Makendy Durerger came to the U.S. in April, settled in Albertville and found a job at Pilgrim’s Pride.

He said Marshall County is very different from Léogâne County on the island of Haiti.

“There were shootings, gangs,” he said through an interpreter. “You sleep with your children, trying to keep them safe. You’re scared.”

Dürerger is one of thousands of Haitians who have come to the U.S. this year to escape unrest in the country of more than 11 million people located east of Cuba in the Caribbean.

Durerger came with two children, but had to leave his wife behind. He is currently working on a diplomatic process to bring her here.

Jolken Plaisir, 29, arrived in March and found work at an auto parts factory in Cullman. While living in Mirebalais, he dreamed of coming to America for a better life.

“There is no life in Haiti right now,” he said through an interpreter. “The children have no future. There is no food. It is a chaotic way of life.”

In August, the community found itself facing suspicion and what Albertville city officials called “baseless accusations and hurtful rhetoric” when photos of Haitian workers on charter buses were shared on Facebook.

Some wondered what the buses were for, who rode them, and where the people on board came from.

Pilgrim’s Pride later issued statements that it had chartered buses for employees to and from the Russellville plant. The company then said it would no longer use charters.

The photos sparked a discussion about the recent Haitian immigration and its impact on the city, which took place at a series of meetings with residents.

The growing demand for public funds raised some concerns, with some residents demanding a rational discussion “without racist insults” and aggressive rhetoric.

However, one speaker said that Haitians “have odors. They are not like us. They are not here to be Americanized.”

The photos also spawned the creation of a nonprofit organization, which at least one Haitian community leader described as a positive development.

Jeff Lamour is a businessman who graduated from Albertville High School in 2017. While a student, he competed in the State Indoor Track and Field Championships and holds several school records in the 100-meter and 60-meter dashes.

Lamour said that before the recent controversy, he believed most Albertville residents viewed the Haitian community positively.

“People have a right to be concerned,” Lamour said.

“If someone moved into my neighborhood, you could be anyone. If someone walked on my lawn, I’d want to know why they were walking on my lawn. There are people who are racist, no doubt about it.

“Not just whites, but blacks, Latinos. There are people who feel more entitled than others. They feel like this is their country. But at the same time, it’s not about race. Race has nothing to do with it.”

“Better things are coming”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 2,569 Haitians living in Alabama.

Albertville has had a Haitian population for nearly 15 years, but longtime community members estimate several thousand have arrived this year alone. There are many reasons.

Over the past 20 years, Haiti has been plagued by government corruption, a series of devastating earthquakes and hurricanes, and internal unrest.

The wave of unrest on the island began earlier this year when armed paramilitary gangs took over the capital in Port-au-Prince, emptied the prisons and forced out the government. Nearly 1,400 people were injured or killed between April and June, a quarter of them women or children, according to the UN

Rapes were rampant. Vigilante groups launched a crackdown, leading to more bloodshed. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to rural areas on the island, straining resources, according to The Washington Post.

The Biden administration announced Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants in June, which was expected to help about 309,000 Haitians living in the U.S. avoid deportation, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the highlights of the Haitian community in Alabama on Sunday morning was a visit to the Eglise Porte Etroite, which bills itself as the first Haitian church in Marshall County.

As you drive past the brick sanctuary on Rose Road, you’ll see cars lined the parking lot, squeezed into neat rows on the grass.

Inside, more than 200 people in bright suits and dresses gather for Creole-language services that sometimes last three hours. Mothers stand by the door, holding naughty toddlers, and sway as Caribbean hymns play.

Daniel Emmanuel-Laguerre, 24, of Guntersville, has lived in Alabama since 2011, when only a handful of Haitians lived here.

“I had to learn English very quickly,” he said. “My family came for a better life, for better opportunities.”

He is pursuing a degree in logistics and calls the church his true home. On Saturday, people came to a prayer service that lasted 12 hours, he said. Those who attended prayed for “better things to come.”

“People are getting rich”

Johny Pierre-Charles, 54, pastor of Eglise Porte Etroite, has lived in the U.S. since 2006 and founded the church 14 years ago with fewer than 10 members. He is married with three children and serves as chaplain at Pilgrim’s. He was previously a police investigator in Port-au-Prince.

Pierre-Charles said he also believes the problem in Albertville is not about race, as some of the problems stem from cultural misunderstandings. He felt welcomed when his family first came to Alabama.

“I would never say it’s racist here,” he said. “Alabama is the best place to live. It’s true.”

