During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Hsa Win and his mother were verbally attacked outside a North Hill store.
He remembers an old white man pushing him, chasing him and his mother, calling the pair “Chinese virus” and telling them to “go back where we come from.”
“During pandemic, I felt like I have to wear double masks,” said Win, 25, a refugee from Myanmar. “The first mask, the first layer, I have to protect myself from the virus. The second layer, I had to protect myself from the racist people.”
Even so, the Akron resident was astonished when he heard former President Donald Trump repeat false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, during last month’s presidential debate.
Despite the fact that Springfield officials have said there is no evidence to support claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing and eating household pets, Trump and his Republican running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, continued to spread the baseless allegations. As a result of the unsubstantiated rumors, businesses, schools and government buildings in Springfield faced temporary shutdowns last month due to threats of violence.
The effects aren’t contained to Springfield. Years after the North Hill attack, Win said his mother still refuses to shop at the store where they were harassed.
“This type of language is very dangerous. It traumatizes us,” he said.
He sees echoes of that experience in politicians’ statements about Haitian immigrants. Regardless of where they have come from, Win and other Akron immigrants said Trump and Vance’s statements have caused them consternation — no matter their politics.
“In my mind, I was like, this got to stop. … Stop making racist remarks on the immigrant community,” he said. “His words are very dangerous. He needs to stop.”
Immigrants add to local economy
Win is Ka’Ren and was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family fled Myanmar, formerly Burma. He spent the first 12 years of his life in the camp before coming to the United States with his mother and sister. The family lived in New York and Indiana before settling in Akron in 2015. Win is studying political science at the University of Akron and works at Asian Services in Action as a community health worker.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, roughly 13,756 people in Akron, or 7.2%, are foreign-born, meaning they were not a U.S. citizen at birth. In Ohio, 621,863 residents are foreign-born — 5.3% of the population.
A 2021 report from the bipartisan New American Economy Research Fund looked at the economic contributions of immigrants in Portage and Summit counties. It found that in 2018, immigrant households in the two counties earned $1.1 billion. All households in the counties earned $16.9 billion, according to Census data. Immigrant households also contributed $2.1 billion to the region’s gross domestic product.
“These people have brought so much experiences and contributing to United States,” said Adhik Badal, 42, coordinator of the Immigrant Network of Akron and himself an immigrant. “And not only that, they have brought different cultural resources and that have helped [make the] country vibrant and inspiring people to do more.”
The Immigrant Network of Akron consists of representatives from five local organizations that serve immigrants and refugees in Summit County. Its members work together to better serve these communities by sharing information and resources.
Badal, who is originally from Nepal, came to the United States in 2012 to attend graduate school at the University of Notre Dame. He came to Ohio in 2017 to attend Kent State University, where he earned a PhD in conflict analysis and management.
Allegations from Trump ‘nonsense’
Badal called the false accusations made against Haitian immigrants “nonsense.” He added that as someone who has lived in the United States for more than a decade and works with immigrants, he knows firsthand the contributions they make to the country — and how hurtful anti-immigrant remarks can be.
“I have heard people saying, ‘What’s wrong? We have been working since we come here. We haven’t violated anything,’” Badal said. “I mean, saying those sort of things is not good, particularly from the leadership and the presidential candidate.”
Samantha Byake Mutebi share that sentiment. The 27-year-old came to Akron as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019. Before coming here, she and her family spent nine years in a refugee camp in Uganda. Mutebi works as a translator for the Akron Public Schools.
“Being that he always has hate speech, I’m not surprised,” Mutebi said of the remarks from Trump and Vance. “But one thing that I condemn is that, being a leader, you’re not supposed to have hate speech, because people, majority of people, follow your footsteps. You are the light; you are the candle. So if you bring hate speech, people will follow from you to bring the same thing.”
Mutebi already cast her vote in the upcoming election, taking advantage of Ohio’s early voting, which kicked off Tuesday. It was her first time voting as an American citizen.
Before she cast her ballot, Mutebi said she didn’t plan to vote for either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris “because none of them deserve my vote.” She cited dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s administration and Harris’ support of Israel in addition to Trump’s divisiveness. She ended up voting for a third-party candidate.
Local issues were her focus in casting her ballot, Mutebi said, citing the Akron Public Schools’ levy and the Ohio District 13 Congressional race between Rep. Emilia Sykes and Kevin Coughlin.
“If Trump gets into presidency, what will us as Akron do to make Akron better place, because Trump won’t come here to Akron to lead Akron,” she said. “We have leaders in power in Akron. So how are we influencing the leaders around us to make Akron a better place?”
Looking ahead to Election Day
For Ajino Wah, voting gave him a voice.
Wah has voted in every election since becoming a citizen in 2011. He was born in Burma and spent 10 years in a refugee came on the border of Thailand and Burma. Now 38, he came to Akron in 2006 at the age of 20. He currently serves as a community liaison and service leadership coordinator with Urban Vision.
“I started to learn gradually that … voting is like, it’s like a voice, a silent voice,” said Wah. “You come in and say that ‘this is the matter,’ ‘that’s the matter.’ So it’s really powerful without shouting. Voting is like shouting silently.”
When he heard Trump’s remarks about Springfield’s Haitian community, Wah, who said he votes for the Democratic party, said it changed his perspective of the former president.
“I used to think a little bit different of him,” he said. “I thought he’s better than that.”
Voting is also top of mind for Win. His first time voting as an American citizen was in 2020. He said when he cast his ballot, he “felt visible” and that his “voice was heard.” Win said the remarks about immigrant communities from Trump and Vance have empowered him to encourage his family and friends to vote, too.
Win is feeling hopeful going into the election. He said he will not be voting for Trump.
“We need a decent leader that is going to treat people with dignity, humanity and be a leader for everyone,” he said, “not just for their own political interest.”
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