RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Dafney Tales-Lafortune spends most of her days in her kitchen, so much so that she and her husband opened a Haitian food truck called Bon Fritay in 2020. “Food is the epicenter of our culture,” she said.
Tales-Lafortune says she was shaken when former president Donald Trump claimed people in Springfield, OH were eating dogs and cats during the presidential debate on Tuesday. Trump made these comments after his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance, and others claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were abducting and eating pets. “We are furious,” Tales-Lafortune said. “We are exhausted. We are exasperated.”
Although Springfield officials say they haven’t received credible reports about this claims, Tales-Lafortune said, “This isn’t dying down. The effects of what [Trump] is saying those like him are still permeating throughout our community.”
Marlyne Silver, a member of the Haitians of the Triangle and a board member of the Carolina Haitian Women’s Society, says the shockwaves hit hard. “It triggers the folks who don’t know about the culture or Haiti to automatically believe it,” she said.
The former president has gone a step further by sharing AI images promoting these debunked on social media. The Triangle Haitian community says this move is hurtful because Haitian immigrants are seeking a better life. “All they want to do is establish a better life for themselves,” Silver said. “To come across another barrier like those comments are disheartening.”
The Haitian community is inviting others to join their social media pages to learn more about their culture and what they do in the Triangle community.
