After her school near Port-au-Prince collapsed in the devastating 2010 earthquake, Gabby Telemaque moved to the United States seeking a high school education. It was a tough decision: Wait for the school to reopen or move to the states with family.
The now-21-year-old Regis College senior never saw the U.S. as a hateful or discriminatory place. That's until President Donald Trump this week questioned why the U.S. should permit more immigrants from "shithole countries," after senators discussed revamping rules for immigrants from Africa and Haiti.
The comment came a day before the eighth anniversary of the earthquake, considered one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.
"It is very saddening to see that the leader of the free world has such words to say, not just about Haiti but other countries," said Telemaque, who lived in Somerville and graduated from St. Clements High School in Medford.
Americans should not tolerate Trump's comments, she said.
"I think we have to be the bigger people and show him that, 'no, we don't come from ...'" she said, without offering the offensive word. "We have to show the world that we are not represented by our president. Our president is not a reflection of us. We need to come together to prove we stand with them and we do not stand behind the comments of our president."
Mirlande Butler of Ashland, director of Eritaj Foundation, said Trump is using the comment as a "linchpin to distract" from other issues.
"This is despicable," Butler said. "I could never imagine that this man would put himself so low."
The organization, founded in 1999, seeks to promote organizational, social and economic development in Haiti. Butler also came seeking an education and has split her time between here and Haiti for the past 30 years. Butler wants to start a cultural exchange program between Haiti and Ashland schools and area community colleges.
She lamented a comment by Trump saying he would welcome more immigrants from countries like Norway.
"This is scary," she said. "Trump just says stuff without thinking about the consequences of what he says."
State Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, visited Haiti with the Be Like Brit Foundation last year with her son, David.
"The indomitable spirit and warmth of the Haitian people left a lasting impression on both of us," Dykema wrote in a Facebook post. "I share the alarm expressed by many, including the African Union, at the disparaging and disrespectful remarks allegedly made by our President yesterday about other nations, including Haiti and its remarkable people. If true, these remarks most certainly do not represent our American values and the spirit of MLK who we will honor on Monday."
Steeve Laborde, who co-chairs the Multicultural Student Association with Telemaque, returned to campus Friday after being able to talk about Trump's comments with his family in Malden. His parents are from Haiti, but he was born in the states.
He's never seen America as a hateful place, until recent national events and Trump's comments.
"It's hard because a part of me wants to be angry and yell at the heavens and be like, 'this is wrong,'" he said. "But this is not like this is the first time this has happened."
Laborde, 21, also a senior, hopes to pursue a career in neurosciences.
The college also runs the Haiti Project, which aims to improve health care and nursing in the Caribbean Island nation.
The Trump administration announced late last year that it would end a temporary residency permit program that allowed nearly 60,000 citizens from Haiti to live and work in the United States after the earthquake.
Telemaque was born in Florida before moving back to Haiti as a child. She attends Regis under the school's Presidential Catholic Scholarship, a four-year full-tuition scholarship for residential students coming from parochial schools. Recipients are chosen for academic achievement, leadership ability, and dedication to community service, according to school's website.
As a political science major, she hopes to one day work in diplomacy at a consulate or embassy.
Many classmates have reached out to make sure Telemaque and Laborde are OK after Trump's comments.
Telemaque stands by the values of Regis College's founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph: "Serving thy dear neighbor and welcoming all without distinction."
"(These) are things we definitely need to put into practice, especially in such a crucial time living in the United States," she said.
While she didn't see Trump's comments coming, she wasn't surprised.
"He has said a lot of things that weren't necessarily great," she said. "So I was prepared for it."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 508-626-4338 or jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.