Bill Nathan, a former Haitian child-slave, now author will be on the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus on Sept. 18, 2012.
Nathan was a “restavek,, a term referred to child under the custody of a family that does not treat them as they do for their own children. Usually, a child-slave is domesticated to do all the chores in the household. A child slave has to wake up early in the morning to prepare breakfast and must be the last one to go bed at night. A child slave does not go to school, is not allowed to sit at the dinner table, and can be severely beaten by members of the family.
Nathan was rescued by an orphanage that helped him get an education all the way through college. He is now running an orphanage, St Joseph’s Home for Boys, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is a professional drummer and a member of Resurrection Dance Theatre (RDT) that previously performed at UW Oshkosh on Sept.19-20, 2011.
Nathan has written a book titled Drummer Bill. The book is about his life experience growing as an orphan in the most impoverished country in the Western Hemisphere, living as a child slave by the age of 7, and being rescued by an orphanage. He will talk about the book and his journey with UWO students during a course taught by Dr. Emmanuel Jean Francois, a native of Haiti himself. That class will meet on Sept.18, 2012, from 1:20 to 2:50 p.m., in Clow 45. The session is open to the UW Oshkosh community.
Emmanuel Jean Francois submitted this announcement. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to contribute calendar items, campus announcements and other good news to UW Oshkosh Today.