Customer Reviews

Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American

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For all those interested in the ways Haitian society operates, RESTAVEC is a must read and will occupy your mind a long time after you've put it down. But you will not be able to put the subject of this book to rest. As a child growing up in Haiti, You witness a lot of things that you do not consider abnormal. As far as I knew I belonged to my parents, and I considered other kids to be so. I knew Mr. Cadet, I played with him, I saw him everyday for at least four years, and only thaught of his adoptive mother as a strict disciplinarian. A lot of what my young eyes saw did not prepare me for what I read in this book. As they say in HAITI, nothing is what they seem. RESTAVEC has broken another link in this vicious chain of poverty and child abuse. BOB -as I used to call him - has overcome.

Jean Cadet is a friend and teaching colleague of mine and I am continuously amazed that this thoughtful, caring person had such a miserable childhood. His story moved me to tears of pity, anger and joy. His life is a testimony to the human spirit. He is driven to change a society which has remained unchanged for decades. Anyone who travels the journey with Jean-Robert Cadet will be forever moved.

In "Restavec", Jean-Robert Cadet recounts to us in disturbingly matter-of-fact language the outrage that was his childhood in Haiti.The illegitimate son of a wealthy man,he was given into slavery as a gift to his father's former mistress. The brutality of this woman, whom he came to think of as his mother, is recounted in excruciating detail. The facination of this book is in watching this brutalized child realize an escape from this degraded life. The parallels between Jean-Robert Cadet escape from slavery and Frank McCort's escape from abject poverty are very striking. The role of education in their own countries, and their fulfillment as teachers in the U.S. are just two similarities in their stories. "Restavec" is an intense read, not relieved by humor. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a tale of human potential and quiet heroism.

Cadet's autobiography is a disturbing reminder that nothing is ever what it seems. While all the world is aware of the poverty and violence that make up much of modern Haiti, few are aware of the child slavery that still goes on. While it is common to hear about children being sold across the border to work in the Dominican cane fields, here in the U.S. we don't usually hear about Haitian children being given or sold to wealthier families to act as unpaid servants. The most affecting part of Cadet's story is that we never know whether his restavec status was intentional or not. His father gave him to someone "to be raised" after his mother's death. His father also provided the woman who would raise Cadet money for her trouble. So was his treatment as a restavec intentional on his father's part? It would seem not...most restavecs are sold, not paid for. However, his father's callous disregard is an evil in itself, as well as being the factor that allowed Cadet to be treated so poorly by she who should have raised him with care. Worth reading.

It all started when a friend at work and I were talking about spiritual things and He shared a story with me about his childhood. He told me of a boy that he met when he was a young boy himself living in Haiti, that boy turned out to be Jean -Robert Cadet and he was "Oliver" in the book "Restavec". I was so touched by his story that I wanted to know more, it just so happens that there was a book about the experience that his friend went through. He let me borrow the book and I was so inspired that I could not put the book down or stop talking about it, I wanted to share it with any one who would listen. The book stirred many emotions in me. Even though I am a white person and was never a child of slavery, I felt my inner child cry out and feel once again all the abuse that I felt as a child. Jean's story of survival and overcomming great adversity was awe inspiring. I am praying that this book gets the well deserved attention it should receive. As I read the book the vivid sceens came into view. It would make a great movie. I have since shared the book with many who have felt the same emotional response that I have. We all feel that this book is an important message for all to read.

I couldn't get to sleep last night and decided to pick up Restavec, which I had planned on reading and was sitting on my night table. Wow!!! I read the book straight through and finished at 6am just in time to get ready for work. As a Haitian-American, this opened my eyes to a part of Haitian society that I had only heard about and barely witnessed. To get the story first-hand, from the pen of someone who actually lived through it, was very special. All I have to say is "Mr Cadet, thank you so much for sharing your story!" It will be on my mind for a very long time.

There are over 300,000 restavec children in Haiti today according to a 1998 UN study. The majority of the restavec children are not slaves of the rich, but of people too poor to afford domestic help. Many owners are worse off than the family from which the child was taken. This is not a problem of the past, but of the present and is growing even worse and more prevalent due to the worsening economical conditions in Haiti. There are no penalties in Haiti for the abuse of children in domestic service either in the rural code or the penal code. For this reason, and many others, the torment and horror suffered by the restavec children has gone unchecked. This covert travesty, carried on behind closed doors, remained Haitis' dirty little secret until Jean-Robert Cadet opened the door for all the world to see. Cadets' book gives an inside look at the world of cruel, heartless servitude endured by children who are considered to be no more than soulless property. Anyone who cares about injustice toward children, should read and remember this book.

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that is the essence of inhumanity." --From The Devil's Disciple by George Bernard Shaw

I returned from Haiti just this past Saturday and it was there that I came across "Restavec" and read it cover to cover in one long sitting. I was incredibly moved by Cadet's story, and most especially because in P-au-P with a population of about 2,000,000, I understand that there are still 150,000+ children living as these slaves. As I walked the streets each day for the past 6 weeks, I tried to discern which of the hungry, the lost might be a restavec, too. So many fit the description that it was heart breaking. Cadet's writing style certainly isn't sophisticated, but it is honest and the incidents and images stick with you long after you've turned the last page.

While visiting Haiti recently on a short trip I had the opportunity to meet Jean-Robert. As a matter of fact, I did not know about the book until I had met him.

It is a great shame that Jean-Robert's story is common in the country of Haiti. I had the opportunity to meet two others while in Haiti who were restavecs who related to me their plight.

Jean-Robert does a great service to humanity by documenting and having the courage to tell of his life. I recommended it highly, but only as preparation on seeing the conditions of Haiti for yourself (don't let nay-sayers or worry worts discourage you from visiting). Only after visiting Haiti, I think, can the book be fully appreciated for the powerful testimony that it is.

Jean-Robert Cadet has written a captivating, soul-wrenching,mind-boggling autobiography. I was unable to put down till I had read it in one sitting! When the pages of RESTAVEC began to unfold ,I realized that this author has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Pearl Buck and Vladimir Nabokov.Hats off to Mr. Cadet.