Childhood in Haiti (1975–early 1990s)
Philippe Francois was born September 12, 1975, in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. His
parents were not married, and around age one, his father took custody of him.
He was raised by two aunties — one in Florida, one in Spring Valley — and by
his grandmother, who lived in Quartier Morin, Haiti, and passed away in March
2009. He attended Frère de l'Instruction Chrétienne, a Catholic school in
Cap-Haïtien, and spent vacations with his grandmother in Quartier Morin. As a
child he was difficult — disobedient, stealing from his parents — and recalls
praying to a snake in a tree during that period.
Adolescence — running away and foster care
By age 14 he had run away from home to Port-au-Prince. He describes having a
vision urging him toward association with Jean-Bertrand Aristide, then a priest
and later president of Haiti. He was living on the street when IBESR (Haiti's
child welfare institute) placed him in a Centre d'Accueil de Rééducation in
Carrefour, Port-au-Prince. There he met another boy from Cap-Haïtien; that
boy's aunt, visiting, learned of Philippe's disappearance and brought him back
to his own aunts in Cap-Haïtien.
Return to Cap-Haïtien and a period of trouble
His aunts each took him separately to a voodoo priest for treatment. He became
disrespectful toward them. He bought a bicycle on lease from someone, sold it
without paying, and was arrested and jailed at 16 going on 17. After his
release, his parents — discouraged — distanced themselves, and he was homeless
in Cap-Haïtien until someone offered him shelter. He later approached a voodoo
priest again, this time seeking to make a deal for money, but was told he was
too young.
Gonaïves, then Port-au-Prince again (until 1998)
He spent time in Gonaïves before returning to Port-au-Prince, uncertain about
his future. A friend housed him at his mother's place. He worked days at Duval
Power and attended secondary school at night, hoping to become a civil
engineer. He was fired after being caught stealing at that job.
Life on the docks and the 1998 heist
Having picked up mechanical skills, he was assigned to a merchant ship docked
in Port-au-Prince, where he lived and worked bringing in merchandise, building
friendships with seafarers. Cocaine trafficking was widespread in Haiti at the
time. He describes being involved in taking $25,000 from members of a group
connected to a cocaine shipment, which put him in danger from the shipment's
owner. Using $7,000 of that money, he paid for passage by boat from Cap-Haïtien
to Miami in March 1998.
Arrival and immigration struggles in the US (1998– )
Not understanding how US immigration worked, he was advised to file for asylum
to pursue a green card, but USCIS denied the claim, requesting proof he'd been
in the US since 1994. He entered legally, inspected by US Customs, Coast Guard,
and immigration officials. He believes US officials were aware of the cocaine
incident in Port-au-Prince, given the presence of American personnel there at
the time amid US activity connected to restoring Aristide to power.
He held work
permits intermittently. When he hired immigration attorney Ronda Gelfman in
North Miami Beach, a Freedom of Information request for his file came back
deleted or illegible — something she said she'd never seen before. Suspecting
government involvement, he joined the ACLU and became a regular listener of NPR
(via WLRN Miami) to educate himself on government affairs.
He had a
child with an undocumented Honduran woman. He was told that returning to Haiti
would mean being killed by the drug lord connected to the earlier cocaine shipment.
A close friend supported him financially during this time, including by pawning
personal belongings to help cover rent.
Faith, baptism, and conflict (2006 onward)
He met a woman who encouraged him to get baptized so they could marry; she
belonged to the Tabernacle of Glory, led by Reverend Gregory Toussaint. He was
baptized in 2006 and describes entering a period of intense spiritual struggle.
Around this time, a close friend told him that a man he had introduced him to
had taken $3,500 from him. Philippe pressed his girlfriend for information,
learned it involved a money-related scheme, and reported the man to the US
Secret Service, leading to an arrest.
Contact with the DEA and FBI
He went to the DEA, explaining his fear of being killed if he returned to Haiti
over the earlier cocaine situation — he recognized one of the agents as a man
who had once given him shelter on a ship in Port-au-Prince in 1997. When asked
if he'd ever been involved with drugs in the US, he said yes, and was told they
couldn't help him. He then went to the FBI to report what he describes as
strange physical and spiritual attacks. During that meeting, an officer asked
if he was the person who'd gone to the Secret Service; he did not answer, and
the officer left the room.
Return to Haiti and present circumstances
In March 2008, after what he describes as prolonged torment, he returned to
Haiti. Since then, he has faced significant hardship — roughly $30,000 in debt,
periods of going without basic necessities, and a sense of profound isolation.
In 2023, he visited a voodoo practitioner in Saint-Michel-de-l'Attalaye, an
experience he connects back to the earlier incident at the FBI office in North
Miami.
