Street Kids Picture Gallery And Stories

Haitian Street Kids: Gallery And Stories

The following pictures and stories are from initial interviews with abandoned, homeless streetkids and former restavek slave children in Port au Prince and Petion-ville, Haiti. These children are only a small sample of the 3000+ street kids with which HSKI has developed a relationship. Gaining the trust and friendship of these abused and hurting children is not an easy task. Their history and experiences on the streets, and/or as slave children, tells them that caution and distrust is the best policy if one is to avoid the abuses and exploitation that is much too common in their young, difficult and dangerous lives.

James J
Age: 11

James had been living on the streets since he was abandoned at age 7. One night during a heavy rain storm, he took refuge on the covered porch of a business in order to sleep and escape the rain. Early the next morning after being awoken by the owner, he was severely beaten. He was drug to the owners car, where the owner held him by the ankle outside the car door, and drug him down the street to the next corner where he was left bleeding an crying. Unable to walk or work to earn money for his food, he layed there until discovered by HSKI.

Steven
Age: 10

"After my father died, I was living only with my stepmother. She wouldn't always let me stay with her sometimes when she would get mad. The house burned down, and after that she disappeared and I never saw her again. I had nowhere to go because there was no house anymore and I don't really know anyone else. All I could do was walk around on the streets and stay around the other kids that live out there."

Peterson S
Age: 9

"I don't have no mother or father. Some people stole me when I was real small and had me working for them and they would beat me all the time with what ever they got their hands on. They would lift me up and slam me on the floor. Look on my head and see these scars. Sometimes I would pass out."
Sold as a restavek at age 3 - 4 years.

Jesnel
Age: 13

Jesnel was purchased as a errand boy when he was 7 years old by a group of carpenters who have a streetside carpenter shop in the Carrefour section of Port au Prince. As he became older, his duties increased from errand boy to doing most of the carrying, cleaning and unpleasant labor that the workers didn't care to do. Abuse became a daily routine, resulting in strikes to the face with boards when they were angry or dissatisfied with his performance, or just having a bad day. His left arm was broken several times, never being set or cared for after the injury. These repeated, untreated fractures resulted in crippling and deformity of the arm which is now unuseable and frozen in the "L" position. Injuries to his left knee and leg have also resulted in a crippling deformity. Upon Jesnels removal from this situation by HSKI, he was practically autistic and refused to look at anyone in the face or speak. He has now slowly begun to trust adults again and is attempting to regain his lost childhood and personality.

Daniel
Age: 12

My mother is dead as well as my father. I've been on the streets for about 4 years, I think. I don't have any place to go to, so I'm living on the street. Sometimes I get beat up pretty badly by the other kids but that doesn't matter, because I have to be with them to stay alive. They protect me at times as well.

Being too small to work, and being the frequent victim of larger street people who would take the money he made each day, Daniel attempted to take a pastry from a street vendor out of hunger and desperation. He was caught by the vendor and several men loitering nearby. They took Daniel to the side of one of the buildings in the area, where they amputated the little finger of his left hand as punishment. He was told that if he attempted to steal from any vendor again, they would take his whole hand.

Herodin V
Age: 11

"When I was just a little boy my mother broke up with my father. While living with my mother, she alway beat me for no reason what so ever. Sometimes she would strip me down to bare skin and beat me with an electric cord or with this thing they call "rigoise", which is made with dried cow hide. After she would beat me, she goes and gets some lemons to pass all over my bruised body to ease the swelling. The stripes on me would appear like burn marks. She didn't want the neighbors to know what she was doing to me in the house. She told me the best thing I could do is leave her house. I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran away. I've been on the street for a few years now."

