FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP):
A HAITIAN orphan who claims she was a virtual slave for a wealthy South Florida family says she hopes her story will inspire other victims of abuse.
Williathe Narcisse, then 12, told police in 1999 that she was beaten, enslaved and repeatedly raped by the 20-year-old son of a Pembroke Pines couple who had smuggled her into the United States three years earlier to be a household servant, according to court documents.
"I can't forget what happened to me. I don't know why they tortured me. I'm not going to dwell on it," said Narcisse, now 19, who graduated second in her class from the Life Skills Center of Broward County.
"I'm not the best role model, but here is a little advice: Never give up on yourself," she said in her address to the class.
Though she was anonymous at the time, her case drew attention to the practice in Haiti's countryside of 'restavec' - meaning "one who stays with" - in which a child works in exchange for a room, meals and possibly an education.
SIMILAR WORK
Narcisse and her mother had performed similar work for Marie Pompee's relatives in Haiti, before her mother died of AIDS.
She now has a four-year scholarship to study journalism and broadcasting at Broward Community College and Florida International University.
"I'm very proud of myself," Narcisse said. "I just wish my mom was here. But I know she's in heaven and she's proud."
Pompee was sentenced to six months in federal prison in 2004 after pleading guilty to illegally harbouring the girl. Her attorney, Martin Roth, said Friday that she never abused Narcisse.
Pompee's husband and son fled to Haiti, authorities said.
