The goal of a movement involving both Haitian and non-Haitian organizations is to empower and assist Springfield’s Haitian population. According to spokesman Jacob Payen, the Haitian Community Alliance was founded over a year ago but has just recently obtained official nonprofit registration. The HCA collaborates with non-Haitian groups and institutions in addition to the great majority of Haitian churches, corporations, and other organizations.
According to Payen, the main challenge faced by the Haitian population is not having a way to integrate into Springfield. The HCA aims to solve these difficulties. He claimed that the group’s goal is to promote messages of unity.
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Given the various ways that hateful and angry comments are being directed against Haitian immigrants in Springfield, this is a very relevant message at this time. The city was recently brought to the attention of the country when a story went viral alleging that dogs were being eaten by Haitian immigrants, of which 12,000 to 15,000 reside in the Springfield region. Officials from the municipal and law enforcement have stated that there is no proof to support these allegations.
Several politicians and Republican leaders have reiterated these accusations, including U.S. Sen. JD Vance and former president Donald Trump, who made them during last month’s presidential debate.
According to Payen, locals must take the time to get to know the Haitian immigrants living in the area, as this will allow them to discover that Haitians are not violent or irate people.
Payen shared that her team’s efforts in establishing unity between the Haitians and Non-Haitian residents in the community, “We’ve been sending out there to the residents that aren’t Haitians and to the city as a whole, we’ve been asking to unite the city with the Haitian community. We need understanding from the [non-Haitian] residents.”
“We need them to learn who we are as people, so learn a little bit about our culture, our food, everything. Once they start to do that, we will get to the point where they will not look at us as bad as they used to, but for the most part, we’re preaching unity throughout the city.”
He states that another goal is to enhance driving instruction for the Haitian community.
As to Payen’s statement, the HCA is utilizing its own resources to strive towards this goal of unification, such as hosting discussions on the nearby Haitian radio station, New Diaspora Live. He said that in their private discussions, he and other members of the HCA are trying to figure out how to spread this message.
Payen claimed that although most Haitians realize that this is a “difficult moment” that would pass in due course, some are “living in fear” since the city has become a symbol for politicians debating immigration.
“The city officials put together the proper security measures for us to feel safe but with people making threats, either on social media or physical threats … our community is still afraid of getting out there like we used to because we don’t know what may happen to us,” Payen noted.
“So, therefore, we try to kind of stay home and … observe what’s happening, what’s going on [and] going to happen.”
Before the population was the target of such pervasive hate and hostility, according to Payen, many in the Haitian community knew that a movement like the HCA was necessary. According to him, the plan was to have something set up so that community leaders would be ready to speak with one voice.
“We knew there were a lot of us here in Springfield; we knew eventually it was going to lead to something, [but] we didn’t know what it was,” Payen stated.
Payen continued noting, “We started talking ever since we were aware of the maybe big boom that may happen one day because if we [are] 10-15,000, that’s a lot for a small community. So we knew if it wasn’t today it’s going to be tomorrow.”
