A few months ago, my friend Willy Achelus, a member of Springfield?s Haitian community, and Andy Hayes of Springfield?s Hucklebuck Design Studio began working on a T-shirt design to raise money for the Haitian community and to join in creating a message.

It?s been two years since Springfield and our Haitian community became a national talking point on the political stage. The boundaries were drawn. If you?re in this camp, you see it this way. If you?re in that camp, you see it another.

Time passes. Words are posted online. We bite our lips. We take our sides.

And simultaneously, our Haitian neighbors work beside us. They worship with us. Our kids make friends in the cafeteria. We wave as we pass one another in the neighborhood.

And somewhere along the way, the worlds collide: the callous things we?ve said about Haitians and the neighbors we?ve come to know.

Willy came up with the words for the shirt: Love Has No Border.

No one has to stay within the lines that were drawn. Instead we can follow empathy beyond the borders of politics and into that place that makes sense in our hearts. 

Love Has No Borders. Lanmou pa gen fwonty?.

And Haiti?s national motto: L?Union fait la force. Unity is strength.

Would you consider buying a T-shirt and supporting our neighbors? All proceeds will go to the nonprofit PEESHO Center (peehsocenter.org) to provide funds in support of Springfield?s Haitian community.