The Haitians in the Heartland series is the result of six months of close collaboration between the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO and a group of Springfield residents from Haiti who had been involved in an Internet radio station in Springfield called New Diaspora Live.
Luckens Merzius
This week’s story is from Luckens Merzius. Merzius is from Haiti, but as the country became increasingly unsafe, he realized his family would not have a future there.
He moved to the U.S. with his wife, who was expecting their second daughter, Sephora. Their first daughter, Marley, was born in Haiti, but Luckens couldn’t secure a visa for her at the time. With a heavy heart, he made the difficult decision to leave Marley with relatives in Haiti until he found a way to bring her to America. This story begins with Merzius reflecting on life in America without his daughter, Marlet. Then, we’ll hear a conversation between Merzius, Marley, and his younger daughter, Sephora, who are all now reunited and living together in Springfield.
The following transcript is lightly edited for length and clarity.
Note: Haitians in the Heartland is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue “LISTEN” button above, which includes emotion and emphasis that’s not on the page.
Leaving Marley behind
Luckens Merzius: It was sad. It was sad. I talked to Marley’s grandma and her aunties, and then I talked to my family, my brothers and sisters; they said, ‘Hey, Luckens, you can leave because we’re going to take care of Marley; you can go.’
So I had to make that decision to leave Haiti. I did, and, it was very difficult. Marley was four years old and every single time I had conversation with Marley she said ‘when will you come to pick me up? When? Why did you and mommy leave me in Haiti’?
Luckens Merzius
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Contributed
Luckens Merzius
Sometimes I said to myself I’m not going to call Marley because I don’t want to talk to her. I felt guilty.
The last birthday she had in Haiti, I said, ‘do you have a wish’? She said, ‘yes, that my next birthday will be in the U.S.’
Marley was four years old and every single time I had conversation with Marley she said ‘when will you come to pick me up? When? Why did you and mommy leave me in Haiti’?
Luckens Merzius
Marley comes to the U.S.
Marley is here right now with us. So go ahead, Marley.
Marley: When I was at the airport, Sephora kept looking at me like she thought that I was the wrong person. She didn’t think that I was her sister.
Luckens: Really?
Sephora: Yeah, because she looked different in the phone.
Luckens: Okay. like on WhatsApp videos. Yeah. Okay.
Marley: Then she [Sephora] introduced me to her friends and we went to play outside.
Sephora kept looking at me like she thought that I was the wrong person. She didn’t think that I was her sister.
Marley
Life in Springfield
Luckens: What has been the hardest thing about adjusting to life in America?
Marley: Going back to redo my grade.
Luckens: You had just come to the U.S., and so I wanted you to go back to fifth grade. And you said ‘No.’
I said, ‘Marley, you have to go back to fifth grade because you just came to the U.S., so you have to learn more English,’ and you said, ‘Okay, Dad.’
Marley: The hardest thing was like when I got in the class, and I had to present myself in front of everyone. They spread rumors about me.
I wasn’t friends with them anyway.
There are some students who left the school because they felt insecure, and now they homeschool.
Luckens: So, people sometimes can say bad things about you for no reason, and they are just lies.
Sephora, so I know you have a bunch of non-Haitian friends. So, did you share the Haitian story with them, like about food or other things?
Sephora: Yes.Some of my friends say that if they have a birthday party, they want to invite me and they want to meet my parents.
Luckens: Okay.
Some of my friends say that if they have a birthday party, they want to invite me and they want to meet my parents.
Sephora
Sephora: How did you feel when Marley was coming to the United States?
Luckens: Oh, I wanted to be with my daughter. It was great.
In the coming weeks, we will share more stories from these producers and Haitian storytellers about everything from poetry and music to activism.
Haitians in the Heartland is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
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Publish date : 2025-02-25 05:56:00
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