Vandals Uproot Garden For Immigrants In Cleveland Heights

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — A garden created for Nepali immigrants in Cleveland Heights was uprooted by vandals this month. At least one state official believes the destruction may have been driven by anti-immigrant sentiments.

Ohio is home to more than 2,000 Nepali immigrants and 100 of those immigrants call Cleveland Heights home. After discovering this community of refugees was struggling to connect with neighbors, two teachers decided to build a garden to help the Nepali feel at home.

Stephen Walker and Jay-Rod Johnson organized a summer camp focused on building the community garden. More than 65 people showed up and built flower beds, installed fence posts and wrapped wire to keep deer out.

The community response was immediate and it was ecstatic, Walker said. Neighbors quickly came together to plant jalapenos, tomatoes, kale and other crops. Dirt-stained fingernails and seedlings brought the strands of Cleveland Heights' community together.

The project was so successful, a local TV station did a story on the garden and its effects on the Nepali community. Days after News 5's broadcast, the garden was vandalized. All of the crops were uprooted. None of the plants survived.

“After the vandalism, people in the community told us to consider putting a lock on the gate of the garden, but we didn’t want to create a mindset of keeping certain people out,” said Johnson. “Since the Nepalese face a language barrier, they would see the lock and feel like they are being locked out of their community. Instead, we want to build a community that acts as its own lock by building trust with one another. That will keep hatred out and love in.”

Walker echoed Johnson's sentiment. "This is a community garden. I don't want to put a lock on it. That's not how a community operates. I want people to be able to come and go freely," he told Patch.

The vandalism hasn't gone unnoticed. Besides drawing media attention, the destruction also prompted action from State Representative Janine Boyd, a Democrat from Cleveland Heights.

“It occurs to me that the uprooting of a community garden designed to welcome immigrants may have been the result of hateful and bigoted anti-immigrant sentiment. Some at the federal and state levels of government have used such rhetoric to poison the hearts of those who fail to acknowledge the simple fact that our country is young — that our history is not far enough behind us to legislate, vote or even live as if it is,” said Boyd in a statement.

Her office said a community event will be held on Thursday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at the Nepali garden on Delmore Road. Neighbors and activists will work together to rebuild the gardens and to prepare the land for next year.

Walker said it's too late to replant many of the crops, but a local garden center is donating some plants that can be grown through September and into, possibly, October.

“There are people among us who choose to use our country’s young history to further divide us and cause destruction, like thieves in the night. In Cleveland Heights and House District 9, however, we will continue to use our history to unite us,” said Boyd. “This week, we will come together to restore a piece of welcoming earth and give root once more to light and kindness. We will brighten the night.”