In modern Haiti more than 300,000 children are victims of domestic slavery. In Haitian Creole they are called “Restavek”, from French “rest avec” – “stay with”. Many parents, who live in poverty, are unable to feed their children and give them away to more affluent families, hoping that their child will live in better conditions and will be able to get an education. But, with few exceptions, restavek children become slaves, working in the homes of their owners from early morning till night. They fetch dozens of liters of water a day, cook, wash clothes, clean yards and do all other household chores. They are not allowed to sleep on the bed, eat at the table with the rest of the host-family or play with
other children. Most of the restaveks are not permitted to go to school and constantly
exposed to domestic and sexual violence. After the earthquake of 2010, the situation in Haiti deteriorated significantly, a lot of children lost their homes and parents. A big number of those kids became restaveks. To date, even poor families keep two or three restaveks, treating them sometimes tougher than rich people.