He added that he chose to live in Alabama rather than New York, where there is a Haitian community of more than 150,000 people.

“We need to let the American people know that if there is a problem, there is a better way to solve it,” Pierre-Charles said.

“The best way is love, re-education of the Americans and re-education of the Haitians. I know it’s not easy when you’re not used to our culture.”

He said the biggest need of the arriving Haitians, besides English-language education, is housing. Most have come because of jobs in poultry processing plants. The biggest need of all, Haitians and Americans, he said, is patience.

Lamour said he worries that many newly arrived Haitians are being exploited and forced to pay high rent for substandard housing.

“You go to a house that has no plumbing, no air conditioning, that’s run down, and then you take a Haitian, put him in that house, charge him $2,000 a month, and if they report you, you tell him you’re going to throw him out. That’s what we deal with.”

He also believes that the U.S. policy of allowing up to 30,000 people a month from Haiti and three other countries to immigrate to the country for work is being abused.

Migrants must have a financial sponsor in the U.S. who can provide transportation to the airport at their expense.

The program was briefly suspended amid suspicions of fraud, but the Biden administration reinstated it last month, announcing a series of changes aimed at streamlining the verification process.

Lamour said some migrants are victims of labor trafficking, where they are charged exorbitant fees to come to the U.S. and then, once they find work, most of their earnings are used to reimburse expenses.

“People are getting rich off of this, and Haitians aren’t seeing any money,” he said. “You have guys who sign contracts with these companies and can hire someone for next to nothing.”

“The federal government is responsible for this”

During a series of meetings with Albertville residents, participants shared rumors of high levels of Haitian gang crime and concerns that overcrowded schools would be filled with children from families reluctant to assimilate.

However, Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims said he was not aware of any increase in crime in the county related to Haitian immigration. Robin Lathan, a spokesman for the city of Albertville, said the same was true for the city.

“Looking at year-over-year data, including arrest reports, the nature of incoming emergency calls, and demographic information, there is no evidence to suggest, first, that crime has increased in Albertville, or, second, that it has increased as a result of Haitian immigration,” Lathan said in a statement.

And although more and more Haitians are entering schools, this story still has another mystery.

Albertville City Schools has enrolled 111 Haitian students since January, with 66 of those students arriving since the summer, said Principal Bart Reeves.

He added that these numbers do not differ significantly from data from previous years.

For example, 60 to 70 percent of the approximately 500 kindergarteners who enter the system each year are children of Latino migrant workers, although they may be first, second, or even third generation U.S. residents.

Overall, Haitians make up about 2% of the total student population of more than 5,800.

The system employs translators not only for Creole and French, but for more than 10 languages ​​represented throughout the district.

Albertville schools receive almost $530 per English learner from the state but only $89 from the federal government.

Over time, some students become fluent in English and no longer need the extra lessons. But Reeves said Albertville schools will eventually need to expand and add more bilingual teachers, counselors and assistants.

To meet all current needs, the system could easily hire 10 teaching assistants in kindergarten, first and second grades if funding allowed, Reeves said.

“The federal government is responsible for this,” Reeves said. “If they’re responsible, why aren’t they helping these smaller cities with the influx of immigration challenges that we’re facing?”

“If only they could fix it”

Many members of the Haitian community say they feel grateful for the welcome they have received.

Plaisir and Durerger said that despite the language barrier, their experiences working in Alabama were positive.

Both said they are treated well, although they sometimes have to communicate through sign language. Their lives are much better in Alabama, they say, than if they had stayed in Haiti.

But they expect other Haitians to follow suit and have no intention of returning home until the unrest is quelled.

In order to stabilize the situation in the country, a UN-backed security force was created, with the United States being the main source of funding.

But Haiti’s elections are more than a year away. Pierre-Charles said a smart investment for Americans would be to “build houses” to accommodate more immigrants.

“All good Haitians are trying to leave,” Durerger said.

But Lamour, Pierre-Charles and others say that if America is concerned about the growing number of Haitian migrants, it could easily restore order by intervening on the island.

U.S. troops have been stationed in Haiti several times to quell unrest or provide humanitarian aid. Most recently, in 1994, President Bill Clinton ordered more than 20,000 troops there.

According to Lamour, much of the current chaos can be attributed to American policies.

“If they sent 10 American soldiers to Haiti, it would be over,” Pierre-Charles said. “The situation in Haiti could be fixed in a day, if they wanted to fix it.”