Network Launches 2nd Annual National Day against Child Servitude

Until recently in Haiti, the practice of taking children from their home and placing them into unpaid forced labor in the home of another family was considered a normal option for children from the poorest rural families. Few people saw anything wrong with this system, and the Haitian government did nothing to stop it. Public opinion is starting to change, though, with the work of various local, national, and international organizations committed to defending the rights of Haiti's children.

School children marching past the National Palace last year during the first National Day Against Child Servitude. Children advocating on behalf of other children will grow up committed to ending this practice that steals the childhood of countless Haitian children.

In December 2000, Beyond Borders and our partner organization in Haiti, Fondasyon Limye Lavi, hosted a conference (with support from the International Labour Organization) for all the groups we knew in Haiti that were concerned about this problem. From that initial gathering a core group of organizations emerged and built a coalition that they called the Rezo Aba Sistem Restavek la or the Down with Child Servitude System Network--ASR for short.

Since then the ASR network has taken the lead in organizing to bring the realities of this practice to light and push for its abolition. Last year the ASR Network organized the first National Day Against Child Servitude on November 17. It was considered a great success, with activities organized all over Haiti and concentrated in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Our partners have been busy at work again this year, organizing an even larger series of events in the days surrounding Nov. 17. Below is a list of some of the activities that Beyond Borders will be supporting.

Special guest, Jean-Robert Cadet.

Through these activities our constant effort is to amplify the voices of the victims of this practice--both children and adult survivors. They take the lead in many of these activities. Our special guest this year will be Jean-Robert Cadet, an adult survivor of child servitude who managed to get an education in the US and become a college professor. He has appeared on the Oprah show and tells this remarkable story in his autobiography, Restavec. He will be interviewed and featured in several media outlets during this week of activities.

We also make a special effort to include more privileged children and young people in the activities and events we organize. We know that they are more inclined to be sensitive to the plight of other children, that their attitudes are still being formed, and that they will be Haiti's future leaders.

This year the ASR Network has a specific set of demands of the Haitian government. We hope to be able to present these directly to the Prime Minister during the National Day Against Child Servitude.

Date	Highlighted Activities
November 14-19	Guerda Lexima-Constant Radio and television interviews and public service announcements and spots will be broadcast on various stations in the capital and elsewhere in the country. ASR members, Campaign staff members, adult survivors of child servitude and our special guest Jean-Robert Cadet will be interviewed and featured in various programs. Street banners will be hung in prominent points throughout the capital. Printed ASR awareness-raising materials and T-shirts with the National Day theme will be distributed in various locations.
Thursday, November 15	A conference and a variety of cultural activities will be held in a number of poorer neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince where ASR network organizations work to defend children’s rights.
Friday, November 16	A panel discussion and news conference will be held at the Le Plaza Hotel in Port-au-Prince. We will be distributing our newly completed ASR position statement and demands. Jean-Robert Cadet along with Campaign coordinator, Guerda Lexima-Constant, will also be part of the panel discussion.
Saturday, November 17	An ecumenical prayer service for Haiti's children will be held at the Episcopal Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. Participants will include representatives of various organizations engaged in the struggle for children’s rights, government officials, members of parliament, and many children.
	This prayer service will be followed by a large march for children that will include many children. It will lead past the Ministry of Social Affairs and to the National Palace where the demands of the ASR network will be read by children

If you live in Haiti and want to know how you can participate in any of these activities, please contact Limye Lavi by e-mail.