Over the course of just five days at the end of summer 2007, George Nozuka's world-view changed forever. Removed from the bubble of music video glam the pop singer was sweating in Haiti, filming "Child Slavery: The Hypocrisy of Haiti", a documentary about "restavecs" and produced by Plan Canada and Mobile Jam Fest, http://mobilejamfest.com.
As the film explains, restavecs are children, some so young they could be in kindergarten, sold to families and put to work performing domestic chores. They are often physically abused, denied education and forced to sleep on the floor.
George quickly found himself opening up, shedding his star persona and relating to the Haitian youth over a shared history of turmoil and troubled childhoods. "I grew up in a household that had abuse in it, and that was my connection to the kids who were child slaves and were hit and sexually abused,"he says.
When I'm here in Canada, to be honest, my focus is on my music," he says. "For them, what matters is their next meal. For them, what matters is clean water."
The film documents his experience as he meets restavecs and visits a centre for children living with AIDS. ìWe wanted to show another side of Haiti," says director and Executive Director Craig Goodwill.
Goodwill filmed the project with youth in mind, hoping it would help spark discussion as it tours across high schools. "It's about doing something," he says.
He knows the film will not change the situation in Haiti, but he does hope it will open eyes and minds.
"This whole of idea of changing the world in one broad sweep is not how it actually happens. It actually is one person at a time and changing the world around you. And you know youth today, they're not going to be preached to."
Goodwill says George was integral to the project because he provides a way for kids to keep the images of Haiti with them in their daily lives in North America. "When the person who saw that film sees George, they are now going to think of Haiti and the children," says Goodwill.
For both George and Goodwill, the key to solving the child slavery issue is one of compassion and empathy. It's about "putting yourself in other people's shoes," George says. "That's just the beginning of change, you know? Awareness is a big part of it.î
And with the right people caring about the right things, Goodwill thinks more than just worldviews can change, but world situations as well. ìI think it's totally changeable," he says.
To watch the film visit:
http://www.mobilejamfest.com/node/773905
To learn more about Plan Canada and what they doing in Haiti, and how you can get involved, visit:
