An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight

An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight
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A mural adorns a wall in the city of Springfield, Ohio, on September 11, 2024. (REUTERS)
An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight
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The Heritage Center of Clark County is seen in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 11, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 12 September 2024
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An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight

An Ohio city reshaped by Haitian immigrants lands in an unwelcome spotlight
  • Its story of economic renewal and related growing pains has been maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets
  • The falsehoods were spread online by Republican VP candidate JD Vance, and Donald Trump amplified those lies during Tuesday’s nationally televised debate
  • It’s part of a timeworn American political tradition of casting immigrants as outsiders

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio: Many cities have been reshaped by immigrants in the last few years without attracting much notice. Not Springfield, Ohio.
Its story of economic renewal and related growing pains has been thrust into the national conversation in a presidential election year — and maliciously distorted by false rumors that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ pets. Donald Trump amplified those lies during Tuesday’s nationally televised debate, exacerbating some residents’ fears about growing divisiveness in the predominantly white, blue-collar city of about 60,000.
At the city’s Haitian Community Help and Support Center on Wednesday, Rose-Thamar Joseph said many of the roughly 15,000 immigrants that arrived in the past few years were drawn by good jobs and the city’s relative affordability. But a rising sense of unease has crept in as longtime residents increasingly bristle at newcomers taking jobs at factories, driving up housing costs, worsening traffic and straining city services.




In this image taken from video, Rose-Thamar Joseph, from the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, speaks to The AP, on Sept. 11, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP)

“Some of them are talking about living in fear. Some of them are scared for their life. It’s tough for us,” Joseph said.
A “Welcome To Our City” sign hangs from a parking garage downtown, where a coffee shop, bakery and boutique line the main drag, North Fountain Street. A flag advertising “CultureFest,” which the city describes as an annual celebration of unity through diversity, waves from a pole nearby.
Melanie Flax Wilt, a Republican commissioner in the county that holds Springfield, said she has been pushing for community and political leaders to “stop feeding the fear.”
“After the election and everybody’s done using Springfield, Ohio, as a talking point for immigration reform, we are going to be the ones here still living through the challenges and coming up with the solutions,” she said.
Ariel Dominique, executive director of the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy, said she laughed at times in recent days at the absurdity of the false claims. But seeing the comments repeated on national television by the former president was painful.
“It is so unfair and unjust and completely contrary to what we have contributed to the world, what we have contributed to this nation for so long,” Dominique said.
The falsehoods about Springfield’s Haitian immigrants were spread online by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, on the eve of Tuesday’s debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s part of a timeworn American political tradition of casting immigrants as outsiders.
“This is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame,” Trump said at the debate after repeating the falsehoods. When challenged by ABC News moderator David Muir over the false claims, Trump held firm, saying “people on television” said their dogs were eaten, but he offered no evidence.




Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, left, and his running mate J.D. Vance have recently placed Springfield, Ohio, in the national spotlight by spreading false rumors that Haitian immigrants in the city are eating their neighbors’ pets. (Getty Images photo/AFP)

Officials in Springfield have tried to tamp down the misinformation by saying there have been no credible or detailed reports of any pets being abducted or eaten. State leaders are trying to help address some of the real challenges the city faces.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Tuesday he would add more law enforcement and health care resources to an aid package the state has already provided to Springfield.
Many Haitians have come to the US to flee poverty and violence. They have embraced President Joe Biden’s new and expanded legal pathways to enter, and have shunned illegal crossings, accounting for only 92 border arrests out of more than 56,000 in July, the latest data available.
The Biden administration recently announced an estimated 300,000 Haitians in the US could remain in the country at least through February 2026, with eligibility for work authorization, under a law called Temporary Protected Status. The goal is to spare people from being deported to countries in turmoil.
Springfield, about 45 miles from the state capital of Columbus, suffered a steep decline in its manufacturing sector toward the end of the last century, and its population shrank as a result. But its downtown has been revitalized in recent years as more Haitians arrived and helped meet the rising demand for labor as the economy emerged from the pandemic. Officials say Haitians now account for about 15 percent of the population.




- Mike DeWine speaks, Jan. 14, 2019, in Cedarville, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool, File)
 

The city was shaken last year when a minivan slammed into a school bus, killing an 11-year-old boy. The driver was a Haitian man who recently settled in the area and was driving without a valid license. During a city commission meeting on Wednesday, the boy’s parents condemned politicians’ use of their son’s death to stoke hatred.
On Sept. 6, a post surfaced on the social media platform X that shared what looked like a screengrab of a social media post apparently out of Springfield. The post talked about the person’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” seeing a cat hanging from a tree to be butchered and eaten, claiming without evidence that Haitians lived at the house. It was accompanied by a photo of a Black man carrying what appeared to be a goose by its feet.
On Monday, Vance posted on X “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” The next day, he posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquiries from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
With its rising population of immigrants, Springfield is hardly an outlier. So far this decade, immigration has accounted for almost three-quarters of US population growth, with 2.5 million immigrants arriving in the United States between 2020 and 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. Population growth is an important driver of economic growth.
“The Haitian immigrants who started moving to Springfield the last few years are the reason why the economy and the labor force has been revitalized there,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, which provides legal and social services to immigrants across the US.
She said Haitian clients in Springfield have told her that, out of fear, they are now considering leaving the city.


Singapore court sentences former minister to 12 months in prison

Singapore court sentences former minister to 12 months in prison
Updated 7 sec ago
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Singapore court sentences former minister to 12 months in prison

Singapore court sentences former minister to 12 months in prison
  • Former transport minister S. Iswaran was convicted last week of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts
  • Earlier this year, Iswaran was hit with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world’s least corrupt
SINGAPORE: A Singapore court on Thursday sentenced former transport minister S. Iswaran to 12 months in prison, local media reported, in the financial hub’s first case involving a political office holder in more than four decades.
After Iswaran was convicted last week of obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts, prosecutors had sought a six-to-seven-month sentence, The Straits Times reported.
But the defense team for the former minister, who is known for helping to bring Formula One to the wealthy city-state, had argued for a maximum sentence of eight weeks.
Earlier this year, Iswaran was hit with 35 charges mostly related to graft in a nation often cited as one of the world’s least corrupt.
But prosecutors moved forward with five lesser charges only, including some related to a billionaire property tycoon.
Iswaran quit in January after being formally notified of the charges, which include accepting gifts worth more than $300,000.
In a resignation letter at the time, he said he would clear his name in court.
Iswaran has paid back around $295,000 in financial gain to the government, and gifts including a Brompton bicycle were also seized from him, the attorney general’s office said.
His trial has been deemed by observers to be one of the most politically significant in the city-state’s history.
Singapore’s last senior politician convicted for graft dates to 1975, when Wee Toon Boon, then minister of state for environment, was found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than $600,000 according to local media.

Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land

Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
Updated 5 min 13 sec ago
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Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land

Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
  • Krathon packs sustained wind speeds of 126 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 162kph
  • Across Taiwan, nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated as of Thursday

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan shut down schools and offices for a second day Thursday as Typhoon Krathon pounded the island before its expected landfall, leaving two dead and more than 100 injured.
Krathon, packing sustained wind speeds of 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 162 kph — was 30 kilometers southwest of southern Kaohsiung at 10:00 am (0200 GMT), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
“The center of the typhoon is forecast to make landfall around noon, near southern Tainan, Kaohsiung or Pingtung. The time has been delayed as it’s moving very slowly,” forecaster Chang Chun-yao said.
While CWA chief Cheng Chia-ping said Wednesday that the typhoon was expected to weaken rapidly after landing, residents of Kaohsiung were urged to take shelter.
“There will be winds of destructive force caused by typhoon in this area. Take shelter ASAP,” the CWA said in a warning sent three times to residents’ mobile phones Thursday.
Kaohsiung’s mayor, Chen Chi-mai, told reporters the city was experiencing “the strongest winds” and that he expected the typhoon to make landfall by 1 pm.
“We urge residents not to go out unless necessary,” he said. “So far, Kaohsiung has recorded 356 disaster cases, mostly falling trees and advertising signs.”
Torrential rain and powerful winds unleashed on the island have already left at least two people dead, two missing and 123 injured, said the National Fire Agency.
A 70-year-old man was rushed to hospital on Tuesday after he fell while trimming trees in eastern Hualien county and died in hospital the next day.
And a 66-year-old man, hospitalized in nearby Taitung on Monday after his truck hit a huge rock that had fallen onto the road, also died Wednesday.
Krathon has disrupted traffic, causing all domestic flights to be suspended for a second day and the cancelation of around 240 international flights.
Across Taiwan, nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated as of Thursday, according to the interior ministry.
Krathon has caused mudslides and flooding, and damaged houses and roads in some areas as it slowly moves toward Taiwan, officials and reports said.
In Kaohsiung, strong gusts swept three motorcyclists to the ground as they were driving, while swaying buildings, shattering windows in some buildings and uprooting trees.
Powerful waves pounded the coast of nearby Pingtung county, with some seawater spilling onto a road and causing it to collapse in two places, TV footage showed.
In New Taipei city in the island’s north, where rain and wind was intensifying, a mudslide sent a large rock tumbling down onto a temple near a slope, partially smashing its roof, SET TV reported.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
In July, Gaemi became the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in eight years, killing at least 10 people, injuring hundreds, and triggering widespread flooding in Kaohsiung.
The storm was approaching Taiwan after slamming into a remote group of Philippine islands, where it cut power and communications and damaged “many” houses, according to a local mayor.


Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts
Updated 13 min 34 sec ago
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Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts

Former Singapore minister sentenced to a year in prison for receiving illegal gifts
  • Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran had pleaded guilty last week to the charges, in a rare criminal case involving a minister in the Asian financial hub
  • Singapore's ministers are among the world’s best-paid and Iswaran's indictment is an embarrassment in a nation known for clean governance

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A former Singaporean cabinet minister was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of receiving illegal gifts, in a rare criminal case involving a minister in the Asian financial hub.
Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran had pleaded guilty last week to one count of obstructing justice and four of accepting gifts from people with whom he had official business. He was the first minister to be charged and imprisoned in nearly half a century.
Justice Vincent Hoong, in his ruling, said holders of high office “must be expected to avoid any perception that they are susceptible to influence by pecuniary benefits,” according to Channel News Asia.
“I am of the view it is appropriate to impose a sentence in excess of both parties’ positions,” Hoong was quoted as saying.
The defense had asked for no more than eight weeks in prison, while the prosecution had pushed for six to seven months imprisonment.
Iswaran, 62, was initially charged with 35 counts, but prosecutors proceeded with only five, while reducing two counts of corruption to receiving illegal gifts. Prosecutors said they will apply for the remaining 30 charges to be taken into consideration for sentencing. No reasons were given for the move.
Iswaran received gifts worth over 74,000 Singapore dollars ($57,000) from Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based Malaysian property tycoon, and businessperson Lum Kok Seng. The gifts included tickets to Singapore’s Formula 1 race, wine and whisky and a luxury Brompton bike. Ong owns the right to the local F1 race, and Iswaran was chair of and later adviser to the Grand Prix’s steering committee.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said it will decide whether to charge Ong and Lum after the case against Iswaran has been resolved.
Singapore ‘s ministers are among the world’s best-paid. Although the amount involved in Iswaran’s case appeared to be relatively minor, his indictment is an embarrassment to the ruling People’s Action Party, which prides itself on a clean image.
The last Cabinet minister charged with graft was Wee Toon Boon, who was found guilty in 1975 and jailed for accepting gifts in exchange for helping a businessperson. Another Cabinet minister was investigated for graft in 1986, but died before charges were filed.
Iswaran had resigned just before he was charged. His trial comes just over four months after Singapore installed new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after Lee Hsien Loong stepped down after 20 years.


