The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has said that it is deeply disturbed by the use of derogatory and repulsive language reportedly used by U.S. President Donald Trump in referring to Haiti, one of its member states, and other developing countries.
A statement from the Secretariat at the weekend said the grouping “condemns in the strongest terms, the unenlightened views reportedly expressed.”
“Of additional concern, is this pattern of denigrating Haiti and its citizens in what seems to be a concerted attempt to perpetuate a negative narrative of the country. We are especially saddened that such narrative emerged around the time of the anniversary of the devastating 2010 earthquake which took so many lives of citizens in that country,” the statement continued.
CARICOM said it fully supported the Haitian government’s dignified response to the statements attributed to Trump.
According to CARICOM, it should be recalled that Haiti is the second democracy in the Western Hemisphere after the U.S. and that Haitians “contribute significantly in many spheres to the global community and particularly to the United States of America.”
CARICOM therefore views this insult to the character of the countries named and their citizens as totally unacceptable.
Trump is reported to have last week referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as “shithole”countries during a bipartisan meeting on immigration reform.
The statement from Haiti’s government denounced what it called a “racist” view of Haitian immigrants and people from African countries.
“The Haitian government condemns in the strongest terms these abhorrent and obnoxious remarks which, if proven, reflect a totally erroneous and racist view of the Haitian community and its contribution to the United States,” it said.