The border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is where children cross illegally to find work – many end up as street children at risk of abuse by adults. To help address this problem, UNICEF supports the Child Protection Brigade, which checks vehicles to prevent unaccompanied or undocumented children from crossing the border. But UNICEF and its partners must reinforce the brigade’s work. SOUNDBITE (English) Gallianne Palayret on the border point Ainse-à-Pitres in Haiti:“It is a bit chaotic here, and in this chaos, sometimes during the days of market, children cross illegally to go to Dominican Republic to find a better life. And this is why UNICEF is here, we are trying to work with different actors on both sides of the border to try and help these children.”
Poverty is the root cause of why children cross the border. Sometimes they are accompanied by their parents, but often they are on their own. Destin is one example of a child working at the border. He helps his mother sell used clothes on market days, and has never been to school. SOUNDBITE (CRÉOLE) Inez Belezaire, mother who works in the market:“My husband died. If I had the means I would send him to school, but it is impossible.”
But Destin is still better off than many other children. He is at least with one parent. The reality for many children is more desperate. Drop-in centres at border sites help street children and provide them with needed support. The centres, established at several border points in Haiti, welcome the most vulnerable youth – for a few hours, they can play and learn. They also get a hot meal. SOUNDBITE (English) Gallianne Palayret, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist:“These kids are here on their own, some of them have been facing difficulties at home, like violence, or some have been thrown out of their home, some of them have been begging in the streets, living in the street, some of them for years, so this is where we have to help them.”
UNICEF estimates that at least 2,000 Haitian children were trafficked to the Dominican Republic last year. The impact of the January 2010 earthquake has probably made the situation worse, as many families have become poorer.
Transcripts / Production Notes / Scripts
The border area between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is where children cross illegally to find work – many end up as street children at risk of abuse by adults.
To help address this problem, UNICEF supports the Brigade de Protection des Mineurs – or Child Protection Brigade – of the Haitian police, which checks vehicles to prevent unaccompanied or undocumented children from crossing the border. But UNICEF and its partners must reinforce the brigade’s work.
SOUNDBITE (English) Gallianne Palayret on the border point Ainse-à-Pitres in Haiti:
“It is a bit chaotic here, and in this chaos, sometimes during the days of market, children cross illegally to go to Dominican Republic to find a better life. And this is why UNICEF is here, we are trying to work with different actors on both sides of the border to try and help these children.”
Poverty is the root cause of why children cross the border. Sometimes they are accompanied by their parents, but often they are on their own. Destin is one example of a child working at the border. He helps his mother sell used clothes on market days, and has never been to school.
SOUNDBITE (CRÉOLE) Inez Belezaire, mother who works in the market:
“My husband died. If I had the means I would send him to school, but it is impossible.”
But Destin is still better off than many other children. He is at least with one parent. The reality for many children is more desperate.
Drop-in centres at border sites help street children and provide them with needed support. The centres, established at several border points in Haiti, welcome the most vulnerable youth – for a few hours, they can play and learn. They also get a hot meal.
(English) Gallianne Palayret, UNICEF Child Protection Specialist:
“These kids are here on their own, some of them have been facing difficulties at home, like violence, or some have been thrown out of their home, some of them have been begging in the streets, living in the street, some of them for years, so this is where we have to help them.”
UNICEF estimates that at least 2,000 Haitian children were trafficked to the Dominican Republic last year. The impact of the January 2010 earthquake has probably made the situation worse, as many families have become poorer.
To Walk Without Fear TV 
UNICEF RESCUES HAITI’S STREET CHILDREN