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Golden Gate man deported to Haiti to be reunited with family in Canada

Sunday, April 8, 2007

A Golden Gate man whose family was broken apart when he was deported to Haiti is on track to be reunited with his wife and children in Canada by early summer, officials from a local immigrant rights organization said.

Louis Pierrot Dorcelian, 40, was arrested and deported to Haiti in December 2006, leaving his pregnant 27-year-old wife, Angelene, alone to care for the couple's three children. Angelene is also taking care of two of Louis' children, from a previous relationship, who immigrated to the United States from Haiti just days before his arrest.

Some officials believe the deportation was unwarranted because Louis, who arrived in the United States in 1997 by boat, is married to a permanent resident and was in the process of having his status in the country adjusted.

Since her husband's deportation, Angelene has been struggling to make ends meet, relying on donations from strangers and the help of her father, she said.

But in recent weeks, Angelene's cousin, a physician in Canada, has agreed to sponsor Louis' immigration into Canada, said Adrien Alpendre, a counselor with the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center, an East Naples organization that helps members of immigrant communities with social and economic issues.

Canadian officials are finishing the required paperwork and Louis is scheduled to take a medical exam in Haiti in late April or early May, Alpendre said.

“After that it is a matter of a few weeks — not months, weeks,” Alpendre said.

Typically it takes 13 months to 20 months for a Haitian resident to get approved to immigrate to Canada, Alpendre said. Because Louis had been approved for refugee status in Canada before his deportation, the Canadian officials were flexible, he said.

Once Louis arrives in Canada, the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center plans to help reunite Angelene and their children with him, Alpendre said.

Angelene, who gave birth to the couple's fourth child on Feb. 27, said she is looking forward to seeing her husband again and moving to Canada, even though she doesn't know much about the country.

“I have no choice. I have to go,” Angelene said. “I cannot wait. We've been married for seven years and we've never been separated from each other.”

To help raise money and prepare for the move, the organization has established the “Friends of the Dorcelian Family Committee,” Alpendre said.

So far the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center has helped raise about $5,000 for the Dorcelian family, officials said.

“We're talking about transporting seven people to Canada,” Alpendre said, “and she will have to have some money in her pocket until the Canadian social services take over.”

Life has been difficult in Haiti for the past four months, Louis said through a translator during a telephone interview. He said he is grateful to all the people who have helped his family since his deportation.

“I feel very bad that I cannot meet these people who helped my wife. I wish I could give them a big hug,” Louis Dorcelian said. “I believe what they did for my wife, I cannot give it back to them, but God will give it back to them.”

The Dorcelian case has become a cause celeb for the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center. Jacques Sinjuste, the center's executive director, said that when Louis Dorcelian lands in Canada, it will be time for the organization to celebrate.

“Hopefully Louis can get in Canada as soon as possible,” Sinjuste said. “I will be very happy and I will be in Canada to meet him. That will be satisfaction for me because we've put hundreds of hours into this case.”

The Jerusalem Haitian Community Center is planning on hosting a fund-raising concert for Angelene on April 29, but the details of the concert haven't been released.

Anyone interested in joining the “Friends of the Dorcelian Family Committee” should contact the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center at (239) 430-1421.