Songs for Freedom Heads East!

With the first Songs for Freedom finalist chosen from the South department earlier this year, the event headed this past month to the South-East.

More than 70 people from across the region came out to audition;from these contestants, 30 were chosen to compete at the regional finale in Jacmel, Haiti.

On May 1^st, a banner at the Jacques Kahwly Stadium in Jacmel boldly proclaimed this year’s Songs for Freedom theme: “Leve kanpepou yon Ayiti san restavek” (Stand up for a Haiti without restavek). More than 5,000 people filled the stadium, along with the press and several government officials. The audience watched and listened for over three hours as each artist performed, government officials spoke out against the restavek system, and Pastor Jean Bilda delivered a powerful message of awareness and action against the system.

Each artist brought their own musical style and flair, with some even including skits and mime as part of their performance. With all of this creativity and diversity, however, one thing was the same: they all sang with conviction against the restavek system. One contestant shared the very personal and moving reason he decided to compete in the Songs for Freedom contest:

“This competition was for me an opportunity to express what I personally lived. I was born and raised in a small family in Jacmel. My mother and my father decided to give me to a lady who promised to send me to school and help me; I left Jacmel to come to Port-au-Prince. At the beginning, things were fine. But it didn’t stay that way.  I was sent to a small school but did not have time to study due to the amount of domestic work I had to do. My days were comprised of harsh words. Thank God, a relative visited me one day and saw my misery. They reported the situation to my parents who quickly asked that I return to Jacmel. I know what goes on in the restavek system. So I sing to share my experiences…I encourage you to take this competition into every corner of Haiti to raise awareness and bring this message of hope for restavek children.”

At one point, the emcee approached a somber-looking woman, and asked for her impression. Wishing to remain anonymous, she confided:

“After attending this competition, my heart is transforming and my mind has opened.  I understand things differently. I thought it was normal for a child working at home to be treated with harshness and brutality. But after seeing this event, whose only purpose is to say that THIS IS NOT GOOD, I have quickly understood it is urgent to change my position.”

She shared that she has had a child in her home for two years whom she has not treated well, and that she is now thinking of either returning the child to her parents or changing this child’s life. She thanked Restavek Freedom for this event and for opening her eyes to how children should be treated.

After three rounds of competition, the judges proclaimed the winner to be Gimena Jean! Ecstatic and honored, she proclaimed:

“I have always dreamed of becoming a representative for the children in my community and advocating for the abused ones. Now that I have an opportunity to pursue this goal, I am ready and motivated to face the nine other contestants at the grand finale next year and win the title of National Ambassador. My dream is two-dimensional. I want to be a doctor specializing in pediatrics and I want to be a social artist and world star committed to advocating for the weakest.”

Gimena Jean is among the two finalists who have now been chosen for next year’s grand finale in Port-au-Prince.  Over the next several months, the event will move across Haiti, determining the other 8 finalists who will compete for the title of National Ambassador.  The Songs for Freedom competition is gaining ground toward its ultimate goal of convincing Haitians to change their behavior toward children in restavek.