Destiny Rosulmé
Spring 2022
In 1981, Joseph Paulin Rosulmé, a native of Les Cayes, Haiti, lost his job at the state department under the notorious “Baby Doc” regime. The difficulty in finding another job coupled with the large-scale killings and uprisings in Haiti at the time incentivized Joseph to not only leave his home country but also take his chances of entering the “most powerful country” in the world. With the support of his wife and a vision of a brighter future for his two daughters, Mr. Rosulmé set off on a life-changing journey.
A Different Path
The bureaucratic approach to obtaining a U.S. visa, especially for low earning and uneducated citizens of the Global South, is intentionally arduous. This may be one reason that Joseph decided to take a different path. After paying about 1500 Haitian Gourdes to fellow Haitians organizing the trip, Joseph boarded 1 of 2 boats that would eventually bring him to Miami, Florida. The first departed from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti’s capital where Joseph and his family lived. This boat then arrived in Haiti’s second-largest city: Cap Haitien, Haiti which is colloquially referred to as “Aux Cap.” He would stay in a hotel in Aux Cap for several days before embarking on his trip to the United States. Joseph recalls spending 4-5 days on this second boat, receiving food and water from the organizers of the trip. When asked about his emotional well-being during this voyage, Joseph stated, “I was not scared.”
“Though Joseph’s path to the United States is an unconventional one that is highly stigmatized for its legality, it was the one that was the most accessible and rewarding for him.”
Bravery aside, this perspective can also be attributed to the support system Joseph recognizes that he had along the way. Though he was surrounded by 40 other people with similar goals of finding better employment and creating more opportunities for their families, there is nothing quite like having a familiar face as you navigate an experience such as this one. Thankfully, Joseph was accompanied by his cousin and would later reconnect with his brother in the United States who had already planted roots several years prior. Though Joseph’s path to the United States is an unconventional one that is highly stigmatized for its legality, it was the one that was the most accessible and rewarding for him.
The Good Old Days
When he arrived in Miami, Florida, the first thing Joseph did was thank God for the seamlessness of his voyage. After a few days of settling in, he located a payphone and used some quarters to phone his family back home, letting them know that he had reached and was safe. For Joseph, the goal was clear: begin working as soon as possible to support and hopefully reunite with his nuclear family in Haiti. He recalls the process of finding a job being relatively easy. Just a month after arriving in Miami, Joseph was living in a small room with his brother and was already employed. Because of how easy it was to find employment, Joseph remembers working at various locations such as the Miami International Airport, a restaurant in the neighboring county, and a factory where he, his brother, and cousin also worked. Although the pay was far less than what we would expect in the present day, with an hourly wage of $3.35, Joseph remembers this period as “the good old days.” With this wage, he recalls being able to comfortably feed himself, send money to his family back home, help pay for rent and purchase his first car: a MAC Nova.
The Most Powerful Country
Joseph’s pre-conceived notions about the United States did come to fruition. He cites a law established under President Carter as the reason why he, along with many other Haitians who came to the United States between 1980 and 1981, were granted citizenship. This was known as the Refugee Act of 1980, which helped to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. Though he got his citizenship documents during the Reagan administration, Joseph was still able to benefit from this law which confirmed what he believed to be true about the U.S. as both a well-respected and highly democratic country. Additionally, when asked about the way he believed Americans perceived him, he said that he felt welcomed. This may be attributed to his location. By living in Miami, Florida, Joseph found himself living and working within a diverse community thriving with Haitian and Cuban immigrants. In 1986, just a few years after his initial arrival, he was able to file for his wife and two children to come to join him in Florida. From then on, Joseph and his family went on to purchase their first home in North Miami and live a relatively modest lifestyle. Thus despite the hardship of having to initially leave one’s home behind in search of a better life, Joseph is grateful for the opportunities that he feels the United States has been able to afford him and his family. It is clear that for Joseph, it was family that motivated his life-changing trip.
“…I was thinking of my family when I traveled here but the move was good for my family. Because we have the means to succeed more here than in Haiti. And it happens until today. There are more resources in the United States to help our family. We have more of our family here which helps us to bring more family in from Haiti.”