Current:Home > MarketsHaitians in Ohio find solidarity at church after chaotic week of false pet-eating claims -Secure Growth Solutions
Haitians in Ohio find solidarity at church after chaotic week of false pet-eating claims
View
Date:2025-04-14 16:07:31
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — For many Haitian immigrants, Sunday mornings in Springfield, Ohio, are spent joyfully worshipping God as they sing and pray in their native Creole. This Sunday, they needed that uplifting balm more than ever.
Their community is reeling — confused, frustrated, hurt — from false accusations that they are eating their neighbor’s cats and dogs. The now viral and highly politicized rumors are being fueled by former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance and others, and violent threats against the community are upending daily life in their city.
“Jesus is with us in truth, and the truth is that Haitians are not eating pets and geese in Springfield,” said the Rev. Carl Ruby, preaching at Central Christian Church. He invited community members to join his congregation in prayer and peaceful protest of the false rumors leveled against their Haitian neighbors.
They also demanded an apology.
“It is truth that a retraction of these rumors will help to restore peace in Springfield,” Ruby said. “We respectfully call on all politicians and media figures who are promoting this rumor to help make Springfield great and safe again by speaking the truth about our community.”
Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, accepted Ruby’s invitation to worship together at Central Christian, and was grateful to be relying on his faith.
“It’s important to be here because we’re Christian — despite everything, we worship in good times and bad times,” he said. “I’m relieved that I’m in the presence of God. It’s therapeutic.”
Carl Ruby, pastor at Central Christian Church, hugs Lindsay Aime during service, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
And he had a message for Trump and Vance: “If they have the heart of God, they will think differently and speak differently.”
The rumors, spread on social media and by Trump during Tuesday’s televised presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, have exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment ahead of the election in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000 where more than 15,000 Haitians now live and work.
Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have legally landed in Springfield in recent years under the U.S.'s Temporary Protected Status program, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said the federal government needs to do more to help cities like Springfield serve the influx of migrants. On ABC’s “This Week,” DeWine called the Haitians good, hardworking people who are in the U.S. legally, and said the false rumors are a piece of internet garbage.
“There’s no evidence of this at all,” he said during the program.
Central Christian Church congregants stand to applaud members of the Haitian community during service, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Despite the governor and local officials debunking the rumors, Vance reiterated the conspiracy theory on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” on CBS while blasting Harris on her U.S.-Mexico border policy.
At Central Christian Church, Ruby encouraged his congregation to help hand out thousands of cards around Springfield that had been printed in Creole and English with a message of support for Haitians. It reads” “I’m glad you are here. Christ loves you and so do I.”
As the service ended, Ruby praised parishioners for a beautiful moment amid what he called a storm of chaos. Looking at the Haitian members in the first pew and at the rest of his congregation, he asked them to come together in prayer: “Pray and think what it is to be a Haitian parent sending their child this week to school.”
One of those parents is Mia Perez, 35 an immigration lawyer whose 9-year-old daughter had to evacuate her school twice because of bomb threats to a nearby DMV this week.
“Kids in school are being asked by other kids: ’How does the dog taste? How does the cat taste?” Perez said, describing her daughter’s distress.
“She’s asking, ‘Are we the kind of Haitians who eat this kind of stuff? Is it true? What’s happening?’”
“This is a conversation that I was not ready to have with my daughter,” Perez said. “I felt disrespected of our culture.”
Among those attending Sunday’s service in Central Christian was Rose-Thamar Joseph, 40, who works at the Haitian Community Center.
“I was praying for peace and protection — for the Haitian community and all of Springfield,” she said. “I just want Springfield to go back to what it was a couple of months ago.”
__
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
veryGood! (9693)
Related
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Tunisia commemorates anniversary of the 2011 revolution. Opposition decries democratic backsliding
- Texas jeweler and dog killed in targeted hit involving son, daughter-in-law
- Grool. 'Mean Girls' musical movie debuts at No. 1 with $28M opening
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Critics Choice Awards 2024 Red Carpet Fashion: See Every Look as the Stars Arrive
- How the Disappearance of Connecticut Mom Jennifer Dulos Turned Into a Murder Case
- Pennsylvania woman retires from McDonald's after 45 years
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Winter storms bring possible record-breaking Arctic cold, snow to Midwest and Northeast
Ranking
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Turkish strikes on infrastructure facilities wound 10 and cut off power in areas in northeast Syria
- In 'Lift', Kevin Hart is out to steal your evening
- Tom Holland Shares Sweet Insight Into Zendaya Romance After Shutting Down Breakup Rumors
- 51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
- Harrison Ford Gives Rare Public Shoutout to Lovely Calista Flockhart at 2024 Critics Choice Awards
- Alec Musser, 'All My Children's Del Henry and 'Grown Ups' actor, dies at 50: Reports
- In Uganda, refugees’ need for wood ravaged the forest. Now, they work to restore it
Recommendation
9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
Presidential hopeful Baswedan says Indonesia’s democracy is declining and pledges change
Texas mother Kate Cox on the outcome of her legal fight for an abortion: It was crushing
How the Bizarre Cult of Mother God Ended With Amy Carlson's Mummified Corpse
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Biden administration warns it will take action if Texas does not stop blocking federal agents from U.S. border area
Former chairman of state-owned bank China Everbright Group arrested over suspected corruption
Arctic freeze continues to blast huge swaths of the US with sub-zero temperatures