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Haiti, Child Slavery and Worldwide Human Trafficking

8/4/2010

14 Comments

 
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In Haiti slavery is alive and thriving. This is ironic because Haiti is the one country in the Western Hemisphere where African slaves successfully revolted against their white masters. Today the Caribbean nation’s slaves are mainly children, though some adults are forced into prostitution.

Destitution, and the desperation it breeds, drives many parents to give their children to other families. The abandoned child is supposed to do minor household chores for the new family in exchange for lodging, food and schooling, but too often the child becomes a domestic slave subject to physical and sexual abuse. In Haiti these children are called restaveks.

Haiti’s child-slavery problem was exacerbated by the earthquake in January, a catastrophe that killed more than 300,000 and left countless children homeless, orphaned and even more vulnerable to absorption into domestic slavery.

According to UNICEF, before the quake 300,000 children in Haiti were slaves. Jean-Robert Cadet, author of Restavek and a former restavek himself, believes that number will double unless the international community intervenes -- for instance, by driving Haiti toward universal education, which, he believes, will ensure that every child is in school and not in servitude.

Haiti’s child slavery is a form of human trafficking (even though the children usually remain in Haiti), and human trafficking is a worldwide problem. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) defines human trafficking as “an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.”

Every country plays a role in this detestable crime. Even the United States, “the land of the free.”

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. The UNODC estimates that there are 2.5 million slaves in the world today, but that's a conservative figure. Kevin Bales, author of Disposable People, and the International Justice Mission (IJM) place the number at over 27 million. The IJM states, “More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade.”

According to the UNODC, 79% of slaves are forced into prostitution while 18% are forced to work as laborers. The organization admits, however, that this last statistic may be skewed by bias. That may be the case. But what’s clear and undeniable is that with more than 27 million humans in bondage at this very moment, slavery is thriving in the 21st century.

How much progress have we truly made?

Sources:
  • "Child slavery a growing problem in Haiti, advocate says" (CNN)
  • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • The International Justice Mission
  • Disposable People by Kevin Bales

14 Comments
Dana Hawes
8/5/2010 04:04:51 am

I was completely unaware of this travesty of humankind. No matter how disparaging the subject that is illuminated, I am grateful for your willingness to spread light. There is absolutely no hope for a solution to problems like this if the issues remain hidden in the abysmal depths of obscurity. I will return to your blog often to partake in the powers of your perception. This world certainly needs more minds like yours. Thank you for this insight.

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Montessori schools link
4/16/2012 07:12:01 pm

Against the child slavery the Child education and care centers are really meaningful for the families.. I am very much pleased with the contents you have mentioned. I wanted to thank you for this great article. I enjoyed every single part of it and I will be waiting for the new updates.

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Dana Crum link
8/5/2010 04:35:11 am

Hey, Dana. Thanks so much for your kind words about my blog post. The human trafficking happening in Haiti and across the globe is saddening. As I sit here typing in an air-conditioned room, sipping my tea, someone’s daughter is being forced to do the unthinkable.

As a globe, we have to make stopping modern-day slavery a top priority.

Reply
Noel Jones
8/5/2010 05:17:58 am

I remember reading about this in a very thorough New York Times article soon after the quake. It is a complicated issue--a detestable practice that would be less detestable if it were simply the desperation of poor parents sending their children off to do light chores and get an education in the home of wealthier families with kind hearts. Even then it would be heart-breaking for the children and their families, and still abhorrent that such disparities in wealth were allowed to exist by a society. But when that act of desperation meets the dark side of human nature--the lust for power over others--ugly gets uglier, and quickly, for the children being cast about like shipwrecked victims tossed at sea in a storm, clinging to whatever they can get their hands on that floats, struggling just to survive. To consider the psychological impact of this practice on Haitian youth is staggering. Even if one escapes, or one day negotiates his or her freedom, how does that young adult go on to negotiate relationships, pursue happiness and raise the next generation of children in a positive, healthy way?

You also makes a good point that slavery is alive and well without the Mid-Atlantic Slave Trade, and without the issue of race, as in Haiti. I have maintained this view for a long time now--that the slave trade as we know it, was not so much the abuse of black people by white people, but the abuse of helpless people by bad people with power over them, both black and white. (Coincidentally, it is actually a Haitian friend of mine that turned me on to this idea years ago).

