In recent days, public schools in Springfield, Ohio, have seen a disturbing scene of children turning away upon arrival, or worse, running out of classrooms, all with bomb threats.
Parents struggle to explain to their 6- and 7-year-olds what is happening. Some are unsure whether they will ever get their children back.
“We must not give in to fear,” said the mother, who asked not to be identified to protect her family. “But these are your children.”
Haitians in this blue city don’t feel threatened just by false accusations of eating their neighbors’ dogs and cats — a claim parroted by former President Trump and his wife, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. As Springfield entered the raging national debate over immigration, fear spread to neighborhoods across the city.
State forces now patrol schools and government buildings. Last weekend, suspected Pride gang members marched through the streets and the Ku Klux Klan handed out hate-filled leaflets. Anxiety is so widespread that most residents interviewed by The Times declined to be identified, saying neighbors have been harassed for speaking to the media.
As one woman said, everyday life is disrupted “by so much carelessness and ignorance.”
On Thursday, Springfield Mayor Rob Rew issued a proclamation giving his office “temporary emergency powers to mitigate public safety concerns.” The announcement came less than 24 hours after Trump told a rally that he plans to visit the city of 58,000. As he has said before, he suggested Springfield was dangerous. “You may not see me again, but that’s OK. I got to do what I got to do,” Trump said.
Although the former president enjoys broad support in Ohio, not everyone will welcome his arrival.
“We knew when he said that it was going to be a bad few months,” said one resident, who did not want to be identified. He called it “very wrong on many levels.”
The roots of the riots go back several years, when Springfield was suffering from an economic downturn. Civic leaders launched a campaign to attract new businesses that ultimately created thousands of new jobs and a need for more labor.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine at a news conference Monday at Springfield City Hall joined by Ohio Highway Patrol Col. Charles Jones, left; Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson, second from right; and Springfield City Schools Director Roberto Hill.
(Patrick Aftura-Orsagos/Associated Press)
An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian migrants had arrived in the city – often from other parts of the country – under temporary protected status granted due to violent unrest in their homeland. According to many, they helped modernise the city.
“Haitian workers pay taxes and reinvest in our local economy,” according to the Chamber of Commerce website. “Our Haitian people are willing to work hard and adapt.”
Although resident Larry Lytle said he enjoys walking through the culturally diverse neighborhood and hearing “three or four different languages,” access to public services, health care and education has been limited. Longtime residents have complained that rents are rising dramatically amid growing demand for housing.
Tensions flared last year when a Haitian immigrant driving without a license crashed into a school bus, killing an 11-year-old boy.
The growing furor led to claims of a summer of “eating animals” on social media. The Wall Street Journal reported that a representative from Vance’s office had reached out to city officials. Check the claim. He was told that the police had received no such report. Vance filed public accusations anyway.
Similarly, city officials say the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has seen no evidence of another rumor that Haitians have killed geese in public parks for food.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, called the allegations “a bunch of garbage on the Internet.”
However, Trump insisted that immigrants were “dog eat dog” during the last presidential debate, and Vance continued to push the false narrative, telling CNN: “If I have to make up stories to get the American media to really focus on the suffering of Americans, then I will.”
Haitians now feel attacked by society and are afraid to leave their homes.
“Some of them are afraid for their lives,” Rose-Tamar Joseph of a local Haitian support center told The Associated Press. “It’s difficult for us.”
Springfield residents were also affected, with schools, medical centers and government offices receiving dozens of bomb threats. Two Walmarts and a grocery store were temporarily evacuated.
“Yes, social services are stretched to the limit, as are schools and health care,” said one resident. “But you know who doesn’t threaten with bombs and who doesn’t create chaos and fear? The Haitians.”
Although all threats have so far been hoaxes, advance ticket sales for the city’s annual antiquities exhibition have been delayed and authorities have cancelled the festival of diversity, art and culture. Wittenberg University, which has also received threats, will hold online classes until the end of the week.
The Springfield teacher worries about children who aren’t old enough to understand the political context or the anxiety they see in the adults around them.
“There is definitely a sense of fear and tension in the smaller classes,” the teacher said. “Kids pick up on things like that and sometimes you see a change in behavior when that happens.”
More than a month before the presidential election, with weeks of heated rhetoric still ahead, some Springfield residents are pessimistic about the prospect of a return to normalcy anytime soon.
“The light is on,” said one. – When will the fire go out?
High Street Methodist Church has been forced to cancel its English as a Second Language classes for safety reasons. The weekend classes are typically attended by a few dozen Haitian students. Cynthia Atwater, the church’s pastor, said terrified Haitians asked the course’s program director: “What should we do? Should we leave? We don’t know what to do.”
Atwater has heard that some Haitians have already decided to leave Springfield and Ohio.
Atwater, who is black, said recent events in the city have made him feel unsafe. In August, a small group of people They went to the city center during the jazz and blues festival, holding swastika flags.
Last week, as Atwater stopped by for dinner at a local restaurant, he couldn’t help but hear some patrons attacking Haitian immigrants with hateful language. “In my mind, I think I’m a person of color and they don’t really know if I’m Haitian or not. It was clear that it didn’t matter and they didn’t care.”
He has received calls from religious leaders across the country asking how they can help. “I have no other answer than to pray for the people and the situation. I don’t know how we are going to get through this.”
