Haitian youths transformed life in an ageing Ohio city. Then Trump made them targets

Until Pierre Damas Bel’s death on 31 August, the story of Haitian adolescents in Springfield was one of triumph At a pavilion west of downtown Springfield, Ohio, 32 high school students dressed in black T-shirts stand silently at a vigil in the warm fall evening air. Some are holding signs depicting the number 11, as worn on the soccer field by Pierre Damas Bel, the 20-year-old Haitian student and athlete who died in an apparent suicide on 31 August. Other students hold signs that read “live like Pierre” and “Pierre was selfless”. Continue reading...

Stephen Starr in Springfield, Ohio · Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 5:00 AM
US news | The Guardian

Haitian youths transformed life in an ageing Ohio city. Then Trump made them targets

Until Pierre Damas Bel’s death on 31 August, the story of Haitian adolescents in Springfield was one of triumph

At a pavilion west of downtown Springfield, Ohio, 32 high school students dressed in black T-shirts stand silently at a vigil in the warm fall evening air.

Some are holding signs depicting the number 11, as worn on the soccer field by Pierre Damas Bel, the 20-year-old Haitian student and athlete who died in an apparent suicide on 31 August. Other students hold signs that read “live like Pierre” and “Pierre was selfless”.

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