Children of Shadows 2001
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Karen Kramer
Directed by Karen Kramer
VHS, color, 54 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Anthropology, Human Rights, Multicultural Studies
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Ayodele Ojumu, Graduate Student, Department of Library and Information Studies, University at Buffalo, State University of New York Ojumu, Reed Library, State University of New York College at FredoniaDue to destitution in Haiti, many peasant families are unable to provide sufficiently for their children or send them to school. Parents of these children feel that they have no other choice but to give them away. The children are typically sent to the capitol of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, to live and work for other peasant families as unpaid domestic servants. The common perception among the peasant families is that the children will develop and be sent to school under the care of their “host” family. This never happens. The children, referred to as restavek - which means little slave, are bound to a life of servitude. Children of the Shadows is a documentary, which takes you on a brief journey in the lives of seven children who are experiencing this modern form of slavery. One priest/social worker, Miguel Jean-Baptiste, has helped these children cope with their lifestyle by establishing a school for them to learn to one day become self-sufficient.
The content of Children of Shadows is brief, yet very informative, heart-wrenching, and of good technical quality. This film has received the following awards: Vues d’Afrique (2002), Best Human Rights Documentary, Barcelona (2002), and International Documentary Festival, Amsterdam (2001). Public and academic library collections, alike will be enhanced by this purchase. It is highly recommended for academic and public libraries, specifically those that support an anthropology, human rights, and/or multicultural studies program.