A married couple who fled Haiti for Virginia achieved their American dream when they opened a variety market on the Eastern Shore, selling hard-to-find spices, sodas and rice to the region’s growing Haitian community.
When they added a Haitian food truck, people drove from an hour away for freshly cooked oxtail, fried plantains and marinated pork.
But Clemene Bastien and Theslet Benoir are now suing the town of Parksley, alleging that it forced their food truck to close. The couple also say a town council member cut the mobile kitchen’s water line and screamed, “Go back to your own country!”
“When we first opened, there were a lot of people” ordering food, Bastien said, speaking through an interpreter. “And the day after, there were a lot of people. And then … they started harassing us.”
And, contrary to suburbanite propaganda, communities like this Haitian one often are the ones funding the wealthy suburbs where all the city councilors live, not the other way around.
Interesting link, thank you for sharing!
The very poor and very rich pay very little tax relative to their income. By lifting people up to a decent income, making them taxpayers, it would seem help everyone. I don’t get the incentive to keep anyone poor.
Plus I’d rather have a cool Haitian neighbor than some snooty person. Haiti seems to get especially screwed over by both people and nature, so those guys deserve a break.