Common recently traveled to the earthquake ravaged island of Haiti to help prevent a child enslavement practice called “restavek.” The trip was documented in a new film titled “Common Dreams: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary.” According to CNN, “300,000 children” toil in “a form of modern-day slavery,” which started when rural families sent their kids to cities in order to live and work in a recipient’s house while receiving an education. Now the much sought after instructional segment of the system has been abandoned and these children are forced to work without being taught.
Somewhat different than his native Chicago, Common commented “I just felt like I was entering another place, another world I had never experienced, and I really had to prepare my mind to be in it…Often you speak to them, their heads are down, they don’t make eye contact. Most of all, they feel very inferior and that carries them into adulthood.”
The Grammy winner’s ninth album, “The Dreamer/The Believer,” features Nas, John Legend, Maya Angelou and is due out on December 20. Check out “Common Dreams” here and let us know what you think.
David Woodson