There is no one that can convince me that a white boy in tights and a powdered wig was able to negotiate an unfamiliar jungle and climate, past poisonous snakes and spiders, past the jaws and claws of wild beasts unknown to them--past hunters and their darts and spears, to sneak up on villagers who had lived there their entire lives, kidnap them and drag them back to boats without the aid of other natives of the land--other tribes who were eager to benefit from what was traded for their guidance through the terrain.

And even in the 17th century, there were millions of white people in Europe who would have nothing to do with the slave trade and found it abhorrent. Unfortunately, our nation in its current state was founded by the white men who didn't have a problem with it. There were a handful of abolitionists, yes, President John Adams and his wife Abigail among them, but the vast majority of white people that started our current system, were slave owners--if not slave traders--merchants and mercenaries.

Still, to this day, there are African tribes willing to sell each other into slavery, and wealthy Haitians willing to make slaves of poor Haitian children, so the real devils of the slave trade are simply cruel, greedy, lustful, power-hungry people--the darkest side of human nature, available in every color of the rainbow, unfortunately.

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Tracy Dunne
8/5/2010 01:03:17 pm

Hey Dana. I'd read a little about this in the aftermath of the earthquake; as a mom it's especially hard to read. I can't imagine being in such straits and deciding that your child will be better off somewhere else, and then to find out that they were abused. It's heartbreaking.

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Nicknice
8/5/2010 06:00:58 pm

Thanks for speaking out about this generally under-reported issue. It amazes me that humans have the capacity to treat each other so wrongly. Who are these people that have so little respect for others and their basic human rights? Damn!

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Bernie O
8/6/2010 02:03:34 pm

In most impoverished countries this is common place. But sadly it exists and will continue to exist as long as exploitation remains an easy way of gaining power, control and making money over those that are easily manipulated. Stuff like this never, ever goes away. But it can be monitored. The human condition for many sadly relies heavily on exploiting others for economic gain (sound like corporate America ...LOL). That is just the sad part of human history.

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Rania Khalil
8/6/2010 06:37:46 pm

I just read that Wyclef is running for president.

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Pilar Enright
8/7/2010 07:31:06 am

I share your concern. However, it is hard for me to know about the gross injustice, poverty, and exploitation around the world, because of my feeling that there is not a damned thing I can do about any of it. Despite my occasional contributions to the organizations struggling for justice out there, I know they labor against enormous odds, and that
their commitment has to be long-term. Still, supporting their struggles is “the best” I can do. I’m thankful for the dedicated professionals and volunteers who are fighting the big fights for human decency.
My days as an “activist” in a diverse array of areas are probably over. (We’ll see.) But focusing on the little picture and the little struggles of ordinary life keeps me from being despondent these days. I feel those are challenges I can do something about.

Reply
Haitian citizen link
10/25/2010 03:47:15 am

Owo I always love poetry. And sometimes try to write this that. It's your poet an awesome creation touches the deepest core of heart.
any way i wanna tell an important thing for which we all should be concerned.
After an Heavy natural disaster It's become back dated. And bearing unmeasurable sufferings. Still now it's facing crisis from all sides, created from the Earth Quake as well as by nature. But It's time to change the day, So request all of you to come forward to make tha days ahead distinctly.
I think at this moment HAITI really needs help to be rebuild.Outgoing Haitian President René Préval has set the presidential elections for Nov. 28, 2010.
According to ma justification,
<a href="http://charleshenribaker.com">Haiti Election Candidate</a> should be under consideration as a deserving personality,
who can supply the best support and leadership
Thank you.

Reply
Dana Crum
12/6/2010 04:49:05 pm

Haitian citizen, thanks so much for reading my blog posting and for then taking the time to comment. And my apologies for taking so long to approve your comment. In the future, I’ll blog and approve comments more frequently.

Reply
bestessays.com.au scam link
2/13/2013 05:51:29 pm

It amazes me that humans have the capacity to treat each other so wrongly. Who are these people that have so little respect for others and their basic human rights.

Reply
commercial carpet cleaning in ottawa link
4/23/2013 02:50:04 am

I have to express some surprise, however, to see this list of names in your blog post, which places a man who oversaw warfare, firing squads, and the dawn of a nation's darkest age, next to some of the most brilliant and noble figures in history.

Reply
Useful Reference link
10/2/2013 03:18:50 am

I don't like your template but your posts are quite good so I will check back! Also i can't subscribe to your rss feed! Any ideea why? Regards.

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