Wilner
Age: 12

"When my mother stopped me from breastfeeding, she broke up with my father and dissappeared. Before my father died, he took me to my aunts house. Then my uncle came in and got me to go live with my "godmother". (Note: Uncle sold him as restavek. It is common for the slave child to refer to the owner as "godmother" or "aunt".) My godmother started to work me as a slave soon after I went there. She would tell me to do something and I probably didn't hear what she said because I don't think my hearing is too good. When I couldn't hear her, she would run outside and get a stick or a board and beat me with it. I received a lot of knots on my head and arms as well as my legs. My whole body still has a lot of scars all over that hurt sometimes. She would hit me with her fist in the face and stomach also. I used to sleep in front of the market by the church named "Saint Pierre". When I wake up, I go and try to find some water to wash my face, then I go to the people on the street who sell "pepe", which means second-hand clothes. There you can have $2 Haitian dollars (10 gourdes or 50 cents U.S.) and find somehting to wear and throw the dirty ones away. Then I return to the place where I slept and wait until the market is open so I can ask the customers to let me have a little chnage so I can buy something to eat. Sometimes they give to me and sometimes they don't. Other times I go to the people who sell cooked foods at the street kitchens and ask them to let me have something to eat. If they are in a good mood, they let you have somehting to eat. They often let you have the crust of the cooked food instead of giving you a normal plate of food. I make my money by wiping down cars or loading the tap-taps (pick-up taxis) up with passengers. They give you 2 gourdes (10 cents U.S.) and sometimes up to 5 gourdes (1 Haitian dollar) when you help them out. When the older guys see the driver hand you something, they rush you and try to take away whatever he gave you. Sometimes they beat you up and take it from you. Sometimes, I have to go days without eating; something I can't do anything about. I've been on the street for 3 years."

While sleeping on the sidewalk, both of Wilner's lower legs were run over by a parking automobile. The driver offered him no assistance as he woke up screaming. He has no permanent damage from the injury and has healed well.

Dieusibon
Age: 12

"I've been on the streets for about five years. I think my mother is still alive but she's staying in Jacmel and my father is dead. I never knew him. My mother is living with this guy and he doesn't like me at all. He always beats me for no reason. They made me leave my home because of that.

After I left home and went to Port au Prince, a lady took me off the street and told me I was going to work in her restaurant. It wasn't really a restaurant, it was a street kitchen where she sold cooked foods. She made me wash pots and pans from morning to night. She would beat me with the pots and pans on the head when she wasn't happy with my work. I was only seven when I was taken by her. I have this big scar on my forehead where she would hit me with hot skillet when she was mad. She did this many times. I have headaches almost everyday now because of this. One time when she was really mad, she dropped a big iron pot full of hot grease from frying chicken onto my hand while it was still in the wash basin. I thought it cut off my hand, but it only crushed it and burned it real bad. She wouldn't take me to the hospital because she might get in trouble. She only wrapped my hand in rags until it got well."

Michla
Age: 12

"I've been on the streets for four years. I make my living by washing cars and loading them up or sometimes begging. I'm not living with my parents because they told me to leave a long time ago, then they moved away somewhere and disappeared (abandoned) They have many other kids and said they can't afford me. They said I should be able to make my own living without bothering them."

Abner Jean
Age: Doesn't know

My mother is dead as well as my father. My mothers brother stole a gold ring and a goat
and gave them to my mother to sell for him. I know she didn't know they were stolen.
The owners found out who stole them and took my mother and her brother to
where she sold them. The people chopped off both their heads with a machete.
I really don't know if my father's alive or where he is now. I can't stay with him anyway
because my fathers girlfriend was always lying to him about me
and then he just beat me like a thief. I don't know how long I've been on the street.
So if you can help me, please help me."

Robinson
Age: 11

A shack was discovered by HSKI at the city dump in one of the worst sections bordering Cite Soleil. This shack made of cardboard, refuse and tin was the sleeping quarters for 15 restavek slave children owned by several different families. Robinson was one of the children and found to have advanced malnutrition, parasitic infection, and evidence of numberous and frequent beatings. His duties were to scour the dump for items that could be recycled or resold, and to clean the home and living area of the owners, as well as hauling water or whatever else the owners needed done. He reported being beaten with an extension cord up to five times per day to "keep him serious about his work", as he was told. He was rescued and removed from the area near midnight while the owners slept.

