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# 703: film about restavek (fwd)
From:Kramerkar@aol.com
I would appreciate if you would let the List know about the following project
I am doing in regard to the restavek:
In 1997 I received a small grant from the Soros Foundation to produce a film
on the plight of the restavek. Since then I have made several trips to Haiti
for the purpose of filming and interviewing many people about this. Working
with my Haitian friend and assistant, Carlo Thelasco, we filmed approximately
15 hours of footage. We filmed several children as they went about their day
fetching water, cleaning, washing, sweeping, cooking, caring for other
children, etc. We were even able to interview a few of them (they were all
very shy) as well as their caretakers. One little boy told us (on camera)
how he often wants to run away, and how at night he dreams of being back in
the countryside playing with his siblings. When he awakes and finds it is
only a dream, he starts to cry. The caretakers spoke openly - even proudly -
of all the things "their" restavek does for them, what a hard worker s/he is,
how they couldn't get along without them, etc. We also filmed interviews
with several human rights workers, psychologists, and progressive teachers
who are working with these children. In these interviews the speakers
analyze some of the reasons and context for the restavek, as well as some of
the steps to what the solution might be. We also went to the countryside to
film several hours of background material, to show where many of these
children come from.
In January, I will be making one more trip to Haiti to follow up on some of
the children we filmed a year ago and then our filming will be complete. We
need to raise more funding for the editing (hint, hint) and maybe some people
on the List have contacts with interested organizations and individuals -
we're tax deductible. In any case, as soon as the film is completed, we hope
to have a first-rate document about this situation that many people will be
able to see.
I'll be happy to keep you up to date on what's happening with the film.
Thanks for the dialogue, Bob Karen Kramer