The Dew Breaker

The Dew Breaker is truly one of the greatest books I've read in a long time. To be honest, I was not fully aware of the Haiti’s governmental corruption before I began reading. Nevertheless, while reading this book, I came to learn about the Haitian Diaspora and how Brooklyn became a link to Haitian identity even though the book did not revolve entirely in Brooklyn. I wanted to point out that the Dew Breaker, Mr. Bienaimé lived and worked in Brooklyn (most likely in an area populated with Haitians).
With this in mind, why then did Mr. Bienaimé choose to stay there? It only occurred to me that maybe his reason was as a way to atone. His fear of someone recognizing may be what he needs in order to pay for his past actions. He probably understands that there will be no real way to atone for the depth of the evil deeds and so, he punishes himself to be in fear for the rest of his life. In living with this fear, Mr. Bienaimé is atoning because there is nothing more frightening than living in fear and having to hid and live a false life.