DePaulia
The
2017 Pacemaker Award Winner/Best Weekly College Newspaper-SPJ
Volume #102 | Issue #12 | Jan. 22, 2018 | depauliaonline.com
Still fighting PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SCHOOL OF CHOICE
The School of Choice in Saint-Domingue serves children born into poverty through the Vincentian family’s Haiti Initiative. DePaul professor Laura Hartman founded the the school in 2010.
Haitians shrug off “shithole” comment; DePaul’s Haitian community sees country moving forward every day Story by Benjamin Conboy News Editor In 1779, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, Haitian immigrants, and Trump said they “all have AIDS.” American revolutionaries descended upon Savannah, What is it about Haiti that is so undesirable to Trump? Georgia to lay siege to the British-held city. Although the Is it because two out of three Haitians live on less than $2 Americans were at a great tactical disadvantage, they had a day, or because 100,000 children under the age of five a trick up their sleeves, which came in the form of some are malnourished? Could it be because less than half of 550 “gens de couleur” – free men of color from Saint- Haitian households have access to safe water, or because 1 Domingue, Haiti who volunteered to fight alongside the in every 285 births results in the mother’s death? revolutionaries in their quest for freedom. Laura Hartman is the Vincent de Paul professor of Today, a monument to the freed slaves of Haiti who business ethics who started a nonprofit, the School of helped the U.S. free itself stands in a Savannah square; Choice, which administers a primary school near Port four Haitian soldiers aim their rifles toward the enemy, au Prince (Hartman is currently on leave to focus her and one lies defeated, clutching a wound over where his efforts full-time on her work in Haiti and will return to heart would be. her position at DePaul on July 10). 239 years later, the President of the United States does Hartman began her work with the Caribbean island not seem as keen on accepting Haitians as the Founding when DePaul got involved in the Vincentian Family’s Fathers were. Haiti Initiative in 2010 to create opportunities for In a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 11 in the Oval Office, Haitians through microfinancing. President Trump sat down with lawmakers to discuss The School of Choice was established in 2010 in protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Mirebalais by Hartman to help forge leadership skills in some African countries. According to The Washington children that were born into poverty. Post, he asked the bipartisan group, “Why are we having “My first thought (when I heard of Trump’s all these people from shithole countries come here?” remarks) was, ‘Why does he keep singling out Haiti?” Then, singling out Haiti, the president asked, “Why do Hartman said. “Haitians do not make up a large group we need more Haitians? Take them out.” of immigrants in this country, so why does he keep Now, a week and a half after his original comments, focusing so much on Haiti? I’m confused by it.” Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has banned When Hartman travels to Haiti, she sees a people Haitians and people from more than 80 other developing who are resilient, much the same as they were when they, countries from applying for visas for low-skilled workers. as a country, lifted themselves out of slavery during the The president has since denied the fact that he made Haitian Revolution. the disparaging remarks, but senators who were in “Haiti is the only republic in the world of people of the room from both sides of the aisle have come out to color who overcame their own slavery and oppression confirm his remarks, despite Trump’s protestations that by themselves, and they have remained free ever since,” he is the “least racist person.” Hartman said. “Haiti is unique in that particular way, This isn’t the first time Haitian people have been in and we need to respect and honor it.” Trump’s crosshairs. The New York Times reported on Not only are the See HAITI, page 6 Dec. 23, 2017 about how America had accepted 15,000 president’s comments