据《华盛顿邮报》报道，上周四，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在与国会议员讨论移民问题时，称海地等许多国家是“屎坑国家”。

“我们为什么要接收那些来自屎坑国家的人？”有报道称，除了海地，特朗普还提到了萨尔瓦多和非洲国家。他后来又再次单独提到海地称：“我们为什么需要更多海地人？把他们赶走。”

特朗普的这番不当言论遭到了民主党议员和部分共和党议员的广泛谴责。包括一名联合国人权官员在内的许多人称这种言论是种族主义。

上周五，特朗普否认了这番言论，他发推文称他的语言有些“粗暴”，但并没有使用新闻报道中所说的那些词汇。特朗普补充道：“我对海地人没有任何诋毁，我只是说，显而易见，海地是一个非常贫穷和动荡不安的国家。”

下面是有关海地的几点常识。这个国家确实极度贫困，饱受自然灾害之苦，并且频频发生政治骚乱。但海地也有丰富的文化，而且在美国历史上曾经扮演过重要的角色。

海地的历史

1492年，克里斯托弗·哥伦布发现了海地岛（现被称为伊斯帕尼奥拉岛），在殖民统治期间，岛上的大部分原住民遭到了清洗。1697年，岛上西部三分之一的土地被割让给法国，该地区通过出口糖、咖啡、可可等商品一度经济繁荣。岛上人口以殖民者从西非购买的奴隶为主，他们从事大部分农业劳动。

1791年至1804年期间，自由民和奴隶举行了一系列起义，史称“海地革命”，推翻了法国的殖民统治。但奴隶制度遗留的贫困问题，直至今天仍旧困扰着这个岛国。

1825年，面对法国的侵略威胁，海地被迫向法国支付了1.5亿金法郎“独立债务”，《卫报》认为，该笔赔偿是“当时刚刚独立的这个黑人国家年度总收入的十倍。”

海地对美国革命的帮助

一名法国海军上将从海地招募了约500名黑人男子，参加了1779年的萨凡纳战役，与殖民地居民共同抗击英国人。据Ozy网站显示，这些人被称作“猎骑兵团志愿军（Chasseurs Volontaires）”，而他们应征的目的是希望通过在军队服役，成为法兰西帝国的公民。但战役最终失败，该兵团成员也遭到了流放。

海地的经济困境

海地经济发展落后的原因是奴隶制度的遗留问题、贫穷、自然灾害、腐败、被美国占领和政治动荡等。2016年，海地人均GDP为1,800美元。据美国中央情报局的《世界概况》显示，海地是西半球最贫穷的国家，国内60%的人口生活在贫困线以下。

美国的海地移民

2015年，美国共有676,000名海地移民，2010年为587,000人。2010年海地大地震之后，约58,000名海地人获得“临时庇护身份”（TPS），留在了美国。但特朗普政府在2017年废除了该政策，要求他们在2019年7月之前离开美国。

美国国土安全部在2014年推出了海地亲属团聚入境计划（HFRP）。美国国务院表示，该计划“将允许亲属移民签证申请已经获批的符合资格的海地人，在签证资格日期提前最多两年入境美国。”通过该计划，每年约有5,000名海地人有资格取得美国合法移民身份。

海地对特朗普言论的回应

海地总统若弗内尔·莫伊兹领导的政府，在一份声明中谴责了特朗普的言论。声明称：“海地政府最强烈地谴责这种令人痛恨的、粗鄙的言论。这番言论如果得到证实，是在用一个“完全错误的，且带有种族歧视的视角来看待海地人社区和他们对美国的贡献”。”

2010年海地大地震

2010年，海地发生里氏7.0级地震，造成数十万人死亡。而特朗普在1月12日海地大地震周年祭前一天发表了这番不当言论。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓 

President Donald Trump referred to Haiti and other nations as “shithole countries” during immigration talks with lawmakers on last Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump reportedly said about Haiti in addition to El Salvador and African nations. He reportedly singled out Haiti further in his remarks, asking “Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.”

Trump’s slur was widely condemned by Democratic lawmakers, along with some Republican lawmakers. Many called the remarks racist including a United Nations human rights official.

On last Friday, Trump denied the comments, tweeting that his language was “tough” but that he did not use the words attributed to him in news reports. “I never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country,” Trump added.

Here’s what you need to know about Haiti, which is indeed impoverished, rocked by natural disasters, and a frequently beset by political upheaval. But it also has a rich culture and has played an important role in American history.

Haiti’s history

Christopher Columbus landed on the island (now called Hispaniola) in 1492, and during colonization, most of the native population was wiped out. In 1697, the western third of the island was given to the French, who prospered from the export of sugar, coffee, cacao and more. Most of the agricultural work was done by slaves brought from Western Africa, who made up the majority of the population.

The Haitian Revolution, a series uprisings occurring between 1791 and 1804 by both freed men and slaves, ended French colonial rule. However the legacy of poverty from slavery shapes the island even to this day.

In 1825 Haiti was forced to pay France an “independence debt” of 150 million gold francs, under the threat of invasion, which The Guardian notes was “ten times the fledgling black nation’s total annual revenues.”

Haiti helped with the American Revolution

Nearly 500 free black men from Haiti recruited by a French admiral participated in the 1779 Siege of Savannah, fighting with colonists against British. They were known as the Chasseurs Volontaires, and they were recruited with the hope that by serving in the military they’d be recognized as citizens of the French empire, according to Ozy. The siege failed and the Chasseurs were ultimately exiled.

Haiti’s troubled economy

Haiti’s economy has lagged due to the legacy of slavery, poverty, natural disasters, corruption, U.S. occupation, and political turmoil. In 2016 Haiti’s GPD per capita was $1,800. It is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, according to the CIA’s World Factbook, with 60% of the population living below the poverty line.

Haitian immigration to the U.S.

There were 676,000 Haitian immigrants living in the U.S. in 2015—up from 587,000 in 2010. Around 58,000 Haitians remained in the U.S. after the 2010 earthquake through temporary protected status (TPS), a policy rescinded by the Trump administration in 2017 that required them to leave the U.S. by July 2019.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security established the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) in 2014. The program “will allow certain eligible Haitians with already approved family-based immigrant visa petitions an opportunity to enter the United States up to two years in advance of their visa eligibility dates,” according to the State Department. Through this, approximately 5,000 Haitians are eligible to legally immigrate to the U.S. annually.

Haiti’s response to Trump’s remarks

Haiti denounced Trump’s remarks in a statement from President Jovenel Moise’s administration. “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,” the statement read.

Haiti’s 2010 earthquake

Trump’s comments came just a day before the Jan. 12 anniversary of the calamitous 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, killing hundreds of thousands of people.