Moving Children in Haiti: Some Hypotheses on Kinship, Labor, and Personhood in the Haitian Context
- The restavèk system is tied to Haitian notions of childhood, kinship, learning and personhood and is often sensationalized without contextualization.
- After the earthquake, humanitarian efforts focused on registries and family reunification based on the assumption that families are the best protective environment.
- UNICEF observed that 40% of the children registered one year after the quake had been separated before it.
- Surveys cited show that many children do not grow up with biological parents, including 32% of children surveyed in one study and 64% of youth aged 10 to 24 who had moved from their birth household.
- One cited survey of low-income urban areas found that 30% of households surveyed had a restavèk present.
Diane Hoffman of the University of Virginia published this article in the Journal of Haitian Studies, volume 18, number 1 (2012). She argues that the restavèk system cannot be understood apart from Haitian notions of childhood, kinship, learning and personhood, and that without careful cultural and social contextualization it is often sensationalized. The article notes that after the earthquake, humanitarian agencies prioritized registries and family reunification, and that UNICEF observed that 40% of registered children had been separated before the quake.
It cites surveys indicating that child mobility between households is common: one study found 32% of children not living in a household headed by a biological parent, and a youth survey found that 64% of respondents aged 10 to 24 reported moving away from their birth household. Hoffman presents hypotheses, drawn from field work, on why children move.
How to cite
Journal of Haitian Studies, 2012, Moving Children in Haiti: Some Hypotheses on Kinship, Labor, and Personhood in the Haitian Context, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41715454
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