FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — For Boston council member Ruthzee Louijeune, Haiti’s return to the World Cup is a continuation of what’s been a two-month celebration in the city for the Caribbean nation.Yes, Haiti’s group match against Scotland on Saturday marked its second-ever appearance in the sport’s biggest tournament more than a half-century after its first one in 1974. But it also represented the latest bonding moment for Boston’s Haitian community in light of the ongoing ban on the country’s citizens entering the U.S. and the pending Supreme Court case centered on the American government’s attempt to end the temporary protection status for those that arrived here following 2010 earthquake. A decision in the case is expected soon.“This moment holds incredible weight, incredible history and incredible pride for the Haitian diaspora,” Louijeune, Boston’s first Haitian-American councilor and former council president, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 4% of Boston’s approximately 670,000 citizens are Haitians. That gives Massachusetts’ largest city the second largest per capita Haitian population in the country. About 45,000 of Massachusetts’ residents are here under temporary protective status — the third-largest Haitian group in the country.
