Haitians in Ohio find solidarity in church after chaotic week of false accusations of pet eating

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Many Haitian immigrants spend Sunday mornings in Springfield, Ohio, joyfully praising God while singing and praying in their native Creole language. This Sunday, they needed that comforting balm more than ever.

Their community is shocked, confused, frustrated, hurt, by false accusations that they are eating their neighbors’ 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 disrupting daily life in their city.

“Jesus is truly with us, and the truth is that Haitians do not eat pets or 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 against false rumors circulating against their Haitian neighbors.

They also demanded an apology.

“It is true that retraction of these rumors will help restore peace in Springfield,” Ruby said. “We respectfully call on all politicians and media figures who are promoting this rumor to help make Springfield a great and safe place again by telling the truth about our community.”

Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of the Haitian Community Outreach and Support Center in Springfield, accepted Ruby’s invitation to worship together at Central Christian and was grateful to be able to rely on her faith.

“It is important to be here because we are Christians. Despite everything, we celebrate prayer in good times and bad,” he said. “I feel relieved to be in the presence of God. It is therapeutic.”

And he had a message for Trump and Vance: “If you have the heart of God, you will think differently and you will speak differently.”

The rumors, spread on social media and by Trump on Tuesday, televised presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, have exacerbated fears of division and anti-immigrant sentiment ahead of the election in the mostly white, working-class city of about 59,000, where more than 15,000 Haitians now live and work.

Thousands of temporary Haitian immigrants have legally arrived in Springfield in recent years under the U.S. Temporary Protected Status program, as long-standing unrest in their home country has given way to Violent gangs rule the streets.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said that Federal Government The government must do more to help cities like Springfield handle the influx of immigrants. On ABC’s “This Week,” DeWine said Haitians are good, hard-working people in the U.S. legally and that false rumors are Internet garbage.

“There is no evidence for this,” he said during the program.

Although the governor and local officials denied the rumors, Vance reiterated conspiracy theory on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday while criticizing Harris for her U.S.-Mexico border policy.

At Central Christian Church, Ruby encouraged her congregation to help distribute thousands of cards throughout Springfield that had been printed in Creole and English with a message of support for Haitians. They read: “I’m glad you’re here. Christ loves you and so do I.”

At the end of the service, Ruby praised the congregants for the beautiful moment amid what she called a storm of chaos. Looking at the Haitian members in the front pew and the rest of her congregation, she asked them to join in prayer: “Pray and think about what it means to be a Haitian parent sending your child off to school this week.”

One such parent is Mia Perez, a 35-year-old immigration attorney whose 9-year-old daughter had to evacuate her school twice due to bomb threats to a DMV near you this week.

“At school, children hear other children asking them, ‘What does dog taste like? What does cat taste like?’” Perez said, describing her daughter’s anguish.

“She asks, ‘Are we the kind of Haitians who eat this kind of stuff? Is it true? What is going on?’”

“This is a conversation I wasn’t prepared to have with my daughter,” Perez said. “I felt like our culture wasn’t being respected.”

Among those attending Sunday’s service at 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,” he said. “I just want Springfield to go back to what it was a couple of months ago.”

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