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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2018)
Page 12 January 31, 2018 New Prices Effective April 1, 2017 O PINION Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $30.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) : $40.00 Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25.00 - $49.00 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 Influenced by a Narrow- Minded World View Trump’s slander misrepresents America m arC h. m orial President Donald Trump’s timing could not have been more ironic-or revealing. On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the island nation of Haiti and the start of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holi- day weekend, President Trump sat in a bipartisan meeting on immi- gration reform and publicly ques- tioned why the United States -- a nation founded and built by immi- grants -- should continue to accept immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa. With a slur heard round the world, President Trump is quot- ed to have uttered an obscenity to describe those countries-and Haiti, in particular. This would not be the first time Haiti has been on the receiving end of President Trump’s ridicule and contempt. Only weeks be- fore, it was reported that during an earlier cabinet meeting on im- migration, the president allegedly by complained that immigrants from Nigeria would “never go back to their huts,” and that people com- ing from Haiti “all have AIDS.” And despite then-candi- date Trump’s pledge at a Mi- ami rally to be the “greatest champion” of Haitian peo- ple, the Trump administra- tion has given 60,000 Hai- tians living in this country under temporary protected status-granted after Haiti’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake-un- til July 2019 to leave or be deport- ed. The slur is reprehensible and deeply disappointing, but it is not surprising. It lives in a universe of targeted travel bans with dis- criminatory religious preferences, a candidacy kicked off slandering Mexicans, sympathizing with white supremacists, attacks on protesting Black athletes, and so on. The re- ported obscenity is, quite frankly, in keeping with past and current sen- timents the president has expressed publically and via proxy through his administration’s policies. The true obscenity is that our na- tion’s president is shaping immigra- tion policy, not based on purported American ideals of inclusiveness, but based on the demonization of countries that are primarily Black or Brown; not based on facts, but by stoking fear; and not based on knowledge, but influenced by a nar- row-minded worldview. Haiti is not a slur. It is the first Black republic in the world. It is the second oldest indepen- dent nation in the Western hemi- sphere after the United States. Haiti achieved its independence by launching the only successful slave revolt in history. But Haiti’s fight did not end on the battlefield. It moved to the global arena where external forces would punish and destabilize the young island na- tion for claiming its freedom, re- sulting in lasting economic and political turmoil. France forced Haiti to pay more than $20 billion in today’s dollars as reparations for losing a profit- able slave colony-drowning Haiti in debt. The United States, which provided aid to the French to help stop the rebellion, subjected Haiti to a crippling economic embargo until it recognized its indepen- dence in 1862. Over the years the United States would go on to in- vade and occupy Haiti, as well as play an oversized role in its poli- tics and elections. Nonetheless, Haiti is deeply woven into the fabric of Ameri- ca’s history and founding. Hai- tians fought in the Revolutionary War. The city of Chicago was founded by a Haitian immigrant from St. Marc. Haitian music, art and food transformed and shaped the city of New Orleans. And the Haitian slave rebellion was direct- ly responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States. As a citizen who believes Trump’s slander is inconsistent with who we should aspire to be, I abhor the president’s mis- representation of America. As a former mayor of New Orleans, a city richly cultivated by the pres- ence of Haitians, I am distressed by the president’s miseducation of the valuable contributions of Haitian immigrants. As the proud descendant of a family who emi- grated from Haiti in 1805, I will always challenge the president’s wrong-headed assumption that immigrants are the living embod- iment of the flaws and failures or upheavals of their countries of origin and cannot contribute posi- tively in their adopted homes. Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League.