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‘Diversity is our super power’ Charleroi stakeholders gather for candid discussion about racism

By Karen Mansfield 10 min read
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Dawa Gurung, who emigrated from Nepal to the U.S. in 2011, owns the International Uni-Mart in Charleroi. Earlier this week, he juggled a lunch rush of mostly Haitian customers picking up drinks and snacks and completing money transfers, and noted the influx of immigrants are friendly.
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Dawa Gurung, who emigrated from Nepal to the U.S. in 2011, owns the International Uni-Mart in Charleroi. Earlier this week, he juggled a lunch rush of mostly Haitian customers picking up drinks and snacks and completing money transfers, and noted the influx of immigrants are friendly.
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Evency Dorzelma, wearing a hat with a U.S. flag, sought political asylum in the U.S. and moved to Monessen. He was surprised at former president Donald Trump’s recent claims. “They (immigrants) are civil engineers, teachers, professionals from any level among us here,” he said, noting they pay taxes.
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Charleroi Superintendent Dr. Edward Zelich shares the impact of recent false claims about the local Haitian population on his students Tuesday during a round table discussion in the borough.
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Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning listens to a variety of perspectives, disappointments and fears during Tuesday’s round table talk.
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Carlton Stern, who owns C’s Place in downtown Charleroi, explains the psychological impact racism has had on him. Stern, originally from Jamaica, talked about how immigrants contribute to the Charleroi community.
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Dr. Donald Martin, Executive Diirector of Intermediate Unit 1, said he has seen firsthand the effects of false claims on students enrolled in ELL classes.
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Getro Bernabe, right, is the Haitian liaison in Charleroi.
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David Gatling, president of the Washington branch of the NAACP, discusses the impact comments by recent politicians have had on the local Black community Tuesday, during a round table focused on Charleroi’s Haitian population.
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Joe Manning, Charleroi Borough Manager, addresses an attendee’s concerns that council has not stood up for the Haitian community in recent weeks.
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The borough of Charleroi has seen an increase in the number of immigrants, especially Haitians, in recent years.
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Evency Dorzelma, a former police officer in Haiti, holds a screenshot of a KKK flyer posted online and later distributed to some Haitian residents.

CHARLEROI – Evency Dorzelma, a former police officer and popular musician in Haiti who fled to Charleroi in 2018 amid increasing violence in his country, sat at a table at Dee’s Event Center in Charleroi and read aloud the text of a Ku Klux Klan flyer that had been posted to a local private community page on Facebook last week.

“These third-world immigrants are destroying every city they arrive in,” Dorzelma, sporting a hat with an American flag, read. “Arm yourselves White America, protect your families.”

Some members of the Haitian community who live in Charleroi have found copies of the flyer on their doorsteps and in mailboxes in recent days.

The Facebook post prompted Dorzelma, who owns a taxi service, to alert the NAACP Washington branch. The NAACP notified the FBI.

“I’ve never experienced racism the way I’m experiencing it right now,” said Dorzelma, noting that when he first arrived in Charleroi it was a “ghost town,” a common refrain from other residents and business owners.

For nearly three weeks, the borough’s immigrant population, Charleroi’s officials, and Charleroi Area School District have been dealing with intense national and international scrutiny, after former president Donald Trump thrust the borough of about 4,100 residents into the spotlight during a Sept. 13 rally in Tucson, Ariz., by spreading debunked claims about Haitian immigrants killing and eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, and saying that Charleroi schools “are scrambling to hire translators” and “the town is virtually bankrupt.”

Borough manager Joe Manning said the accusations made by Trump, as well as his running mate JD Vance, are completely false, and that the Haitian community and other immigrants have helped to revitalize a town whose population plummeted after the fall of the steel industry decades ago and now is facing the closure of the Corelle glass factory, which employs 300 people.

“The negative perception that was created by those comments for the outside world just doesn’t exist,” said Manning, who has spent his days fielding media calls and visits from as far as Switzerland and Germany. “Nobody thought anything about the Haitian population that has been here for the past several years until those comments from the former president, 3,000 miles away from here, were made. It was never an issue. It was just a fact of life. Since then, this whole community’s been turned upside down.”

Manning was among about 20 local leaders, immigrants and stakeholders who gathered Tuesday for a round table discussion with the Observer-Reporter about how they’re dealing with the attention the town has received, as Trump continues to double down on his criticism of immigrants, especially Haitians.

Dorzelma, like a majority of immigrants in Charleroi – mostly from Haiti, but from other South American countries, China, and African nations – came to the U.S. through a legal pathway, Temporary Protective Status, a humanitarian aid program that allows migrants from countries that are considered unsafe to live and work in the United States for a temporary, but extendable, period of time.

Some of those immigrants don’t feel safe in the borough these days.

Two private Charleroi Facebook pages have posted inflammatory and derogatory comments about immigrants – Charleroi Borough Council Vice President Jerry Jericho said Tuesday he’s asked the administrator of one of the pages to close down the site – and the Washington Observer-Reporter received an email addressing “the over-abundant Haitian population” that warned, “And the crime…I did not draw on any of those animals yet … but have been in a position multiple times where I have been threatened.”

Jericho, who sits on the borough’s police board, said claims that migrants are responsible for an increase in crime in Charleroi aren’t true.

“I’m tired of the rumors going around, all the negative rumors,” said Jericho. “I keep seeing that crime is up. That’s 100% false. Crime is down. There haven’t been any major incidents in this town.”

