Charleroi’s Haitians express concern, surprise over outcome of election
Haitian native Evency Dorzelma admitted to being somewhat surprised by the outcome of last week’s presidential election.
The former police officer and popular musician in Haiti said that’s the sentiment of many of his fellow Haitians who now call Charleroi home.
“It was a stressful day,” Dorzelma said last week. “We were wondering how things were going to unfold. It didn’t resonate the way we were expecting it. All those lies that were spread, accusations. We would have expected a different outcome. The American people have decided otherwise.”
Charleroi gained national attention in September after now President-elect Donald J. Trump claimed the borough experienced a 2,000% increase in its Haitian population and schools were scrambling to hire translators for the influx of non-English speaking students at taxpayer expense.
Tension in the borough followed, with inflammatory and derogatory remarks about immigrants cropping up on social media, prompting a few Haitian students to withdraw from school as parents feared for their safety. Ku Klux Klan fliers also appeared at homes of some of the immigrants.
Getro Bernabe, Charleroi’s immigrant liaison, said he hasn’t heard much from the Haitian population in recent days.
“They stay quiet,” he said. “It looks like there’s relief after all of this tension before the election,” Bernabe said. “Now everybody is staying quiet. I haven’t heard anything up to now. We’re just observing.
“The only thing I would say is congratulations to the American population,” he said. “They made their decision. They picked their candidate and that’s it. It’s the result of the election. It’s OK.”
Bernabe served as an officer in the Haitian Coast Guard and as a liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti. Corruption and gun violence led to his fleeing Haiti.
Many Haitians moved to Charleroi for affordable housing and job opportunities.
A survey conducted in April 2023 showed Charleroi had about 2,000 immigrants from 44 countries including China, Spain, Indonesia and African nations as well as Haiti.
Like Bernabe, Dorzelma fled Haiti in 2018 amid increasing violence. He came to the United States through a program called Temporary Protective Status, which allows migrants from other countries who are considered unsafe in their home country to work and live in the United States for a temporary, but extendable, period of time.
He owns and operates the Private Ride Shares taxi service in Charleroi.
“We hope the new president leads the country in a way to gather the American people together and stop the misogyny, divisiveness, selfishness and xenophobia,” he said.
He admitted there is some concern, as the president-elect has pledged mass deportations.
“I don’t think any immigrant community feels safe,” he said. “Despair, that’s what we’re experiencing. We are concerned or worried for the next three months with what’s going to happen, unless the American people step up for what is right. The immigrants have brought a lot of energy to the economy of this country. If the Justice Department can prevent this mass deportation, that’s all we can hope for.”
David Barbe, owner of Fourth Street Foods in the borough, employs numerous immigrants, including Haitians. He is curious to see what transpires.
“Everybody’s a little leary,” Barbe said last week. “They’re wondering what programs will be ending. They’re wondering what Trump’s stance will be on it. So are we. I understand about criminals and undocumented people, but I don’t know what his perception is going to be for the people that have done everything the right way.
“It would affect not just my business, but you have thousands of businesses across the country that have done things properly. It depends on what our new president decides to do. Hopefully, he understands. He’s a businessman.
“Hopefully, people who are doing things the right way and have been doing things the right way will be given the consideration they deserve.”
Barbe said the company had an outside agency conduct an audit of his company’s employees, who he classified as “amazing.”
“They’re good, solid people,” Barbe said.
Borough Manager Joe Manning said the borough has been eerily quiet in post-election days.
“You don’t see as many people in the street, which is kind of eerie and bizarre,” he said.
He noted that a reporter from Philadelphia contacted him the day after the election to gauge the climate there, and Manning said there was little to tell him.
Dorzelma said he’s written a song, “Better Together,” that he hopes will be reflective of the near future.
“One nation under God, make no room for division,” he quoted from the lyrics. “There’s really nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.”