TThe line stretches down the middle of Rose Goute Creole restaurant on South Limestone Street in Springfield, Ohio, and stretches halfway out the door since former President Donald Trump falsely accused Springfield immigrants of eating cats and dogs during a September 10 television debate.
At the back of the restaurant, kitchen staff are busy taking orders and loading trays with plates of herring pâté, rice and beans, and barbecued chicken legs. Outside, cars with license plates from Georgia, Wisconsin and Indiana fill the parking lot. Customers have stopped to show their support for the Haitian community on the nearby highway.
It’s a somewhat chaotic scene as Dadi Fanfan, a 41-year-old from Plaisance in northern Haiti, stands just inside the door, greeting customers as they come in, then slips away to clear a nearby table.
“One day I came to the restaurant to buy something, and there were a lot of people there,” said Fanfan, who doesn’t know the restaurant owners personally but has been spending his free time this week helping his fellow men and women. “I stayed for a little while to help them, and the next day I came because they’re family.”
As President Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance continue to spread misinformation about Haitians in Springfield, ordinary people in and around the city are fighting to reclaim the narrative about immigration in the Ohio city.
And the outpouring of support aimed at countering Trump’s harmful rhetoric isn’t limited to volunteer efforts.
Many local medical centers and aid groups that have been serving Haitians in Springfield for years are reporting an increase in donations and contributions that have coincided with the unrest over the past 10 days.
“We’ve received about seven times more cash donations in the last three days than we normally do, and it’s really just the polarization,” said Casey Rollins, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Springfield, who said the money will be placed on gift cards to be used by local international grocery stores for those in need.
Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine, unlike other members of his party, expressed strong support for the Haitian community, urging President Trump and Governor Vance to stop their “deeply hurtful” rhetoric, and pledging $2.5 million over two years to support health care facilities in Springfield.
“I just want to make it easier for them to weather this terrible storm they’re facing,” said Sammy, who drove 176 miles (283 kilometers) from Cleveland on her Yamaha last Saturday and parked in the parking lot of the Haitian Community Assistance and Support Center, knowing no one in town. After seeing threats and hate against Haitians in Springfield online, the former military officer wanted to help protect what she sees as innocent victims.
“I believe America works best when one community stands up for, protects and stands in solidarity with another,” she says.
Sammy, who asked that her name not be used because she is a transgender woman in the process of changing her name, said she has seen advocates bringing fresh vegetables, doing gardening work around the center and delivering furniture and office supplies.
“It was one of the most American experiences of my life,” she says.
“It makes me humble.”
As Sammy was speaking, Joan Welland, 79, from the neighbouring town of Enon, passed by the centre and asked where she could donate.
“The people who come here (from Haiti) have sacrificed a lot to get here, and Springfield is a beautiful town to me,” she said.Welland said that after hearing the lie on TV that Haitians eat pets, she decided to get in her car and drive to the Haitian community center to make a donation.
“Then I heard there were bomb threats at City Hall and bomb threats at the elementary school. Hate mongering is wrong. It’s ugly, it’s negative and it’s hateful. This is my way of standing up for truth,” Welland said.
But as Welland spoke, the town’s three supermarkets were suddenly evacuated and closed due to bomb threats. Dozens of bomb threats have put the town on edge since Trump named Springfield during last week’s debate. About 200 students at one Springfield elementary school missed class on Tuesday because of safety concerns and bomb threats, most of which have turned out to be hoaxes.
Earlier this week, beloved local autumn festival Kulturfest was cancelled to “prevent any potential risks” to attendees, as was a debate featuring local politicians ahead of elections.
Springfield’s Republican mayor, Rob Lu, pleaded with both presidential candidates not to come to the city, saying it would put an extreme strain on the city’s already strained resources. Nevertheless, at a rally in New York on Wednesday, Trump said he would visit Springfield in the coming weeks.
Back at Rose Goute Creole restaurant, the line of customers is endless: Hungry Haitian workers in T-shirts emblazoned with their employers rush to the counter to pick up orders, then the orders pile up as they rush out the door.
And Fanfan isn’t alone. Amanda Payen hands out free bottles of water and asks customers if they have water. Her husband, Jacob, is from Port-au-Prince but lived in Florida for decades before coming to Springfield. As customers leave, she thanks them for stopping by.
None of them are restaurant employees, but as Haitians, they want to help.
“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Fanfan said. “If you need help, I’ll stay here.”