wyclefjean
Wyclef Just Won’t Face The Music
originally posted by Naima Ramos-Chapman for Colorlines [click here]
Aug 26th
It ain’t over ’till the former-Fugee sings. Wyclef Jean has been told, now for a second time, that he’s ineligible to run for president of Haiti, but he’s not backing down.
Jean recorded and released a new protest song he posted on Twitter called “Prizon Pou KEPA.” The song rails against the Haiti’s electoral council’s refusal to allow the presidential bid. On the track, ‘Clef sings in Creole, a move that’s probably directly linked to claims that the singer wasn’t fluent in the country’s most prominent language.
Haiti’s electoral committee rejected Jean’s bid based on a requirement that all candidates must establish that they’ve lived in the country continuously for five years. Jean left Haiti as a small child and was raised in Brooklyn, but insists that he’s lived in Haiti for six years.
As Jamilah King reported, the question of residency set aside, Jean’s poor money management and political inexperience guaranteed his road to candidacy was going to get a little bumpy. But despite poor reviews the artist seem unwilling to bow out gracefully.
According to The Guardian, Jean plans to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, since the country’s electoral council has already rejected his appeal.
Besides releasing protest songs, Jean may also band with other rejected candidates, including his uncle, Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s former ambassador to the US.
Wyclef Says His Troubled Haiti Campaign Isn’t Done Yet
originally posted by Jamilah King for Colorlines [click here]
Aug 20th
Update @ 1:50p: The Miami Herald reports that Wyclef Jean’s not ready to count himself out of the election. According to Jean, election officials have not in fact ruled him ineligible, as Reuters has reported (see below). Jean told the Herald that he’s got the staunch support of at least three of the eight members of the council that must approve his candidacy. But Herald sources say only the board president:
But sources familiar with the debates of the council have told The Miami Herald that only the president of the council, Gaillot Dorsinvil, has been pushing Jean’s candidacy, despite 20 pages of legal documents submitted as proof that he is not eligible to run.
Dorsinvil’s staunch support has triggered rumors of possible payoffs. Dorsinvil told The Miami Herald that it is not true” and the rumors are from people trying to destabilize the process.
Jean denied that he or anyone associated with him have made any payments.
He also said he had heard three members of the electoral council are trying to get exile because they are being pressured from all sides.”
*****************
Wyclef Jean will not be on the list of approved presidential candidates Haitian election officials are to release today, according to a Reuters news report:
“He is not on the list as I speak,” said the member of the country’s provisional electoral council, who asked not to be identified.
He said the electoral disputes bureau entrusted with settling challenges to candidacies had ruled that Jean did not meet several legal requirements, but he gave no details.
Things have not looked good for Jean’s run since the day he triumphantly announced it. Questions immediately surfaced about how the singer’s managed Yéle Haiti, his well known charitable organization. On Monday, the New York Times published a damning piece that summed up the singer’s philanthropic efforts this way: If his leadership of Yéle Haiti–not to mention the state of his own personal finances–is a measure of his qualification to govern, Jean’s presidential bid was over before it began.
Jean, who announced his candidacy earlier this month, had to prove that he’s lived in the country for five consecutive years. If the Reuters report holds true, this requirement was likely Jean’s undoing: He has mostly lived in the U.S. since leaving Haiti as a small child.
But there’s also the bigger picture: his money is a mess. According to the New York Times, Jean’s fiscal mismanagement includes: the widely reported $350,000 in questionable payments by Yéle to two companies owned by the singer dating back to 2006, $2.1 million in tax liens against a house in New Jersey, and an unfinished Miami mansion lost to foreclosure in 2008.
Perhaps the most damaging allegations surround Yéle’s work on the ground. According to some, it just doesn’t do much, and the work that it does do is short-lived. The organization is headquartered at a $15,000-a-month gated compound and at least four of the nearby camps it claims to support say they’ve yet to receive any food or supplies. “Not even a cookie!” one camp leader told The Times. The foundation did reportedly donate a TV to another camp, but it broke midway through the World Cup.
Though Jean maintains that “culture is part of the youth population in Haiti,” and thus Yéle’s “cultural outreach” is legit, so far it seems like those efforts have mostly been star-studded celebrity events featuring the singer posing for pictures with Angelina Jolie, Akon and Matt Damon. And at least $250,000 of the questionable payments to Wyclef-owned businesses went toward covering the costs of a carnival float, according to sources.
The singer maintains that the though the foundation’s made some missteps, the work is still important. Jean has downplayed the criticisms, calling them hearsay egged on by months of fear and anger by people in camps still devastated by January’s earthquake.
