Restavčk is a Creole term derived from the French “rester avec” meaning “to stay with” or “to remain with”.
However, the term restavčk has come to mean a child who becomes a house slave when s/he is turned over
by his/her parents to a family that promises to care for the child, provide food, clothing, shelter, schooling
and health care in exchange for domestic labor.
In Haiti today, the term restavčk is also used as a slur to add insult to the injury of these children
whose labor is already exploited in countless households and who are most often treated like outcasts.
One out of every 10 Haitian children – or approximately 300,000 children between the ages of 4 or 5 and 18 are estimated to be restavčkł today and 3 / 4 of these children are girls.
Workload
From a very young age, restavčk are responsible for much of the running of the household,
and are expected to perform their duties quickly and without mistakes or commentary.
Restavčk children often work 12 to 14 hour days, starting before the rest of the household wakes up,
until after many members go to sleep at night. Among these activities include:
washing the family’s clothes by hand and ironing
preparing meals on an open charcoal stove and cleaning up afterwards
bathing, looking after and caring for school-age children, including older kids
walking children to school and carrying their heavy book bags
fetching and carrying 5 gallon buckets (approximately 25 pounds) of water from a neighborhood well
cleaning the house, outhouse, yard and other areas
burning trash, emptying bedpans, running errands and much more
Living Conditions
In many cases, the restavčk child is subject to severe neglect and abuse. S/he is not paid
and usually has no alternative to the treatment they receive by their masters, and is subject to:
Malnutrition – they are underfed and may not even receive lower quality food
Physical, emotional and sexual abuse often ignored or carried out by the household
Marginalization within the household and being cut off from their own families
Lack of adequate and proper care including healthcare and nurturing
Lack of or inadequate education
Insult or being criticized or talked down to
Inadequate clothing and shelter - may be only one sleeping on the floor
Deprivation of recreation time and other basic rights of children
Long-Term Effects Of The Restavek System
Many Haitians still believe that placing children into domestic servitude will give them the opportunity
for a better life or because they have too many mouths to feed at home – in the hopes of attenuating the poverty.
However, the system itself lends itself to perpetuating the cycle of poverty due to:
Lack of education prevents these children from advancing and finding decent jobs
Lack in social skills and emotional development due to the harsh treatment and separation from family perpetuates that same treatment with children
Lack of social network keeps them from getting help in rough economic and emotional times
Many male restavčk run away due to harsh conditions and end up as street kids having to beg, steal or become members of street gangs
Many female restavčk become pregnant and are kicked out of the master’s household and may end up in prostitution
Due to hardship, their children may become second generation restavčk Ť
Lack of love and nurturing environment often leads to marked depression and other psychological problems among former restavčk
Form Of Trafficking And Slavery
The restavčk system is a form of trafficking and of slavery. It is ironic that it still exists in the country
where the world’s first successful slave revolt created the first black republic in 1804. The complicit silence
about the practice does not change the fact that by trading these children like merchandise and exploiting their innocence
and labor, both families of origin and those at the receiving end are taking part in the trafficking and enslavement.
Restavčk are not free to leave their place of work and lead normal childhoods as they wish.
The UN provides definitions of trafficking and slavery that clearly include the condition of restavčkş
Trafficking in persons – refers to the recruitment, transport, harboring or receipt of persons,
by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception,
of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or
benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation
including forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, or servitude.
Slavery - Any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years
is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person,
whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labor.
The National Coalition for Haitian Rights
Since 1999, NCHR has embarked on a campaign to raise awareness of the restavek practice internationally,
in the US and in Haiti. NCHR published the study "Restavek No More: Eliminating Child Slavery in Haiti"
in April 2002 to highlight the practice in the context of the international movement against child labor
and to update the work currently being carried out in Haiti. It is also available in French and Creole.
NCHR's Projet Restavek office in Haiti is currently working on a three-pronged approach to combating the practice
- through public awareness, education and advocacy.
How You Can Help
Organize a talk on restavčk children in your school, church, community or other group.
The 25 minute video, Haitian Slave Children: Forgotten Angels, is available for assisting your presentation.
Participate in a postcard campaign to the Haitian government to end the restavčk practice
Write to world leaders about your concern about the treatment of restavčk children
Volunteer with or contribute to NGOs working to end the restavčk system
National Coalition for Haitian Rights
275 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Source: Most of the information contained in this fact sheet
comes from the National Coalition for Haitian Rights 2002 report: Restavčk No More: Eliminating Child Slavery in Haiti”.
