Opinion ID: 1237154
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: .Flight from Haiti

Text: Brezilien is a native and citizen of Haiti. From 1989 until he fled Haiti in 1991, Brezilien was an active supporter of former Haitian president Aristide. [1] He distributed leaflets and attended rallies for Aristide, wore an Aristide T-shirt that had been personally autographed by Aristide, and posted many pictures of Aristide in his neighborhood, including one in front of his family home. He also canvassed the countryside and urban neighborhoods before and on the day of the 1990 election, garnering support for Aristide. When Brezilien stood at the polls on election day and showed voters how to vote for Aristide's party, several government soldiers observed his activities. Brezilien's family was associated with Aristide and Aristide's party, Lavalas, primarily through Brezilien's father Remon. Remon had known Aristide from a young age and served as his personal bodyguard during his election campaign and presidency. Two of Brezilien's older brothers, Corlod and Renoll, also worked for Aristide. As a 15-year-old boy, Brezilien sometimes accompanied his father to work and thus was seen with Aristide. On September 28, 1991, the night before the coup d'etat that displaced Aristide, Brezilien was at home in Port-au-Prince with his father and his younger brother, Gerald. His father was not on duty that day as Aristide's bodyguard. Insurgent soldiers known as Ton Ton Macoutes, who would eventually oust Aristide, shot at Brezilien's house that morning. In the evening, Brezilien's father received phone calls from friends warning him to stay at home. Later that night, the soldiers returned and shot at the house again. When Brezilien's father opened the door to see who was outside, the Ton Ton Macoutes shot and killed him. Brezilien and Gerald hid in the basement while the Ton Ton Macoutes, who knew the boys were inside, continued firing at the house. After spending a day in the basement, Brezilien came out when he heard a neighbor talking outside. The neighbor allowed Brezilien and Gerald to spend that night at his house, and the next day drove them forty kilometers to Leogane, where they stayed with the neighbor's relative for one month. After about one month of living in fear and hiding from the rebel military's search for Aristide supporters, Brezilien and his brother fled by bus to a remote village, St. Louis. On November 13, 1991, when Brezilien was 16 years old, he and Gerald left Haiti in a boat with 67 other people. After two or three days, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the boat and transported its occupants to the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba. Immigration officials interviewed Brezilien and paroled him into the United States. He was subsequently granted asylum on June 12, 1993 and lawful permanent resident status in 1994.