Charleroi Area School District Superintendent Dr. Edward Zelich said a few Haitian students have withdrawn from school in recent days because their families are worried about their safety. English as a Second Language classes offered to immigrants by a local literacy provider were canceled last week as a precaution.

“That disturbs me,” said Zelich. “I would like for anyone who can stay, please stay. We’re going to work together and we’re going to work through this.”

Zelich has served at Charleroi for 11 years. The district has experienced a significant increase in the number of English-language learners (ELL) as a result of the growing community of immigrants and refugees who have resettled in the borough.

The district’s ELL enrollment swelled from four students in 2014 to 204 students for the 2024-25 school year.

Zelich said the district, which has more ELL students than any other school district in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, embraces its diverse population.

“We believe diversity is our super power,” said Zelich, adding the state has provided more funding for the school district to additional cover expenses. “We have a wonderful learning environment that is committed to providing a high-quality education to all students in a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment, and that includes our ELL or immigrant population. Their linguistic backgrounds and their diversity bring a wealth of knowledge to all of us.”

He said his biggest challenge lately has been battling misinformation.

Getro Bernabe, Charleroi’s immigrant liaison, said he has witnessed a lot of tension recently.

“The last couple of weeks have been hectic for everybody in this town,” said the Haitian-born Bernabe, who speaks four languages and served as an officer in the Haitian Coast Guard and as a liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti.

That bothers him, because he has been working hard to make the immigrant community feel welcome, helping to open new businesses, and helping parents register their children for school.

“All of a sudden, it feels like the opposite of what I’ve been doing. People feel like they’re not welcome anymore and they feel like there is some fear,” he said.

Haitian families began moving to Charleroi in large numbers about 10 years ago, fleeing political unrest, gang-related violence and poverty in their home country, where children have limited access to education. In Haiti, many were teachers, lawyers, civil engineers, business owners, and nurses.

Dorzelma said the Haitian residents in Charleroi “love the USA and we wouldn’t do any harm to the community.” He has helped coordinate community cleanups and other events that don’t get the press given to Trump and other politicians.

“We Haitians, we brought energy, we brought life to the city,” said Dorzelma. “We fill many jobs that other people refuse to do.”

At Fourth Street Foods in Charleroi, almost all of the employees who work on the factory line are Haitians or other immigrants.

On its website, the company – which has struggled to find workers to fill jobs – posted a response to “unfounded criticism” on social media platforms claiming that immigrants are taking jobs from Americans.

David Barbe, owner of Fourth Street Foods, said, “Nothing could be further from the truth,” regarding the allegations that immigrants have taken the jobs from local workers.

“We get very few (local) respondents. It’s very, very hard to fill assembly line labor positions,” he said, noting other area companies, including Amazon and Bakery Barn, rely on immigrants to fill those jobs.

In town, Casey Jageman, who owns Lil J’s Blessings and welcomes the immigrant population, said some residents aren’t happy about the changing demographics, and the recent media attention has added to tensions.

“They just want to belong. They’re in a new place, they’re starting over, they’re learning a new language, they just want a place to belong. They’re nice people, I really really like them,” said Jageman.

Business at her boutique has increased, and Jageman noted that new businesses, some owned by immigrants, have opened in storefronts that sat vacant for years.

Dawa Gurung, a Nepalese refugee who moved to Charleroi in 2011, owns International Uni-Mart. The store is stocked with ethnic foods and beverages, and provides money transfer service.

“To me, they are helping the community grow now, because before they came here, this town was a dead town. Now, they are helping it to rise up,” said Gurung.

Linda Hamilton, an immigration lawyer who lives in Bridgeville, said she is frustrated at the way many immigrants are being portrayed, and said immigration laws are complex.

“Too often I hear or read on social media people demonizing migrants fleeing horrific conditions in their home countries, describing them as illegals who are stealing jobs, taking over communities. When it comes to the Haitian population in Charleroi, they are here legally and they do have authorization for employment in the U.S. Seeking asylum is a human right protected under U.S. and international law,” said Hamilton.

Local NAACP branches and other organizations and leaders have defended the Haitians following Trump’s disparaging tropes.

NAACP Mon Valley Branch President Ken Silva pushed back against the scapegoatism of immigrants in Charleroi and other towns during the election.

“Most people that are here were either brought here or came here and came through Ellis Island. This community, this place is built upon immigrants. That’s the bottom line,” said Silva. “Everything we’ve built in this country has been because of the contribution of immigrants.”

Dr. Donald Martin, executive director at Intermediate Unit 1, said the reaction following Trump’s inflammatory comments has been eye-opening, but not surprising. He said the school district, community, and other agencies have worked together to give students the best chance for success.

“I’m very proud of this district, and I’m very proud of the work that went on in the community, ” said Martin. “Your kids are fine. Your kids are awesome. They’re resilient. Maybe we need to

turn the tables and learn something from the kids.”

Dorzelma – whose brothers, also police officers, have moved to Charleroi, and his sister and her family, who live in Canada, also left Haiti, where his mother remains – said he is grateful for the chance to live in the United States, which he called “a choice between peace or my life.” He’s also thankful for the people who have helped him in his journey, including Pastor Michael Fisher and his wife, Janet Fisher, of The Orchard Christian Fellowship in Monessen.

“You do what you can do to help others. It’s called reasonable service. We’re called to help people,” said Fisher.

Charleroi’s Jericho said there is a playground across the street from his house, where children in the neighborhood play regularly.

“They don’t have a problem with each other, they just play,” he said. “Some of them don’t understand what each other are saying, but they know how to laugh and have a good time and run around in circles.”

Staff writers Paul Paterra and Trista Thurston contributed to this story.

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