United Nations Economic and Social Council
Commission on Human Rights
Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and protection of Minorities
Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
23rd Session
Geneva, May 1998
The Global March: A Symbol
Contribution of Father Miguel from the Foyers Maurice Sixto
Child domestic servitude in Haiti
Introduction

The situation of deprived children is more worrying than ever. We must find urgent solutions to this problem which is a disgrace for human civilisation. The Global March Against Child Labour is a positive initiative and we wish it every success.

If we can speak for those whose voice is stifled, we can march for those whose feet are bound, by the visible or invisible chains of contemporary forms of slavery.

This is the plight of children who are forced into work far too young, which includes child domestic servants. These children live in a form of slavery that restricts their movements to those dictated by needs of adults who exploit their young labour. Their feet are bound. Marching to the other side of the world for them is a way of protesting against this form of slavery, of reclaiming their freedom of movement and of calling for their freedom in general. This protest is just and necessary. It is the ethical value embodied in the symbolism of the Global March.

The Global March Against Child Labour has strong symbolic value for all children condemned to work at an early age by the poverty of their families. The march will make an important contribution to raising awareness of the injustices inflicted on child labourers and of our duty to find ways of repairing these injustices. Just as the United Kingdom has decided to revise its legislation on child workers, we must hope that one of the positive immediate results of the Global March will be a change in the situation of child labourers everywhere in the world, and of child domestic servants, in particular in Haiti.

Those involved in this issue will agree that child domestic servitude in Haiti is a dominant institution whose roots go back to the time of slavery. It exposes minors of both sexes to a form of bondage that profits the adults to whom they have been entrusted.

The total number of child domestic servants fluctuates constantly. They come from rural families facing great hardship. They do not have the opportunity to go to school or to acquire a practical trade.

They number between 200,000 and 300,000, which is 14 per cent of Haiti¹s young population; 85 per cent of them are young girls aged between six and 18 years.

The restavek (from French rester avec -- to stay with), as they are commonly called, are typically treated like young slaves. They are used as beasts of burden to perform various household tasks: cleaning, frequent trips to shop at the market and to fetch water from the well, taking care of children at home, taking children sometimes older than themselves to school, carrying rubbish and excrement produced by people and animals in the house, etc. They are the first members of the household to get up in the morning and the last to go to bed at night. For food, they are usually given the leftovers of the family¹s meals. According to a survey conducted by the Institut Psycho-Social de la Famille (IPSOFA) for UNICEF, 30 per cent of these children say they receive only one meal a day. All this for little or no pay. One meal a day and the promise of being sent to school are their only reward for the hard work, beatings and humiliating insults they suffer.

The Experience of the Foyers Maurice Sixto

The Foyers Maurice Sixto (Maurice Sixto Shelters) began as an initiative of Father Miguel Jean Baptiste and were named in honour of the late Haitian author, Maurice Sixto, a keen observer of the problems afflicting Haitian society.

The project was particularly inspired by Sixto's radio play Ti Saintaniz ("Little Saint-Anise") which portrayed the life of a typical restavek child and which opened the eyes and consciences of many to the social evil of child domestic servitude.

In 1989 a shelter for child domestic servants was opened in Carrefour on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The project was an immediate success. The number of children attending the three hours of reading, writing, arts and crafts lessons every afternoon quickly grew from 120 to 450.

In 1993 a second shelter was opened in the town of Leogane, 35 kilometres south of Port-au-Prince. It already receives 150 children with difficulties and offers a similar programme of activities to the shelter in Carrefour.

The goal and objectives of the Foyers Maurice Sixto

Our long-term goal is to stop the exodus of children from rural areas to urban centres where they become easy prey for all forms of exploitation.

Our short-term objectives are to help the children to:

1. Overcome the trauma caused by separation from their families;
2. Acquire reading and writing skills;
3. Discover their talents, abilities and creativity;
4. Learn a manual trade such as carpentry, metalwork, basketwork, cutting or sewing;
5. Become complete human beings with fully-developed personalities aware of their rights and responsibilities;
6. Gain a sense of self-worth through love and encouragement.

Achievements of the Foyers Maurice Sixto

Through these objectives, the staff at the Foyers Maurice Sixto, on whose behalf I am honoured to be addressing this distinguished assembly today, are leading a relentless struggle to improve the lives of children, particularly child domestic workers, in Haiti.

Our achievements so far include

: … A gradual increase in the awareness of the plight of child domestic workers through our information and awareness-raising programme (PIS).

… Co-operation from families who are now willing, if not actually to bring us children who have been victims of severe abuse, at least to alert us so that we can intervene in time. In May 1998, for example, we collected three severely abused children who are now waiting at the shelter for an emergency solution.

… Constant requests from individuals, groups and associations interested in the cause of child domestic workers for Foyers Maurice Sixto to participate in conferences, talks and exchanges of experience.

… Visits to the shelters as models of successful action by students and researchers involved in this field.

… The survey of child domestic servitude conducted in 1993 and revised in 1997 by IPSOFA.

… The evaluation of our partners.

… A technical assistance project drafted by a consulting, training and legal assistance firm (COFAL). Draft laws on the Rights of the Child submitted to parliament for approval.

… The appointment of a children¹s judge by the government.

… Monthly meetings with host families to integrate them into our work.

… The opening of a children's dental clinic, donated by the Société Dentaire Internationale (SDI) of Switzerland.

… The voluntary assistance of two doctors for the children¹s healthcare.

… The provision of a hot meal every day to all the children and a special social meal every Friday.

… The purchase of 1.29 hectares of land, financed by SLAD, a French organisation, and the European Union, to set up workshops and agricultural activities for the children.

… The production of documentary films about the work of the shelters.

These few achievements nevertheless fall a long way short of the immense change that remains to be accomplished. On the basis of our humble experiences, we have set priorities to be achieved between now and the year 2000. These priorities are set out in a project that has been drawn up to be presented to the organisations that are able to help us. The project, entitled Projet Pilote d'Information et de Propagande sur le Respect des Droits des Enfants Vivant dans la Domesticité ("Pilot Project for Information and Awareness-Raising on the Rights of Children Living in Domestic Servitude"), outlines a planned outreach programme for the Foyers Maurice Sixto. This involves setting up a network through key centres such as parish churches and other institutions throughout the country.

As examples of other action to be taken, we attach the following valuable recommendations made by others concerned as we are about the degrading practice of child domestic servitude. Our share of responsibility is enormous. Two years from the 21st century, it is unbelievable that young people, the future of the nation, are still vegetating in atrocious situations that so profoundly impair their dignity as human beings. Measures must be taken now so that these children can at least enjoy their basic rights. It is recommended that:

… The fundamental needs of child domestic workers be made priorities which state and parastatal organisations in the country must address.

… The state offer appropriate legal assistance to protect the rights of these young people and organise consultation to determine the practical means by which the original families and host families could agree on the terms and conditions under which children are 'placed' with host families.

… The various parties involved monitor, denounce and, where necessary, take legal action against physical, sexual and other abuse suffered by these young people.

… Measures to promote job creation in rural areas be implemented to reduce rural poverty and under-development.

I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks, on my own behalf and on behalf of the staff and all the children at the Foyers Maurice Sixto, to all our partners, both foreign and Haitian, who have supported us and accompanied us in our struggle.

Before concluding, I would particularly like to thank Anti-Slavery International, without whose help I would not have been able to participate in this historic event organised for the benefit of all the world's deprived children.

Conclusion

The vibrations from the Global March Against Child Labour will be felt throughout the world. I hope that in Haiti they will be strong enough to shake the foundations of the institution of child domestic servitude and bring about desperately needed change.