And there’s evidence that Jean still has at least some popular support, though it’s clear that support has more to do with his celebrity than any measurable skill to govern. Proof? “After God is Wyclef,” Jocelyn Augustin, a resident in a camp that’s been aided by Jean’s charity, told the New York Times.
Certainly not everyone in the country is happy about Jean’s desire to run. The singer has reportedly gone into hiding after receiving death threats.
“Wyclef has been repeatedly getting anonymous threats from people who are saying that he should think twice before running for the president. We cannot tell who are sending these threats, but the closer the announcement, the more threats Jean is getting,” his lawyer, Berto Dorce, told CNN.
To make matters worse, the singer was widely expected to run an American-style campaign, led by two American-based PR representatives–Marian Salzman and PJ McCann, who helped lead President Obama’s primary campaign–with no experience in Haitian politics. And so far, Jean’s only done one interview with a major Haitian media outlet.
All this comes as news continues to surface about Haiti’s bold statements against its centuries-long economic bondage to the West. Last week an international group of academics and writers sent an open letter to President Nicholas Sarkozy asking France to repay an 200-year-old “independence debt” estimated to be worth more than $22 billion.
But if the singer is able to get past the eligibility requirements and death threats, his biggest challenge may be reaching out to a population of mostly young people under the age of 21. As Ruxandra Guidi wrote in a recent ColorLines dispatch from Haiti, “when it comes to reinventing and building Haiti, it remains to be seen whether young Haitians will see Jean as one of them.”
So far, it doesn’t look like Jean’s exactly helping his case.
Wyclef Can’t Serenade Critics
originally posted by Naima Ramos-Chapman for Colorlines [click here]
Aug 9th
Seems like Wyclef Jean has to come face to face with a slew of critics in the inaugural push for his presidential campaign. From actor Sean Penn to Minister Louis Farrakhan, the high-profile jabs make for some juicy sound-byte material. But there’s also substance, especially when it comes to Wyclef’s past political ties.
Charlie Hinton wrote a scathing critique in the San Francisco Bay View. Hinton, a member of the Haiti Action Committee, sketched out Jean’s opposition to popular Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was ousted in 2004 and has since remained exiled in South Africa.
Jean comes from a prominent Haitian family that has virulently opposed Lavalas since the 1990 elections. His uncle is Raymond Joseph – also a rumored presidential candidate – who became Haitian ambassador to the United States under the coup government and remains so today. Kevin Pina writes in “It’s not all about that! Wyclef Jean is fronting in Haiti,” Joseph is “the co-publisher of Haiti Observateur, a right-wing rag that has been an apologist for the killers in the Haitian military going back as far as the brutal coup against Aristide in 1991.
“On Oct. 26 [2004] Haitian police entered the pro-Aristide slum of Fort Nationale and summarily executed 13 young men. Wyclef Jean said nothing. On Oct. 28 the Haitian police executed five young men, babies really, in the pro-Aristide slum of Bel Air. Wyclef said nothing. If Wyclef really wants to be part of Haiti’s political dialogue, he would acknowledge these facts. Unfortunately, Wyclef is fronting.
[snip]
Let us be clear. Jean and his uncle, the Haitian ambassador to the U.S., are both cozy with the self-appointed czar of Haiti, Bill Clinton, whose plans for the Caribbean nation are to make it a neo-colony for a reconstructed tourist industry and a pool of cheap labor for U.S. factories. Wyclef Jean is the perfect front man. The Haitian elite and its U.S./U.N. sponsors are counting on his appeal to the youth to derail the people’s movement for democracy and their call for the return of President Aristide. Most Haitians will not be hoodwinked by the likes of Wyclef Jean.
Clearly, even though Jean has tried to hold on to his Haitian roots by refusing to become an American citizen and routinely brandishing his Haitian Passport, his detractors think he’s way out of touch.
To make matter worse, poor Wyclef can’t even get former Fugees bandmate Pras to back his presidential bid. In an article on Music Mix Pras explains Jean’s shortcomings:
I love Wyclef to death … We came up together, we grew up together, we basically called each other cousins. But the reality is this, we need a real leader.
Not just a regular leader,” he continued, “but a transformative leader. Someone that’s gonna be able to galvanise the Haitians down on the field, the Haitian-Americans, the international community. It’s a collective support–to take this country to the 21st century. And I’m just not convinced Wyclef is the one for that.
In a less warm and fuzzy critique, Sean Penn who has been living in Haiti off and on since January’s earthquake, had this to say to reporters:
This is somebody who’s going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I’m very suspicious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador at large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been a non-presence.
The sentiment also extends to the Nation of Islam. Back in late February during the annual Saviors’ Day Convention, Minister Louis Farrkan gave a speech warning Jean to resist becoming mixed up in Haiti’s political process:
…Because when your heart is for your people there are those who have always corrupted the leadership of Haiti. And right now like vultures, they gather around a famous brother because they suspect a future for him back in Haiti and they want to get their claws into the brother so that if he goes back to serve he’ll be their man.
