RALEIGH, N.C. — Decades of political upheaval in Haiti has culminated in violence in the streets, leaving Haitian-Americans at a loss for words. 

What You Need To Know

Violence erupted in Haiti at the end of February leaving the country in turmoil

The Carolina Haitian Women’s Society is a group of 300 women of Haitian descent

They are currently working to aide friends and family in Haiti in the midst of violence

The current crisis in Haiti, which started on Feb. 29 when gunmen launched a series of attacks, has built up over decades of political upheaval and power struggles.

“Truth be told, this did not only happen after the assassination of the president,” said Dominique Alphonse-Sainvil, a first generation Haitian-American. “We’ve been in turmoil. We’ve been undisciplined. We’ve been without a government. We have no structure right now. We’re in limbo.”

Many people have died, and more than 15,000 have been left homeless. The scary situation there, however, doesn’t lessen the love Haitians in North Carolina feel for their home country.

“What’s happening is not us,” Alphonse-Sainvil said. “The darkness is not what the country is made of. The darkness is the circumstances that we are living now.”

Her parents immigrated to the United States in the 1960s and always taught her to be proud of her lineage, but she said her heart is broken over the present turmoil.

“When you’re here, there’s this heaviness, there’s this necessity to continue to send encouragement, keep them uplifted,” Alphonse-Sainvil said. “I never end the call without saying, ‘You got this!’ almost like I need for their mindset to stay on that path, even though their surroundings is saying so much different.”

She said she hasn’t been back to Haiti in many years but keeps her heritage alive in her kitchen. Consistency, cooking and normalcy are how she processes and how she said people in Haiti are getting through – that and their persistent spirit.

“This is our joy,” Alphonse-Sainvil said. “This puts a smile on our face. It is nothing for you to make a meal and come out in the village or on your porch.”

Dominique Alphonse-Sainvil serves a traditional Haitian dish to one of her children (Spectrum News 1/Rachel Boyd)

Dominique shared that her mother passed away just seven months ago, but it was always her dream to move back home to her farm in Haiti. She said if her mom was alive today, she would be devastated to see her country in such a state.

“She just truly would be completely at her wit’s end at this point trying to understand why her beloved Haiti is in this stage,” she said.

Alphonse-Sainvil is part of an organization of 300 other Haitian women in North Carolina who are connected by a love of their heritage. The group is currently working to partner with relief organizations to provide aide to the country. She said peace is what her country needs more than anything.

“Resilience is what we’re made up of,” Alphonse-Sainvil said. “And I, for one, am convinced, a believer and know it in my spirit that it will be the Haiti that my mom and dad knew.”