JACMEL, Haiti (KTAL/KMSS) – A self-declared “hippie” who helped feed tens of thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina is now amongst an untold number of Americans who need humanitarian aid in Haiti.
This is the story of an American man who desperately wants to escape from gang violence in Haiti and bring his 10-year-old son home to the United States.
An American in Haiti
Aaron Broyles isn’t from Louisiana, but after he saw the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina he knew he had to do something. But what Broyles didn’t understand at the time was that coming to Louisiana would change the entire trajectory of his life and eventually leave him stranded in Haiti with his ten-year-old son.
Here’s Broyles’ story.
In 2005, when Aaron Broyles found himself aching to help people in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone, he collaborated within an underground network of friends (and friends of friends) (and friends of friends of friends) who initially met one another at Burning Man and/or Rainbow Gatherings in the United States.
Together, the peace-loving tribe of free spirits from across America began working to feed people during the aftermath of Katrina.
“We all knew it was what we were made for,” Broyles told KTAL NBC 6 about the days that gave Broyles his first taste of being on a humanitarian mission. “We wanted to feed the people. We ended up being in Louisiana and Mississippi for three months.”
Broyles says his passion for helping those in need came about because of his experiences at Rainbow Gatherings.
What is a Rainbow Gathering?
Rainbow Gatherings are basically a hippie caravan that’s held once a year.
“Anybody with a belly button is Rainbow Family,” said Rebecca Hecht, who became friends with Broyles when they met at a Rainbow gathering in Florida decades ago. “I haven’t been in probably 25 years, but once a Rainbow, always a Rainbow, I guess.”
Rebecca has made it her mission to help Aaron and his son Orie get out of Haiti and into the safety of the United States.
“Rainbow gatherings started in 1970 and were largely inspired by Woodstock,” Hecht said as she explained her connection with Aaron. “They gather every year in a National Forest on July 4 to pray for world peace, and there’s a day of silence where they celebrate that wish and that prayer.”
Aaron said he was young when he found Rainbow.
“I was 18 years old, and I went there and found community. The purpose of Rainbow Gatherings, which is praying or meditation in silence for world peace and healing, well, you can’t really go wrong with that in this world. We need more of that.”
Aaron said the Rainbow family taught him how to be a humanitarian.
The United States Forest Service seems to be less enthused about the gatherings.
Rainbow-inspired humanitarian aid
Following Katrina efforts, Aaron “decided that this is my thing. This is what I wanna do. I wanna help people in crisis.”
He helped form an organization called American Rainbow Rapid Response, and through the years, the organization changed and morphed into Grassroots Aid Partnership.
ARRR was given the Governor’s Award for Voluntary Service by then-Govenor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal for their work during Hurricane Gustav.
“I’ve been to many, many hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods,” said Aaron of humanitarian missions.
But it was an earthquake that eventually led him to Haiti, where he fell in love with the island and its people.
How Aaron arrived in Haiti
It was Feb. 2010, one month after a major earthquake struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
“I was in New Zealand and was going to go to Indonesia. I opened my email and found an email from my mother,” said Aaron. “She was like, I know you, son, you’re gonna go. But you’ve gotta wait and finish your time where you are before you go.”
Aaron said he had no idea what his mother was talking about when he read the email.
“Then I was in a coffee shop and started reading the news, and Haiti was on the front page. I was reading about all the damage and lives lost, and there was one line in that report that said, ‘Where are the Americans?’ And I cried because I knew they were talking about me and what I could do.”
By that time, Aaron was highly experienced in humanitarian aid. He partnered with another organization—a midwifery clinic out of Indonesia. The clinic had experience working with earthquake survivors, so Aaron joined on as a carpenter.
“They needed a supervisor to run the crew to build a midwifery clinic, and I came down (to Haiti) to work with them for three months,” said Aaron.
That’s when it happened.
Aaron falls in love with Haiti
Aaron said that after the midwifery clinic project in Haiti was finished, he looked to the right, the left, in front, and behind him. That’s when he thought, “These people need help. This is the place, and this is where I’m gonna do it.”
He took another few trips to Haiti to focused on the needs of the people, then he began a theatre program designed to instill confidence among young Haitians.
“People were lacking fun,” he said, explaining the reason he began the Spare Change Theatre Program in Jacmel, which was once called “The City of Light” because it was the first in the Caribbean to have electricity.
“I had a lot of years experience with improvisational theatre, and I was like well, let’s go. I wanted people to know that when you’re learning theatre, it’s not necessary for you to be an actor for the rest of your life. You could be anything. You could be a lawyer. You could be a politician. It’s just how you present yourself and how you come into the room.”
