Posted on 08/15/2008 10:28:27 AM PDT by Graybeard58
WATERBURY -- In the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, Belisca Destra and his family enjoyed modest success. Destra owned a small business, a hardware store, and served as pastor of a Christian church. His four children did well in school.
The family's enterprising spirit is the kind that might offer hope for Haiti's future. But the death threats against them forced them to flee.
They left behind their careers, schools, family and friends for what they hoped would be a better life in Waterbury -- a life without constant fear.
"It's not easy for us because I had a good life as a minister, with a good business, a nice house," Destra said. "But I have to be able to live."
Living in the United States poses its own challenges. Destra and his family left their hometown of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, with visitors' visas by telling people they were "going on vacation."
As immigrants without legal status, in some ways life is harder for the former businessman and his family. Destra works for Home Depot and preaches to local Haitian congregations, earning barely enough money to make ends meet.
His oldest daughter, Gherdith Destra, 21, works the night shift at Bloomingdale's shipping center in Cheshire to pay her way through college. She has earned credits at Naugatuck Valley Community College and is currently enrolled at Lincoln Tech. She's studying to become a nurse.
The biggest hurdle the family has to cross is gaining the right to stay here. Belisca Destra is seeking political asylum to prevent his family from being deported.
He applied for political asylum in 2005 through a New Jersey immigration office, which referred the matter to an immigration judge.
Although the standard for obtaining political asylum is very high, the family's attorney, James A. Welcome, who specializes in immigration and criminal defense, believes they have "a very strong case."
"The judge will look to see if the person can establish that they've shown proof that they've experienced past persecution and/or that they have a fear of future persecution after being returned to their country," Welcome said.
The hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20 at Hartford Immigration Court. If the judge grants political asylum, it would put Belisca Destra and his family on a track to becoming citizens.
The dangers of living in Haiti extend to anyone residing in or visiting the country, but much of the violence is targeted toward pastors, who criminals believe have connections to U.S. missionaries, and therefore money. Pastors are often the victims of kidnappings, and families may have to pay a $25,000 ransom to free a relative.
Pastors like Belisca Destra also face persecution based on their specific ideological beliefs.
Members of Lavalas, a political party, believed Belisca Destra was a member of an opposing party, Mochrenah, because they knew he had friends in Mochrenah. The Lavalas are Roman Catholics and the Mochrenah are Pentecostals.
Belisca Destra says he is Protestant and was not a member of Mochrenah. Still, Lavalas targeted him based on the suspicion.
"They said if they find me they will kill me," Belisca Destra said.
Supporters of former Prime Minister Jean-Bertrand Aristide were members of Lavalas. Aristide was overthrown in February 2004 and has been forced into exile in South Africa, but Lavalas still wields significant political power in Haiti.
Dick Dill, pastor of the Bible Church in Waterbury who leads a prayer group with Belisca Destra, said he was concerned for the pastor's well-being if he is forced to return to his homeland.
"You step on the island and people know you're there," Dill said. "The minute he came back to Haiti they'd know he was there and he'd be a marked man."
Dill, who has been to Haiti 20 times, said that this summer, the Bible's Church's team that visits its sister church in Haiti had to cancel the trip because traveling there was deemed too dangerous.
In Haiti, 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and 54 percent in abject poverty, according the CIA Factbook. The life expectancy is just 57.
"While we're complaining about prices at the pump, people there are complaining because they have no food, they have no money," Dill said.
Although the Destras miss their connections to Haiti, the family is trying to establish itself in Waterbury.
Belisca Destra and his wife are taking English classes through the city's adult education program. They hope to land better jobs once their English skills improve. Their children, who took English classes in Haiti, picked up the language quickly after moving here.
"With all the problems we have, we're happy," Gherdith Destra said.
These people seem like the ones we want to keep. Not the ones who come over and just stick their hand out and demand we take care of them and everyone they know back in their homeland (through using their money to send home and take ours to live on).
No. These people cheated and are trying to cut to the front of the line. They violated our laws by overstaying their visitors’ visas — and they appear to have lied when they applied for those visas. By their reckoning, every person living in Haiti is entitled to come here and seek asylum. We cannot take in the entire world; we cannot right all wrongs. We cannot allow everyone in the world to come here instead of working to make their native country a better place to live. Why should this family walk over the backs of people who have been waiting 10 years or more to get into our country? Merely because they work for a living? Working for a living does not provide anyone with a pass to break the law.
I’m not saying we should let them stay, I’m saying we don’t send back the ones who are here illegally and taking welfare and jobs! Why only Haitians getting sent back? Why not the umpteen million illegal Mexicans.
