ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s been a long year for Abigail Desravines-Louissaint, one of the longest since she arrived on the shores of the United States some 15 years ago.
Desravines, who is on the leadership team of several groups and nonprofits geared toward helping Haitian immigrants, spends her time comforting families who are having to start over – while worrying about her own parents’ fate.
“Two weeks ago, my parents left their home,” Desravines said, eyes welling. “It’s gotten worse.”
Last March, Haiti’s downward spiral reached a new low. Its government ceded control of most of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to gangs. Gang leaders shot and killed indiscriminately in their fight to control territory and resources.
NGO’s warned about a lack of resources and a growing hunger crisis. The prime minister stepped down in April amid growing pressure.
The transition government has been mired in uncertainty ever since.
“Families are losing much more than they were losing last year,” Desravines said. “The gangs are controlling more cities, more streets. It’s getting everywhere now. So it’s like a circle.”
Florida’s government reacted to the crisis by sending the State Guard to the keys to keep an expected wave of migrants at bay.
The wave largely never materialized, but plenty of others found their way to Florida, either through the Mexican border or by overstaying visas. It’s estimated that 250,000 more Haitians have made the United States their home since an earthquake in 2010 sent the first shockwaves through the country’s stability.
Desravines was one of the earlier arrivals, and now watches as more recent migrants face the potential loss of their Temporary Protected Status beginning this summer. The Trump administration shortened the latest extension of that status and has made no secret of its desire to remove as many immigrants as possible from the states.
Desravines says it’s not time to go back. Not with the danger families continue to face or the violence that awaits anyone who returns.
It’s not just that, though. She said the country’s situation is so dire, it simply does not have the infrastructure to welcome back the hundreds of thousands of people who have left.
“This is war,” she said. “It’s not structured for that.”
When asked, she said the country would eventually be ready. It simply needed more time – and she said Central Florida should be welcoming the hundreds of thousands of dollars Haitian immigrants are pouring into the economy as they try to rebuild their lives.
“We are looking for the same thing. You want to feel safe, you want to feel heard, you want to feel seen,” she explained. “God has not forgotten about us… He will heal our land, and I am not giving up on Haiti. I know better is yet to come.”
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