Yldara - A Glimpse at Poetry & Life
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Category: People and Places |
Restavek
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Blistered and scarred young body
age five; face of an old soul
Tattered rags covered in filth
memories dimmed by anguish
Pained eyes masked in sweaty grime
serving a slavemaster’s whim
As death draws closer each day
freedom yearned: a dream unreal
Like a shadow in the dark
obscured, existing, ignored
Of tradition born, disguised
slave to a twisted system
Yldara 050707403
Author’s Comments:
Restavek (also restavec) - In the poem refers to a Childslave. The word is derived from the French phrase “reste avec” meaning “to stay with”. It refers to a social system (some say tradition) in Haiti whereby parents unable to care for their children send them to relatives or strangers living in more urban areas where they are supposed to receive food and housing (and sometimes an education) in exchange for light housework. In reality, Restaveks often live in grinding poverty, enslaved to their “hosts” and rarely receiving an education. In most cases, when they are no longer able to work and/or are ill, they are abandoned or left to fend for themselves and/or die by their so called hosts.
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July 18th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
this one is quite a picture of a sad reality that many people especially in the poorest nations go through. it is heartbreaking since most of them are children. may through the lines of this poem people will be moved…i don’t know how but i believe praying for them is the best way to start. God bless you sister for making use of your God-given gift to reach out to touch people’s hearts and make a difference. to God be all the glory!