Haiti

‘It's Hopeless': North Texan Describes Life Haitians Leave Behind

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A deadly earthquake.

A tropical storm.

A president assassinated.

Since June, Haiti has faced a string of seemingly endless crises.

Despite conditions Haitians fleeing their country face, to many, it's worth the risk compared to the life of hopelessness they leave behind.

“Cities are being taken over by gangs. People are having to leave their homes,” said Ted Registre.

Registre is co-founder of Haitian Social Circle, a group that he says has been assisting Haitians in north Texas since 2011.

Registre lives in Fort Worth but he and his brother immigrated from Haiti after their father died in an earthquake in Haiti in 2010, which killed tens of thousands of Haitians.

His body was found inside the school where he worked as a chemistry teacher.

“I’ve been through the earthquake and I know what hopelessness looks like,” Registre said.

With food and water in short supply, aid trucks were looted in several Haitian towns late last month.

Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a boat near Miami carrying more than 80 Haitian migrants.

In the town of Necocli, Colombia, thousands of people, mostly Haitians, are waiting for boats to take them from Necocli to the Darien jungle, on the border with Panama, in the hope of reaching the United States.

“It’s hopeless basically for all of these people. They don't have jobs. They don't have any source of income so they've gotten to the point where they're like, let me just try, give it a try and hopefully, I can make it and hopefully I'll be able to help people back home,” Registre said.

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