The program was a success. Many of the program’s former students are now involved in politics, community action, and making films.
“It had a very good impact,” Aaron said of the theatre.
Aaron has been on the island for well over a decade now. His son, Orie, is ten years old and could technically be an American citizen, but he’s not yet because until now, Aaron hasn’t needed to leave Haiti with Orie.
But now the capital of Haiti (Port-au-Prince) has been taken over by gangs. Bandits have freed thousands of inmates from prisons, destroyed police stations, and killed people at random. And they’re not done yet, either. Gangs still have control, and Aaron said that he and his son Orie know that at any moment, gangs from the capital could cross the 25 miles between the capital and Jacmel.
Broyle’s son Orie said he’s afraid of men in black uniforms with big guns. He wants to come to his father’s home in the United States, where he can eat strawberries and see snow.
“I have never seen snow,” said Ori.
And for a young man who is at an age where he’s learning how to deal with bullies at school, being confronted by gangs that are bullying an entire island right now doesn’t leave him with much hope things will get better when he grows up.
Ori said he’s not happy because he’s afraid.
“I saw them hurt my dad. And we went to the hospital,” Orie said of an attack that happened to Aaron recently.
Meanwhile, Aaron has been pleading with the U.S. Government for help.
The Department of State ceased all flights that could extract U.S. Citizens and their dependants from the island. The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince released the following information on their Instagram page: “The airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed. We are exploring departure options for U.S. citizens from Port-au-Prince to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, assuming it is safe to do so. If you need assistance to depart Haiti, please fill out our intake form if you have not already done so.”
But departure options aren’t available for Aaron and Orie. Even if the airport suddenly opened and had a dozen planes began flying people out of Haiti to the United States, without the legal paperwork from the United States that proves Orie is an American citizen Aaron and Orie can’t come to the United States.
“We need expedited American passports,” said Aaron of American citizens who live in Haiti and have dependants. “We will not leave our children or spouses in Haiti. We will not come back to the United States without them even though it’s dangerous.”
When asked what people in the United States could do to help, Aaron said that getting his son to safety is his first priority. He’s also apprehensive about other families he knows in similar situations.
“Why in the hell has this taken so long?” he asked. “And why was the only option for evacuating people offered to those who were willing to drag your family into obviously one of the most dangerous places on earth, Port au Prince, Tabarre, US embassy?”
Aaron told KTAL what it’s like for Haitians trying to escape right now.
“We have an airport which has been closed for two months. Before that (there was) only one flight provider, which is notorious for being unavailable at best and negligent at worst. HAS, you can not get on those planes without a massive amount of effort, and most people find it easier to get on a boat to the border of the Dominican Republic.”
But Aaron said the Dominican Republic won’t let any Haitian enter the territory even if they have a visa. (Haiti and the Dominican Republic are both located on the same island.)
Haiti’s political link to Louisiana
The only successful slave revolt in modern times occurred on the island and was part of the reason Napoleon Bonaparte suddenly decided to sell French Louisiana to the United States in 1803.
In Napoleon’s day, “Haiti” was a French colony called St. Domingue where more than 550000 people were enslaved to a mere 32000 European colonists. Another 24000 freedmen of mulatto lineage lived on the island, too, and they were disgruntled by France’s refusal to let them vote. Their revolution gave them control of St. Domingue, but Haiti has long been plagued by political assassinations and, oftentimes, uncontrollable violence.
And this moment is another one of those times in Haiti.
Asking for help from the United States
Rebecca said she and Aaron have been working with officials in North Carolina, where Aaron has maintained an address in the United States. The case worker at Congressman Chuck Edwards‘ office has been instrumental in making sure Aaron and Orie have the paperwork they need to travel safely. Edwards’ office also provides information about the possibility of leaving Haiti safely and legally.
But getting the paperwork and then getting off the island safely is much easier said than done. What looks plausible on paper is a life-threatening experience on the ground in Haiti.
“We seek for the Biden administration to prioritize safety bringing home remaining U.S. citizens and their families who wish to return and to facilitate blended families to be rescued and given asylum from this unstable environment immediately,” said Rebecca.
Aaron and Orie are two of the 31 citizens from Edward’s region who are seeking safe passage back to the United States.
At least 1000 Americans in Haiti have completed a “crisis intake form” so far.
Aaron is stuck in Haiti with his son today because he once sat in a coffee shop reading a newspaper that told of earthquake devastation in Haiti. The newspaper asked the question ‘Where are the Americans?’ and it broke Aaron’s heart that Americans weren’t rushing in to help their neighbors in their time of extreme need.
And all these years later, Aaron is finding out what it means to live on the unanswered side of the question that once haunted him: Where are the Americans?