I didn’t mean to imply we should let them stay, I’m just saying if we aren’t going to deport all illegals, at least deport the ones sucking off the government!
ping
Re Mexicans: President George Bush appears to have an unusual fondness for them. Don't ask me why.
Look at friends of the US. Georgia, Estonia, other nations have sent troops to Iraq to help us. What has Mexico done? I don't know if it is true, but I read that Mexico has sent none, that only one (1) Latin country has sent some troops.
Mexico has fought tooth and nail against returning wanted criminals to the US, has filed charges against us in World Court, its military has crossed US border and attacked a Border Guard, its citizens have jeered US sports teams, its illegal aliens have flown Mexican flags and spit on our flag. Mexico is not a friend.
Works for me.
Of course, we cannot tell what is in their hearts, but appears they are doing many of the things an aspiring American should be doing-- working, paying taxes and seriously taking English lessons. I don't see any evidence from the article that they are suckling off the public teat.
Not everyone we let into this country has to be a college graduate or independently wealthy. They should, however, share our values, respect our culture and learn our language. The Swiss have an additional requirement of collecting supporting petitions from their neighbors. That isn't a bad idea. Neither is the Japanese process of interviewing neighbors, former associates and co-workers before issuing permanent residency visas.
The Laws are different for Cubans. If you don't like that, write your Congressman and Senators.
L
As I said, everyone in Haiti has a well founded fear of political persecution. There are about 8.5 million people living in Haiti. How many of them do you think we should take in? All? 50 percent? At what point would you draw the line? The number of Haitians already living here is estimated at 900,000, perhaps more than a million. So, have we taken in enough, or do we somehow have a obligation to take in more of these individuals? You are kidding yourself if you think fear of persecution is what is driving Cuban immigration. At this point the Castros have taken care of all their dissidents. It is no secret those who are coming here at this point are doing so to get out of that disfunctional economy.
You are god now and doing the picking and choosing? We have enough illegal aliens. We need to tighten up.... The world is becoming a much tougher place with Putin on a rampage
30 million illegal aliens ..... ENOUGH!
No, I never said I was god. I was only saying that why are allowing 30 million here, most that are on the dole and why are we not deporting them.
We can, however, look at these cases individually, give the most deserving a temporary refugee status and put the most deserving of those on a legal path to citizenship. Our national interest needs to be considered in these decisions along with humanitarian concerns.
That being said, I'm just saying from the information given in this story, this family appears to be much more of an asset to America than a liability. They also have a more grounded fear of persecution than the average illegal alien using it as an excuse because they want America to be their ATM.
In fairness to them, and others like them, this is exactly why a blanket amnesty and citizenship on the cheap plan as proposed by Bush, Obama and McCain needs to be fought tooth and nail.
This is also why giving "Hispanics" their own government sponsored and recognized ethnic group is a mistake and why giving Spanish (or any other language) coequal status with English is a recipe for Balkanization.
Some say that horse has already left the barn. I say that the way to decide which horses to let into the barn are those which reject Balkanization.
But you haven’t said how many we should take in “looking at these cases individually,” of course, and keeping in mind the social benefits legal residency and citizenship bestow. What if we look at them all, individually, and it turns out they All deserve refugee or asylee status? Do we take in and absorb them? You can make a pretty good case for taking in a large part of the Third World. I would say, for instance, every Kurd on the planet deserves to be given refugee status and brought to the United States. But should we? At what point is our nation unalterably changed into something else? And what point do we exhaust our national treasure. And back to this family: they cheated and cut to the front of the line. Seems to me like working to support yourself and going to school are not, in and of themselves, reasons to reward people for breaking the law.
Why take anymore from any where? 30 million illegal aliens is more than enough.
If we only had a million illegals I would be sympathetic to these Haitians. As it is we are inundated and I’m sick of it.
Over at an immigration website a fellow one estimated a green card is worth $100,000
Sorry I was nasty. I’m just so sick of it. I’ve followed immigration since 1992 and I’ve seen every lie. Back in 1992 legal immigration was the problem. We thought it was far too much and not merit & education based. Now the problem is waves upon waves of illegals. Every illegal alien we allow to stay here tells his family and friends what lies worked with the stupid Americans
It’s ok! It’s ridiculous the level of illegals we have here. I had a house burn down in 1993 and had to go to DCFS for a form to get some baby clothes until the insurance kicked in. I watched three people who could not speak english have intrepreters get food stamps. One lady got over $600, I kid you not. I don’t know why they were handing out the vouchers in the lobby at the window, but whatever. I was floored!
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