My mother was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1968. Papa Doc’s son Jean-Claude Duvalier- known as “Baby Doc”- led the country from 1971 onwards. During the time of Papa Doc’s regime, my grandmother used the money she was sending and the amount of influence she had left to protect her children from his own squad. She lived a hard life in America, realizing that the degrees that she had obtained in Haiti did not carry the same weight. In that time, both of my parents Visas expired and they were forced to suspend their aspirations to keep our family together. It took 10+ years for my mother to obtain a green card and begin her educational career anew. At this point, my mother is now a Nurse, doing work that she has been qualified to do 20 years previous.

– Megan Jean Louis

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant