularly children displaced from their families or without families. Many schools and orphanages were destroyed during the earthquake—leaving children without a support system for care and supervision. This leaves them susceptible to hunger, the cold, and to sexual and labor exploitation.

Prior to the earthquake, child slaves known as “restavecs”— which translates to “stay with”— were a major problem throughout Haiti. Under the informal restavec system, children are brought to homes to work as domestic servants—starting as young as two years old. For many Haitians as well as Americans, this informal system may be seen superficially as a way to give children food and shelter. But, for those familiar with the system, it is an unthinkable life where the children are forced to work long hours and are often denied education, healthcare, and love and care from a family. Many also face physical and sexual abuse. These children are invisible and treated as such not only by the family who controls them—but also by the community as a whole.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Jean Robert Cadet, a survivor of the restavec system,and collaborated with his foundation to address this problem in Haiti. Jean Robert’s story of survival and perseverance only motivates me more to combat the scourge of human trafficking—whether in Haiti, the United States, or around the world. His organization works to combat the restavec system through multiple means—such as providing restavec children an education and investing in Haitian infrastructure and economy. The foundation’s approach is also focused on local community involvement rather than having a foreign entity as the lead pushing for change. I encourage you to read his autobiography Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American to learn about the realities of the restavec system and the courage of Jean Robert to confront the system in order to help children today.