Jul

2011 July Newsletter

Uncategorized

July 15, 2011
Dear Friends:

The public awareness campaign we began in Haiti in February 2011 on the plight of children in domestic slavery has been very effective. It inspired prominent Haitian citizens, among them a former ambassador and his wife, to join me on several radio programs during the months of April and May. A Haitian poet, Mrs. Marie-Carmel Perodin, has written a song with powerful lyrics that was produced with the help of Northern Kentucky University’s Department of Music. The CD was distributed to fourteen radio stations throughout Haiti and played on June 12, the National Day of the Child. Several stations continue to play the song as a service to the public, and a large high school in Port-au-Prince has pledged to have their students sing the song regularly rather than recite the pledge of allegiance. In September when school resume we will ask elementary school teachers to teach the song to their students, and we will provide incentives for schools to make the song a part of their curriculum. This is vital in influencing the new generation to change the mentality that’s perpetuating child servitude. You can hear the song at www.JeanRcadet.org, where you can also read the translated lyrics, and download it for your own music collection.

To complement the song, we are currently taking video footage in Haiti to create a music video, which will be shown on television when school reopens. The music video will show images of children in uniform being carried to school by children in servitude. The goal is to bring visibility to children in servitude at every level of society, causing the Haitian population to reflect on this injustice.

The poet, Mrs. Perodin, has already written next year’s song to discourage the use of the cowhide whip used on slaves during colonial time, but on Haitian children today. These whips are still being sold on the streets.

Magdala, a slave girl, knows to keep her distance when the family gathers.

A vendor of whips

We are working with a team of educators from the University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University to create a curriculum to teach elementary school students about children’s rights and how to reach out to children in domestic slavery. The work, which will result in a published book, will be translated, edited and adapted by Haitian educators for cultural accuracy. The team will train teachers in Haiti to use the curriculum. We will need your financial help to translate and produce the books.

My Stone of Hope, my second book, is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2011, by the University of Texas Press. It is my sincere desire that this new release will help keep the spotlight on Haiti’s slave children until the practice is eradicated. Please pre-order the book directly from the publisher. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Jean – Robert Cadet

Restavek No More, Inc

JeanRcadet.org

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If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
One of an estimated 300,000 Haitian children enslaved in child labor.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
From an isolated, rural area of Haiti where there are no schools, no electricity, no running water and few possibilities for the future.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Living in the city with a family who is not your own -- not as a foster child, but as their servant.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Between the ages of 5 and 15, and missing out on your childhood.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Three times more likely to be a girl than a boy.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Up at dawn, before any member of the family you serve, to begin preparing for their day, and in bed well after most other children are asleep.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Responsible for preparing the household meals, fetching water from the local well, cleaning inside and outside the house, doing laundry and emptying bedpans.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Getting no pay for any of these activities.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Unable to see your family or remember where they live.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Unable to attend school consistently, if at all -- depending on your owner's financial situation and schedule.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Hungry, as you would probably not get enough to eat or food with enough nutritional value for someone who works hard all day.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Subjected to physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely:
Never have all of your rights as a child respected.