Comedien - Haiti Observer Blog

Haitian storyteller Maurice Sixto began life in Gonaïves in 1919. Born into privileged circumstances, son of an engineer, he studied at elite Sainte Louis de Gonzague High School and pursued a legal career at University of Haiti. While there, he fell into journalism working at Le Matin. He then taught English in the Republic of Congo, and was attached to the diplomatic service in Paris.

However, Sixto's greatest contribution to Haiti were his gifts as raconteur. Using his skills as a voice actor, he developed characters to address social ills hounding Haitian culture. One controversial topic of his satires was the unspeakable practice of child slavery, known as restavék. Restavék means servant, unfortunate children who end up as slaves when their families can't care for them. Farmed out to wealthy families to work, they suffer physical, mental, and emotional abuses.

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