Catherine Bearder, author. – Madam President, heaven knows Haiti has its problems. Years of corruption, natural disasters and earthquakes would test any country, so what is unique to Haiti? What is holding them back?
My first speech to this House was after the 2010 earthquake, when children were being sold into slavery. But today we still see the terrible plight of children there. Haiti has half a million children at risk, in slavery and being trafficked. The Haiti custom known as restavek holds the most vulnerable children as slaves and servants for host families. So what is the Haitian Government doing to protect these children? Well, when a government’s budget puts more into cleaning offices than providing health services, you know something is wrong. Corruption is endemic and this has to change.
Poverty, unemployment, poor health services and lack of education must cease to be the reality for Haitians. After all, on the other side of the island, in the Dominican Republic things are not so bad. So it cannot just be geography. The children of Haiti deserve care, education and protection from their Government. This House needs to send a strong signal, and I urge you, colleagues, to support this motion.