Helia LaJeunesse and Alina “Tibebe” Cajuste (r)
WASHINGTON, USA — Haitian activists Alina ‘Tibebe’ Cajuste and Guyto Desrosiers will speak about child slavery during a forthcoming tour of east coast cities of the United States. From May 8 to May 25, they will be visiting the Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Providence, and Boston areas and the tour will feature free, public events in each city.
Cajuste is a survivor of child slavery who leads an adult survivors network that advocates the elimination of this grave injustice with the Haitian government and organizations with similar missions. The network has become the collective voice of more than 250,000 Haitian children (about 1 in 10) who are currently living in domestic servitude.
Desrosiers is the director of Beyond Borders’ Child Protection Program, leading a growing network of more than 3,000 child rights activists in Haiti. Beyond Borders is a grassroots organization that works with Haitian leaders to end child slavery, prevent violence against women and girls, provide universal access to education, and create economic opportunity. Since 1993, Beyond Borders has been creating long-term solutions to human rights abuses by supporting community development that is driven and led by Haitians.
Every year, tens of thousands of rural Haitian parents send their children to urban cities with the hope that they will have the opportunity to go to school and be fed by a distant relative or friend of a friend.
Too often, these children expect to be sent to a loving home, but instead they are subjected to a modern form of slavery called restavèk. In their new homes, children work as domestic slaves, enduring various forms of abuse, neglect, and denial of their basic rights.
The events aim to raise awareness about this important issue and explore how people living outside Haiti can join the growing movement to end child slavery once and for all in Haiti.
For more information, visit www.nochildaslave.org.
Source: caribbeannewsnow.com
