A married couple who fled Haiti for Virginia achieved their American dream when they opened a variety market on the Eastern Shore, selling hard-to-find spices, sodas and rice to the region’s growing Haitian community.
When they added a Haitian food truck, people drove from an hour away for freshly cooked oxtail, fried plantains and marinated pork.
But Clemene Bastien and Theslet Benoir are now suing the town of Parksley, alleging that it forced their food truck to close. The couple also say a town council member cut the mobile kitchen’s water line and screamed, “Go back to your own country!”
“When we first opened, there were a lot of people” ordering food, Bastien said, speaking through an interpreter. “And the day after, there were a lot of people. And then … they started harassing us.”
I could see how that situation would make someone tell them to take that behavior back to where it’s the norm.
Funny how you keep flipping your argument in order to come down on the side of the councilman from this podunk little town.
I’m not trying to defend anyone, just pointing out that this story is entirely based on accusations in a lawsuit. Don’t get your blood pressure up over something that might not be true or accurate.