In about six weeks, I am headed for a shit-hole… if one listens to a certain US president. This presents somewhat of a dilemma because why would one voluntarily give up life ‘in the best country in the world’ to go live and work in a ‘shit-hole’ country? Call me crazy I guess. Some of these countries are struggling right now. Some of them are facing poverty, famine, war, natural disasters, and political strife, but all of the countries on this list are home to citizens who deserve respect and who deserve to be treated without assumption, judgement, or insult. All of them are countries of origin of regular people who are trying their best – either in their home countries or as immigrants – to survive, work hard, contribute to society, and make their lives and the lives of their loved ones happier and healthier.
Of course, I’m not yet there, and of course, my opinion could align with the president, but from everything I’ve heard and read Madagascar is an amazing place with amazing people, incredible biodiversity, and I will truly be lucky to serve on the Great Red Island.
The Peace Corps has three goals, one of which is to promote friendship among Americans and the national of the countries they serve, and thanks to that president, he has made my job infinitely harder.
So, in alphabetical order, here are a few countries whose citizens do not come from shit-hole countries.
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbados
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Burundi
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- *Burkina Faso
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Costa Rica
- Cote d’Ivorie
- Crotia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- England
- El Salvador
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Equatorial Guinea
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Fiji
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- *Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- *Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- *Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxomberg
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Mali
- Malawi
- The Maldives
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- The Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- *Rwanda
- Samoa
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Sierra Leon
- Senegal
- The Seychelles
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- *South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- St Kitt’s and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sudan
- Suriname
- *Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City State
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
and last but certainly not least,
The United States of America
A different era
We Are the World written by Michal Jackson and Lionel Richie and sung by literally every well-known American singer in the 1980’s. Pop rock, heavy metal, country–all genres came together to help raise money for the famines in East Africa–particularly Ethiopia. It reminds me of a time when we looked out for each other instead of calling them shit-hole countries.