US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor against Muslim minorities

US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor against Muslim minorities
Updated 03 October 2024
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US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor against Muslim minorities

US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor against Muslim minorities
  • Ban covers products of Chinese steel manufacturer and a maker of artificial sweetener accused of using forced labor from China’s far-west region of Xinjiang
  • Despite China's denial that it was using force labor, the entity list has grown since 2022 to a total of 75 companies accused of using forced labor

WASHINGTON: The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a Chinese maker of artificial sweetener, accusing both of being involved in the use of forced labor from China’s far-west region of Xinjiang.
The action broadens the scope of the US effort to counter products from entering the country that the government says are tied to human rights abuses.
The additions to the entity list under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act marks the first time a China-based steel company or aspartame sweetener business have been targeted by US law enforcement, DHS said.
“Today’s actions reaffirm our commitment to eliminating forced labor from US supply chains and upholding our values of human rights for all,” said Robert Silvers, undersecretary of Homeland Security for policy. “No sector is off-limits. We will continue to identify entities across industries and hold accountable those who seek to profit from exploitation and abuse.”
The federal law that President Joe Biden signed at the end of 2021 followed allegations of human rights abuses by Beijing against members of the ethnic Uyghur group and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has refuted the claims as lies and defended its practice and policy in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring stability.
The new approach marked a shift in the US trade relationship with China to increasingly take into account national security and human rights. Beijing has accused the US of using human rights as a pretext to suppress China’s economic growth.
Enforcement of the law initially targeted solar products, tomatoes, cotton and apparel, but over the last several months, the US government has identified new sectors for enforcement, including aluminum and seafood.
“That’s just a reflection of the fact that sadly, forced labor continues to taint all too many supply chains,” Silvers told a trade group in June when marking the two-year anniversary of the creation of the entity list. “So our enforcement net has actually been quite wide from an industry-sector perspective.”
He said the law “changed the dynamic in terms of putting the onus on importers to know their own supply chains” and that its enforcement had showed that the US could “do the right thing” without halting normal trade.
Since June 2022, the entity list has grown to a total of 75 companies accused of using forced labor in Xinjiang or sourcing materials tied to that forced labor, Homeland Security said.
Baowu Group Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. and Changzhou Guanghui Food Ingredients Co. Ltd. were the Chinese companies newly added to the list.


Russian guided bomb hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures 10

Russian guided bomb hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures 10
Updated 03 October 2024
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Russian guided bomb hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures 10

Russian guided bomb hits apartment building in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, injures 10
  • President Zelensky said the strike underscored the need for more help from Ukraine’s Western backers
  • Russia denies targeting civilians, but has regularly struck towns and cities behind the front line

A Russian guided bomb struck a five-story apartment block in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, late on Wednesday, starting fires and injuring at least 10 people, local officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strike, the latest in a long series of attacks on the city, underscored the need for more help from Ukraine’s Western backers. He pointed to Iran’s strike on Israel as an example of allies working together.
He said that in order to stop Russian strikes, “Ukraine must receive the necessary, and most importantly, sufficient help from the world, from our partners.
“Every leader knows exactly what needs to be done. It’s important to be decisive,” Zelensky said in a posting on the Telegram messaging app.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said the bomb hit between the third and fourth floors of the building in the city’s Saltivka district.
“Several floors have been destroyed. An apartment by apartment search is under way. People could be under the rubble,” Syniehubov said in a video posted online.
Pictures posted online showed cars ablaze outside the apartment block and firefighters making their way through smoke rubble to get inside the building.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov put the injury toll at 10, including a three-year-old child. He said guided bombs had struck two city districts.
Located 30 km (18 miles) from the Russian border, Kharkiv has been a frequent target of Russian forces throughout the more than 2-1/2-year-old war.
In Kyiv, the head of the capital’s military administration said fragments from a downed Russian drone damaged an apartment building in one of the capital’s eastern districts. There was no indication of any casualties.
Russia denies targeting civilians, but has regularly struck towns and cities behind the front line.
In his nightly video address, Zelensky referred to the help the United States and other partners provide Israel to fend off attacks.
“Every time in the Middle East, during criminal Iranian strikes, we see how the international coalition acts together,” he said, echoing comments he made during an April raid launched by Iran on Israel.
Zelensky also issued the latest of a series of calls for more help to be agreed at a meeting this month in Germany devoted to providing Ukraine with military assistance. US President Joe Biden is to attend the meeting.