Less than a week after a Sylacauga City Council meeting ended early following questions from residents about Haitian immigration, the council met again Monday to give residents another chance to ask them.
Council President Tiffany Nix said the council was meeting in a regular budget work session, but they wanted to answer questions “as a courtesy” because of the number of questions, as the council was not scheduled to meet in regular session for another two weeks.
Nix brought the previous meeting to a close after only 20 minutes when several residents asked questions about how the city knew workers coming there were legal immigrants, who had determined this, and what effect they were having on crime and housing and city services.
Nix explained she stopped the meeting because she felt it was “becoming a little aggressive.”
“So it’s my job not only to protect myself but everybody else,” she said.
Questions were submitted in writing to the council. However, council members said they have very limited information from state and federal officials about the number of Haitians who have come to the area.
“I know there are a lot of things that have been going around social media, and it’s really just hearsay,” Nix said.
Sylacauga, like Athens and Albertville, has seen controversy on social media related to Haitian immigration, which some residents are blaming for crime, scarce housing, and overcrowded schools.
The rhetoric is similar to issues in Ohio, which Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance referenced yesterday, using a discredited story dealing with Haitians eating pets.
One Sylacauga resident wanted to know if money had been set aside for interpreters in next year’s budget, for law enforcement, first responders, hospitals or schools.
“With these newfound friends of ours, we need to find a way that we can at least interpret their needs,” the resident asked.
“And undoubtedly, we don’t have the money to, so I suggest that we reach out to our government officials – at the higher end – who keep shipping these people here to us, not only to fund them to be here, but to fund us fiscally to be able to interpret what their needs may be.”
Interim Police Chief Rondell Muse said police have tried unsuccessfully to use Google Translate to communicate with some people in Creole. Instead, the department contacted the Haitian consulate in Atlanta and “got the situation taken care of.”
Another officer is using an online language learning app, he said.
A school official said at the meeting that they have encountered one additional student who needs English language interpretation this year out of three new arrivals. Two others speak a language the system can accommodate.
The meeting also dealt with routine community issues, such as neighborhood safety during Halloween trick-or-treating.
One unexpected moment came late in the session when Nix read the question, “Who is John Galt?”
“I don’t know,” Nix said, looking around, perplexed. “Does anybody know who John Galt is?
The resident who submitted the question spoke up. “It’s great literature. I recommend anybody read ‘Atlas Shrugged.’”
A 1,168-page 1957 novel by Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged” begins with the question, “Who is John Galt?” The phrase deals with a character in the book, but also symbolizes despair or indifference at the bureaucratic power of government institutions, according to some interpretations.
