WORCESTER, Mass. — Saturday is Haitian Flag Day and the City of Worcester is marking it by hosting a parade, flag raising and other celebrations.

For nearly a decade, the Haitian-American Socio-Cultural Association of Worcester has hosted a Haitian Flag Day celebration as a way to celebrate their culture.

According to the Worcester Patch, nearly 14,000 Haitians have arrived in Massachusetts in the last several years following the assassination of their former president in 2021.

Since then, violent gangs have killed, injured or kidnapped thousands of people.

“We are just sad about what happen to our country because we cannot go back to our country,” said Rosette Gazemar, of the Haitian-American Socio-Cultural Association of Worcester. “Everybody is leaving because of the safety. So that is why we are here, otherwise I believe all of us would like to go back to Haiti because it is a nice country. We are happy when we are there. When we say Haiti, we are proud."

“My mom does a great job every year bringing the community together,” said Rosette’s son, Jean Alouidor. “Despite everything going on in Haiti, we still want to come together to show that we still live very well and strongly together as a community. So it's really exciting to do all this with our friends and family and our loved ones and show we still stand together."

Haitian Flag Day celebrations will continue Saturday at the Ducharme Social Center in Worcester from 3-6 p.m.