Logo: Michelle Karshan and staff and participants of Alternative Chance/Chans Altenativ in Haiti

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Our Outcast Youth

by David Belle, Produced by Crowing Rooster Arts, Inc.

“This short documentary is not just about Haitian youth – it’s about all non-citizen immigrant youth living in the United States. It not only educates the general public about the injustices of our current immigration policies, but also opens a dialogue amongst immigrant students and communities.” Michelle Karshan, Executive Director of Alternative Chance/Chans Altenativ

Produced by Crowing Rooster Arts, Inc.
1998
12 minutes

Deported for life! Recent immigration laws in the United States have caused tens of thousands of American youth to be deported to their home countries after finishing their sentences in U.S. prisons or probation. For the first time, hear three young men talk about their experiences of growing up Haitian in the United States and being deported to Haiti by the U.S. government, and in one case, by his parents.

Special guest Cheryl Little, Haitian refugee rights attorney, explains the changes in the laws that created this “virtual life sentence of banishment.”

These young men are participants of the Alternative Chance program in Haiti, a self-help, peer counseling program which advocates on behalf of criminal deportees and youth sent to live in Haiti against their will. Alternative Chance provides a wide range of services including an orientation to Haiti, emergency services, advocacy on behalf of criminal deportees detained in prison in Haiti upon their arrival, counseling, wrongful deportation screening, etc.

Renal D., who is featured in this film, spent three nightmarish years in Haiti as one of Haiti’s dreaded criminal deportees before his attorney proved that he was a U.S. citizen. Renal now lives and works in Florida with his family, finally reunited with his young daughter.

This excellent and provocative educational tool is available at $20 each plus $3 shipping/handling.

Please contact us at altchance@aol.com to inquire about how you can order a copy of this video.

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