Expelled from Texas, returned Haitians lament lost American dream

More than 300 Haitians returned home on Sunday after the United States expelled them from Texas, leaving many of the potential migrants demoralized and angry for their search for a better life. be away. of his impoverished country was over.

US border agents began removing groups of Haitian migrants mostly over the weekend from a large makeshift camp they had set up after wading down the Rio Grande, separating Mexico and the US state of Texas. Read more

The vast camp under the international bridge attracted more than 12,000 migrants at one time, dotted with tents and tarpaulins strung on reeds, as many Haitians who had walked from Brazil so far tried to file a petition with northern authorities. Americans to enter and escape rampant poverty. and gang violence affecting the Caribbean nation.

At the Haitian capital’s airport, three flights with 327 returned Haitians landed Sunday from Texas, according to a US official with knowledge of the matter. Several who spoke to Reuters on arrival said they were never told where they were being taken.

“I left Haiti to go look for a better future,” said Stephanie, who declined to provide her last name. She said US agents took her from under the bridge to a detention centre before she was charged on the flight.

She ruled out the Haitian economy being unable to provide opportunities for dozens of young people like her.

“If jobs could be created, we would never have been exposed to this misery in other countries,” he said.

In a video message posted Sunday evening, Prime Minister Ariel Henry pledged to help expelled Haitians and lamented the “disturbing” images of the camp.

“It is with great sorrow that we see on social media, through television, and hear on the radio the tribulations of our brothers and sisters on the border of Mexico and the United States,” he said.

He implored Haitians to build a future where they could “live well in our country without having to suffer these forms of shame.”

But at the airport, returned migrant Mondesir Sirilien explained how he had spent about $ 15,000 on leaving Haiti, travelling first to Brazil and then by land to end up crossing the shallow Rio Grande on the southern US border.

“I could have invested that money here, I could have built a big business. It’s not like we didn’t know how to do things,” he said.

“But they don’t respect us, they humiliate us and now we don’t have anyone to defend us.”