It was with horror and dismay that I learned that Donald Trump called Haiti a shithole. I saw New Jersey Senator Cory Booker on TV almost in tears about it. New Jersey is where father made a home after emigrating from Port-au-Prince when he was in his 20’s to complete his medical studies. He worked and paid taxes as a Veteran’s Administration pathologist in East Orange, New Jersey, for more than a quarter-century. More than a dozen of my other family members who grew up in Haiti now live in the United States, all of them employed, law-abiding people who I’m proud to be related to.

The feeling I saw in Senator Booker’s eyes was the feeling I have had in my heart since the president of the United States parted his lips to use “shithole” and Haiti in the same sentence. Yes, Haiti is a poor country and it has shitholes – open sewers in certain parts of the capital city where you would never go in flip-flops. It was into one such hole that Trump stuck his foot, in denigrating Haiti and other countries he hasn’t been to, and then put it right in his mouth.

Despite all of its challenges – natural disasters, poverty, a lack of infrastructure, lack of electricity — when I lived with family members in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 2000 and 2001 to learn the culture and get to know my relatives, I never saw anyone wearing a cap that said “Make Haiti Great Again.” That’s because the Haitian people I met already know Haiti is great, has always been great, and always will be. While I was there, I saw and learned that:

1. Haitian people work hard, often creating jobs there out of nothing – selling hard boiled eggs, fresh mangoes (of which Haiti has more than a dozen varieties), and roasted peanuts on street corners. One woman sold water by the cupful from a bucket she balanced on her head, tipping it just enough to fill a customer’s cup without touching it. They work long hours all year long, rather than taking ninety golfing trips a year.
2. Haitian students have an appreciation for education. Even in the poorest of neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, students get ready for school eagerly, excited to learn. The ties girls twist into their hair are usually red and white, and neatly pressed, not all red, white and wrinkled like they’ve been slept in.
3. Haitian people make an effort to be polite and courteous. In Port-au-Prince there’s an unscheduled public transportation system – a covered pick-up truck, a donated school bus, or whatever’s running – that operates like a bus system. When a person is ready to get off the vehicle, called a tap-tap, he or she lets the driver know by yelling, “Thank you!” It’s considered more polite than, for example, hanging the phone up on another head of state mid-sentence.
4. Haitian people take care of their mental health as a community. Haiti’s annual festive carnival is what some people call an opportunity to collectively release their tensions and frustrations, that built up over the past year, in a cathartic, celebratory way. That’s probably why 27 shrinks didn’t find it necessary to write a book last year about the mental health of Haitian people or the danger it presents to others.
5. Haitian people have decency. Former Haitian president Michel Martelly, who like Trump, was an entertainer before becoming president, was recorded on tape saying jokingly, “That’s because I have something to show,” when someone noticed his fly was unzipped. Then he zipped his pants, making reference to no one’s private parts but his own.
6. Haitian people recycle creatively. Artists in Croix-de-Bouquet, outside the capital, use metal drums to create ornate, intricate fireplace covers, frames, and candle holders that are sold around the world. It’s good for the environment, which many people there and globally acknowledge has issues.
7. When a Haitian funeral happens, it’s a celebration with laughter and singing and storytelling. The funeral of my cousin’s friend’s aunt was like an outdoor party, with love for her in the air. No one said she had died doing exactly what she wanted to do.
8. Haitian people are humble. One of my relatives, who moved to the United States after the earthquake, had worked in Haiti in architecture. Once he got to the U.S. he got a job as a security guard. The people who walk past him don’t know he used to design buildings because he doesn’t stop them to brag about what a genius he is.
9. Haitian people support each other. When one friend doesn’t have any money, due to an event beyond his or her control, another friend will feel morally obligated to help. They don’t leave the victims, like those of Hurricane Maria for example, figure it out unsupported.
10. People from all over the world go to Haiti, some with the intention of being there a short time, and are so transformed by the experience that they stay forever. On Friday, January 19, a Haitian immigration activist told Amy Goodman on the Democracy Now! radio show that Trump is now persona non grata, as far as Haitian people are concerned, so he could probably never enter the country even for a day.

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By Elaine Tassy

Elaine Tassy is an award-winning Haitian-American reporter who has worked at the LA Times, The (Baltimore) Sun, and the Albuquerque Journal. She is the author of the novel Pumpkin Bread, and has recently completed a memoir about being treated for a brain tumor and detached retina at the same time called Choosing To Win. She is from Montclair, New Jersey, and now lives in Albuquerque, NM. Elaine’s artwork can also be found at  www.artwork-of-elaine-tassy.com.

credit link:  https://urbanintellectuals.com/2018/01/24/ten-reasons-haiti-not-shithole/