CARICOM condemns repulsive statement by US President Trump with respect to Haiti & other countries

​US President Donald Trump has been branded as an outright racist, after reports surfaced that he had described African nations, as well as Haiti and El Salvador as ‘shitholes’ and questioned why so many of their citizens had ever been permitted to enter the United States of America.
 
The International Edition of ‘The Guardian’ reported that US diplomats around the world were summoned for formal reproach, amid global shock that such crude remarks could ever be made in a semi-public meeting by the president of the United States of America.
 
According to the Guardian, the UN said in a strongly-worded statement, it was impossible to describe his remarks as anything other than racist, while the Vatican decried Trump’s words as “particularly harsh & offensive”.
 
Meanwhile, CARICOM has responded to the remarks made by Trump, stating that, “CARICOM is deeply disturbed by reports about the use of derogatory and repulsive language by the President of the United States in respect of our Member State, Haiti, and other developing countries. CARICOM 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 Caribbean Community expresses its full support for the dignified statement of the Government of the Republic of Haiti in reaction to this highly offensive reference. It should be recalled that Haiti is the second democracy in the Western Hemisphere after the United States and that Haitians continue to 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”.