Springfield is now experiencing the pains of a difficult rebirth - owed to the flood of Haitian migrants.
From conservative cores to cosmopolitan corridors, hollowed-out heartland to cloud economies. Follow US Bureau Chief Bhagyashree Garekar on a journey across the United States ahead of its presidential election in November.
The chastened Ms Kilgore offered an apology through an app which translated her English to French Creole for her Haitian neighbours.First, the briefly missing cat blew the cover off seething resentment in the city over the influx of thousands of Haitian immigrants, drawn by the promise of plentiful jobs and a low cost of living.His words ricocheted around the globe.
In the public library, two middle-aged staff members wrestled with their inadequacies as they attempted to assist a woman who spoke no English. Clutching an immigration form – her lifeline to legitimacy and a job in this strange land – the woman watched nervously as they brought out Google Translate to navigate a foreign language and bureaucratic jargon.
In its place stands a well-equipped gym, where a dozen young people were building muscle inside its low-ceilinged long halls. But who is tending to their intellectual nourishment? “Some people told me their friend worked for a maintenance company, and he said they did not know how to use ovens and toasters.”
A fatal school bus crash in August 2023 sparked fury. A Haitian immigrant driving a minivan collided with a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark and injuring 23 other children.“Springfield is not a beautiful town,” said Mr Reginald Silencieux, the vice-president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Centre, formed in December 2023.
But the de-industrialisation of the 1980s extinguished the livelihoods of the white, blue-collar families. Their children sought greener pastures in bigger cities, and Springfield began shrinking like a deflating balloon. By 2020, its population had fallen to 58,000. Activists showing support for immigrants and refugees outside the Haitian Community Help and Support Centre in Springfield. ST PHOTO: BHAGYASHREE GAREKAR
Along with his wife Amy, who leads the foundation, Mr Willmann hopes to make a difference through a family literacy project to teach English to the Haitians, with 15 churches and 75 volunteers involved. Trump, who vows to reverse the country’s decline with his Make America Great Again movement, was widely ridiculed for his claims in his only debate with Ms Harris.
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