Restavecs

A restavec (or restavek; from the French reste avec, "one who stays with") is a child in Haiti who is sent by their parents to work for a host household as a domestic servant because the parents lack the resources required to support the child. Restavek may refer to a child staying with a host family, but usually refers specifically to those who are abused.
But, to understand why Haiti is so poor, we need to know some history facts about this country. In 1492, Cristopher Columbus discovered the island. At the end of the eleventh century almost all of native population had disapeared, enslaved or dead by settlers. In 1697 the western part of the island, where Haiti is located today, was given to France by the Spain. After a slave revolt 1794 the country became the first in the world to abolish slavery, and, in 1804, Haiti became independent. As a way of retaliation, USA and Europe maintain an economic blockade on Haiti for 60 years, and after this, to end the economic blockade, the country accepted to pay an indemnity very big to France. Because all these facts that this country is considered the poorest in America.
So coming back to the Restavecs, in Haiti, parents unable to care for children may send them to live with more affluent families. This is perceived as acceptable because in Haitian culture, it is ubiquitous for housing to be shared among members of an extended family, including distant relatives. (In contrast, the concept of a single nuclear family occupying each household is seen as desirable in other cultures.) Therefore, in Haiti it is acceptable for parents to send children to distant relatives to live, often these relatives are living in more urban areas. The children receive food and housing (and sometimes an education) in exchange for housework. However many restavecs live in poverty, they might not receive proper education and, sometimes, the child could be abused, beaten or raped. The United Nations considers restavec a "modern form of slavery".
Restavecs are mostly young black girls that are around the age of 9 and younger. However, there are still young males that are involved in this system as well. These young girls are born into poverty and they have suffered some type of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. They have no social or political voice, so they can’t determine their futures. A lot of parents send their children to be restavecs thinking that they are going to live a better life, but a lot of times this is not the case. Children who are raised in a poor family or lose their parents become domestic workers in Haiti.
I decide to write about this after I watched a documentary from ESPN "Haiti: o país dos restavec vous", produced by Lúcio de Castro. In this documentary we can see how is the real situation of that country, and what they realy need. They don’t need troops to control a civil war, they need some humanitary help in education, with food, with the population health. A lot of money has been spent with a false war, and this is not what the population need. I recommend everybody to watch the documentary that shows the restavecs and the worldwide symbol of human race shame.

Haiti: o país dos restavecs vous
Parte 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIeu4lUrV0E
Parte 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSp7EwU-zjg&feature=related
Parte 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJlVZu71W04&feature=related
Parte 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMRtEX7qQEg&feature=related
Parte 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHJ71hM7z9Y&feature=related