Haitian community has “feeling of despair” over end of TPS
Members of Cambridge’s Haitian community expressed uncertainty and anxiety in advance of Tuesday’s expected expiration of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals residing in the United States. While many of the city’s estimated 1,800 Haitian residents are U.S. citizens or are here through other programs, the entire community will be affected.
“A lot of people [in the Haitian community in Cambridge] are afraid. I’m a [U.S.] citizen and I’m scared to go out,” said Harry Jean, a paraprofessional at the Tobin Montessori School.
Jean-Dany Joachim, owner of Little Crepe Café on Oxford Street, was born in Port-au-Prince and emigrated to the U.S.. The long-time Cambridge resident, poet and community organizer has become a trusted point of contact for Haitian residents. He says the reality is that Haiti remains a very dangerous place…