Below are some of the comments made by citizens at a Springfield, Ohio city commission meeting. August 13 and August 27.
David: “We don't have the resources to do this properly.”
I believe Springfield's long-term population was 57,910 as of May of this year, and while it's hard to get an exact number, I estimate there are about 20,000 newcomers.
This resulted in many problems, some of which were reported directly to us. [of] Drivers driving the wrong way down one-way streets, drivers who ignore stop signs and red lights, and other traffic problems.
It affects businesses who have to deal with language and cultural differences. It puts a strain on public resources, both government and private services, including healthcare.
Part of our response is helping newcomers adapt to our culture by providing a range of training, including English, how to drive a car and simple habits like waiting your turn instead of pushing to the front of the line.
We don't have the resources to do this properly… and it depends on how many of the newcomers make the effort to adapt to the customs and laws of their host country.
I would like to ask a rhetorical question to the committee that is sworn to protect and serve the residents of Springfield, Ohio: What are you going to do to address this situation?
Shannon: “They're not civilized.”
I was driving around Springfield yesterday, looking at the giant holes in some buildings. I noticed some old familiar places with new signs in a language I didn't recognize.
Seeing all these strangers wandering the streets like lost tourists was like a punch to the gut. A terrible sadness hit me, and I began to cry. I immediately began to remember when I was a little girl, walking from my grandmother's house in South Fountain through downtown to Snyder Park and going to Len's to buy new clothes and shoes for school.
And now those warm memories are fueling the flames of anger inside me. I feel like we’re invaded by some kind of vermin. I’m angry that my friends and family are packing up and moving out.
It makes me angry when foreigners use resources meant for Americans here. It makes me angry when other countries' flags fly in our cities. It makes me angry when I see our businesses and recreational areas littered with trash left behind by people who don't know, understand or care to learn about our laws and culture.
Let me be clear, this is not about race. This is about people who are given the privilege of coming here from another country, but who have no respect for our people, our land, our life's work. People are living here the same way they were living in Haiti.
They are not civilized people: they are angry, they steal, they pollute, they live in squalor, they act like animals. They open containers at the grocery store, they take what is in them and they throw the rest on the shelves and on the floor.
They pull off their cars off the highway to publicly scavenge and disembowel roadkill animals, which they then lay in plain view of anyone passing by.
He steals animals from farmers and leaves their severed heads in places where children play.
Defecating in public.
We make a barbarian stew using the birds that live in our parks.
This is insanity and it must be stopped. What will become of Springfield? Where will we be in five years? It's scary to even think about it. Will it become some kind of dystopian wasteland, where most of the original residents have moved out and those who can't afford to move are trapped in their homes and live in fear?
This thought keeps me up at night. I want the old Springfield back. I know it's far from perfect, but at least it's still ours.
Nolle: “I don't understand what they expect from us as citizens.”
I'm sick of what I see. My neighborhood is now too dangerous. I make concessions to homeless people who want to sleep rough and do whatever I can to help stop them from taking up residence on my property.
But it's so dangerous. I have guys who don't speak English yelling at me in my front yard, throwing mattresses in my front yard, dumping trash in my front yard. And I can't. … Look at me. I weigh 95 pounds. I can't defend myself if I had to.
My husband is elderly, and after living in this house for 45 years, he said last night, “Noel, what do you think? It's time to pack up and move,” he said. “I can't do this anymore,” he said. “We're both just exhausted.”
I don't understand what you expect from us as citizens. I mean, I understand that they are in a temporary protected position and that you are protecting them, and I understand that city services are overwhelmed and understaffed.
But if we are protecting them, who will protect us? Who will protect me? I want to get out of this town. I'm sorry. Please give me a reason to stay.
Al: “I've been educated from kindergarten through second grade.”
I really hope that we as a community can address this with the council, rather than going through the NAACP and all that other tedious process, because we are a community.
I work in the IT industry but I am also a videographer and do video editing.
I not only have Haitians, I have Somalians, Mexicans… I have them all.
Haitians, they need special attention.
To be honest, they are educated from kindergarten to grade 2. The state teaches grade 5 to 6 education levels in public courses.
If you can do something visually, kids can see something visually, and they can and will learn without words or anything.
But we actually have to get down that low and slowly bring them up to our level, which takes a while.
Lisa: “I want to see them have a common respect.”
My name is Lisa, I live in Springfield, Ohio, and I'm a registered voter. I'm a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
How many of you sitting there tonight are going to go and shop at the grocery stores in your city, at Walmart?
[I’m] I'm 64 years old and I don't know what label to put on myself, but I'm walking through the grocery store with my cart and I see three immigrants. [blocking] I tried to walk through the aisle. They didn't budge when they saw me coming. I said, “Excuse me.” They may not have understood what I was saying, but they must have understood that I was walking through the aisle.
So now I have no choice but to push through it. I'm not afraid to do that. I want to see them have a common respect and a common courtesy. I want to see them not try to be intimidating in Springfield, Ohio.
Diana: “Color doesn't matter.”
Argentina, Sweden, Venezuela, France, Haiti.
What do these words have in common? It's country. A country is defined by culture and language, not skin color. When people stand here and explain what's happening to them, they are often painted with the broad brush of racism.
It doesn't matter. Color has nothing to do with the issues we face. It's a cultural issue.
There is no roundtable for us. There is a roundtable for the Immigration Responsibility Task Force, but I have found that this has nothing to do with improving our situation, it is only aimed at making immigration easier.
This roundtable should have started in November when this issue was brought to your attention. The core group that meets here every Tuesday has a great idea. It wouldn't cost the state a cent, and it wouldn't cost us a cent.
But we don't have a better approach. But I've been asked to attend a little roundtable that the NAACP is hosting. I've put out other things. I didn't like them. I don't think any solutions are going to come out of that.
If I'd started in October I would have been way ahead of the game. Shame on me.
Anthony: “Who's getting paid?”
Yes, I'm 28 years old and I'm a social media influencer, I'm on TikTok and stuff.
I do YouTube, and I think it's kind of weird for someone like me to have fun and escape from my day job, because I see what's going on in the city and I see you all sitting in those comfy chairs in your suits.
I come here every day and I put this on and you're just sitting around in your suits, and I'm really challenging you to come here and do something.
Haitians are running into trash cans, they're running into buildings, they're flipping cars in the middle of the road. I don't know how anyone feels safe with that.
I mean, I don't know who's getting paid for it.
To be honest, I feel like someone is taking money behind the scenes. A lot of people are being dropped off at gas stations and getting on buses to get here.
I know a single mom who contacted me on FaceTime tonight and again this morning at the welfare office.
There are only immigrants there. I don't want to seem like I'm blaming them, because it's our citizens who are bringing them here. They're used to it wherever they are.
They are grabbing ducks in the park by the neck, cutting off their heads, taking them away and eating them.
Every week the state police come by looking for guns, drugs, etc. The same people who go back and forth to Limestone. [St.] They can teach Haitians how to drive, whether it's making a U-turn, stopping someone with a blinker, or stopping someone making a left of center a few miles away.
It's got thousands of views and it's only going to get bigger and worse. Everybody's just sitting in their chairs. They need to get out there and do something. They're making hundreds of thousands. [of] It costs a few dollars just to put on a suit and sit in a chair.
You've got to put on a T-shirt, put on your Crocs and come out here into the streets.
I'm here before the police. Someone told me that a Haitian nearly ran into him while walking from school.
Who is being paid to bring them here? I know I'm in deeper than them.
I know they come from there and they do that, it's their country, I don't know what they do there, but they can't do that here.
You guys really need to step up. It's boring, brother. Really.
