Common Dreams Haiti

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” -Nelson Mandela.

In the shameful conditions of Haiti's slums, as many as 300,000 children work as domestic servants. They are called, Restaveks (creole for "stay with"). These children are uneducated and unappreciated. Most of these children live in abject poverty. They work all day and don't go to school. The term has become synonymous with abuse. A restavek in general is a child from the countryside who is given to a family in the city with the expectation that the child will have a better life. Often the "host" parents promise to send her to school in exchange for help around the house. There is a spectrum of treatment, but the children are almost never treated as part of the family and instead are exhausted, isolated, and often abused. When they are grown up, they're thrown out on the street, deprived of opportunities to create a better lives for themselves, with little chance of achieving the common dreams we all share. Restavek is a form of modern day slavery.

Call+Response's Justin Dillon partnered with CNN to bring musician and actor Common down to Haiti to see for himself. This riveting CNN documentary (airing on CNN International and domestic on Thanksgiving Day 9pm PST, 11/27/2011 8pm EST and through December, check local listings) focused on the amazing Restavek Freedom Foundation's work to rescue and rehabilitate these children living in Restavek conditions. Please help us support their work by donating to one of these immediate needs.