Makinzi
Age: 13

Makinzie lived on the streets for several years after the death of his parents. One night while sleeping in an abandoned service station, his face was doused with kerosene and set on fire by some unknown passerby. He was not taken to the hospital for over three days when a high ranking police officer happened to notice him sitting on the side of the street. The burns resulted in very thick, tight scars which he reports are painful at times. The other streetkids nicknamed him "Ti Djab" (Little Monster) due to the severe scaring. Despite the abuse he received because of his looks, he is always friendly, polite and cheerful.

Peterson Emmanuel
Age: 12

I've been on the street for 2 years. I'm not staying with my mother because of her boy friend, and my real father is dead. Her boyfriend always beats me for no reason. He beats me with a wire and also with a pipe sometimes. He told me he can't take care of someone elses kid. They wanted me to leave, so I did.

Roney
Age: 8

My mother and father are both dead now. They were beaten to death.
The police beat them because they had problems with the police family.
I couldn't do anything to help. I don't know how long I've been on the street.
FRAPH is what they call the police who killed my mother and father."

Son Son
Age: 8

My mother is dead. She had a bad case of fever. My father died in a car accident. After my parents died, my aunt made me come to work for her in her house. She would beat me every day for no reason at all. She would hit me with sticks and boards and work me to death until I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran away into the streets. I've been out here for so long, I don't even know for how long I've been out here. You think maybe I could go with you?"

Jonas Miser
Age: 14

I've been on the street for 3 years. I make my living by loading cars, washing them and begging when I have to. My mother died a long time ago. I can't live with my father because he is very crazy (mentally ill) and very dangerous. The police took him away and beat him up a lot of times for doing very crazy things. I really don't like living the way I do. It's not really the way I am. I want to go to school and be normal.

Boni
Age: 14

"I'm not living with my father because of his girlfriend. She used to beat me up very badly and had me do all the chores and work that had to done anywhere in or around the house. She has a son also that doesn't do anything at all. Sometimes she would make me take off my pants and have him watch while she was beating me and he would laugh. She even let him do it a few times. I mean she was mistreating me. I've been on the street for one year now. I make my living by washing and loading cars and sometimes resort to begging."

Peter
Age: 14

"My father died first and then my mother. After my mother died, there was no one left at home so I had to go. I remembered by father had a friend that has sort of a farm outside of Port au Prince in the country not too far from us. He grows things on the side of a mountain. I went there and asked if could help me. He said I could stay there if I worked. After about 2 months, I was doing all of the work. I had to work from before the sun comes up until after dark. The only time I could eat was once at night. He beat me like a dog almost all the time like when he said I wasn't doing something right or when he was in a bad mood. He would hit me with boards, pipes, rigoise and rakes and stuff. He would throw rocks at me to get my attention and hit me in the head a few times. I ran away to the city here to see if I could live here, but I've been on the street every since. That was about 2 years ago when I came here."

Ronal
Age: 13

"I'm not living with my mother because she ran off to Santo Domingo and left me with a lady she said was my "aunt". My father has been dead for a long time. I'm not living with my aunt anymore because she was abusing me too much. She has a daughter and every chore or anything else in the house for anyone is my responsibility. She tells her kids to do something and they would yell to make me do it instead. My aunt says I have to do whatever anyone in her family says, including her kids. If I try to tell about something one of her kids or relatives do to me, I get a beating. If her kids do something they tell her I was the one who did it. Then she beats me. I've been on the streets now for more than two years."

Bengy S
Age: 14

Jerri
Age: 9

"Both of my parents are dead. I use to stay with my uncle. Then a lady came and bought me from my uncle and ever since, I've been going through hell. She used to put me on my knees with a big rock on my head and one in each hand. Sometime, she put hot gravel under my knees to make me kneel on. At other times, she beats me with the rigoise. My real father died of tuberculosis, and just a little while later, my mother died in a car accident going to Jeremy to visit my fathers grave. I've been on the street since November 2000 and I sleep in broke down cars. I make my living by wiping down car windows as they pass and sometime I beg in front of the store for a little change. When my folks died, I was just a little boy."

Benson
Age: 7

Louisness
Age: 12

HSKI Gallery
Page Two

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