SPRINGFIELD | Still shaken by the defamatory comments of Donald Trump and JD Vance, the Haitian community of Springfield is exasperated that some still think that their members eat cats and dogs.
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“Of course that’s not true. Haitians don’t eat pets, it’s not in our culture,” laughs Yves Pierre, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in this small Ohio town for five years.
The Journal went to Rose Goute Creole and Kékét Bongou, two Haitian restaurants. Unsurprisingly, there was no cat or dog on the menu, but rather typical dishes from this country located in the Caribbean, such as griot, which was excellent.
The whole story started with a citizen telling on a Springfield Facebook group that an acquaintance who had lost her cat had finally found it hanging in front of the house of her neighbor from Haiti who was cutting it up to eat it.
More than a month after the television debate where Donald Trump wrongly accused this community of more than 15,000 people of eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs, the annoyance is still very present.
Fear campaign
The publication quickly toured the country before being taken up by Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, also a senator from Ohio.
“Haitians are not capable of killing and eating cats and dogs! We are not savages,” annoys the young Westerlie woman Pierre Fils, who denounces this racist smear campaign.
Photo CLARA LOISEAU
“He does everything he can to scare the population, we just want to work here,” says the 27-year-old young woman, who sends money to all her family remaining in Haiti.
Broken pots
Residents who immigrated to Springfield are still picking up the pieces.
“It’s very serious to say false things like that,” denounces Ketlie Moise, owner of the Kékét Bongou restaurant, opening in April 2024.
Photo CLARA LOISEAU
For Westerlie Pierre Fils, who lives in Florida like many immigrants, the entire Haitian community is still in shock.
Yves Pierre agrees.
“Even though it was proven wrong, it was too late, the damage was done to our community. Evil always spreads more easily than good,” he says.