Bottom line: Folks are skeptical of the singer turning his hit song “If I Was President” into reality.
But we want to toss the question out to our readers. What do you think of Wyclef’s run? Leave it in the comments.
Dispatch from Haiti: Wondering About Wyclef
originally posted by Ruxandra Guidi for Colorlines [click here]
Aug 6th
A group of about 20 college-age girls and boys cram inside a small cinderblock classroom precariously perched atop a hill in the Port-au-Prince slum of Carrefour Feuilles. I’d told my friend Getro, who lives here, that I was curious to hear from his young neighbors about life since the earthquake. So many people have shown up to chime in that the crowd spills outside onto the cliff. Our room has no windows or doors. It’s shoddily built, the type of construction that the earthquake quickly turned into rubble. Miraculously, this place still stands in one piece.
All around us is evidence of the January katastrof–destroyed homes, donated tents pitched amongst the ruins, people getting by on crutches. But the desperation in the eyes of people crowded into this room says it all: the physical state of Carrefour Feuilles since the earthquake isn’t their biggest concern. They’ve got larger, broader battles they want the world to hear about.
“Our country was way behind in education, health services, infrastructure, and so much more before the earthquake hit,” says Hervé, a 24 year-old who hasn’t been able to return to college since January. “But now we can’t even believe in the promise of school or jobs in the future.”
When the conversation turns to the upcoming November elections, the room erupts with cynicism. A young mother of two insists she won’t be voting. Even if they vote, someone else breaks in, their votes won’t matter. Political office in Haiti corrupts and “curses” all leaders, Hervé adds, repeating a common saying here, “and besides, there aren’t any leaders who have what it takes to fix Haiti.”
Hip hop star Wyclef Jean now says he’s got what it takes. Jean has been positioning himself as a leader who can relate to the masses for years, but especially since the earthquake. He’s young, outspoken and seemingly proud of his humble upbringing. He’s also savvy and well-connected–his uncle, Raymond Alcide Joseph, has been the Haitian ambassador to the United States since 2005, with presidential ambitions of his own.
Through Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation, he has given scholarships to 4,500 needy children and supported mentoring and sports programs for hundreds more. This month he launched Yéle Corps, a program designed to help support youth and their families by paying them to clear the trash and rubble covering Port-au-Prince streets.
On Wednesday night, Jean ended days of media speculation and announced his plans to seek the presidency in November. “For the 250,000 people who died in the earthquake, that’s the reason we ought to see a change in the system,” Jean told listeners of a Miami-based Créole radio station, and that change starts with him. He registered his campaign in Haiti Thursday. Authorities have until Aug. 17 to approve or reject his candidacy.
The news comes as no surprise to Haitians, who have been talking about Jean’s political ambitions since his 2004 song “If I Was President” was heard over the radio.
Instead of spending billions on the war
I can use that money to feed the poor
I know some so poor, when it rains that’s when they shower
When screaming “fight the power.”
“Everyone knows that Wyclef has been wanting to be president for years,” explains 27-year-old Adolphe Miradieux as we drive past a large billboard featuring Jean, wearing a trendy fedora-type hat and dark shades. “But just because he’s young and Haitian doesn’t mean he’s one of us.”
One of us. Miradieux means the almost 1.5 million homeless living in tent camps in and around Port-au-Prince. The unemployed who can’t even land a temporary cash-for-work job paying $5 a day. The many young Haitians who want to pursue an education but can’t afford it. The families who have grown tired of depending on–and begging for–international aid for their basic needs.
Those global donors handing out aid talk about fixing and rebuilding Haiti. In the provinces and on the streets of Port-au-Prince, people talk in grander terms about the country’s needs. It needs to be re-envisioned and reinvented, to include the majority of the country’s population–women, youth, peasants, the sick, the homeless, and the ti machanns street vendors who fuel Haiti’s huge informal economy.
When I first traveled to Haiti in 2008, people were already articulating Miradieux’s uncertainty about whether Jean is the sort of leader who can create that sort of new vision for Haiti. As a U.S.-based celebrity, Jean not only appeared disconnected from the needs of poor Haitians, some believed he was using them to advance his own career. I’d come to the country to report on the real impact of foreign aid on Haitian society, and as I looked around at the hundreds of charities operating on the ground, I encountered recurring grumblings about Jean being more into photo-ops than deeds.
Back in the U.S., Yéle Haiti has fended off charges that, at best, it badly mismanaged the money it has raised. This week, the Smoking Gun published records showing that, after 12 years of operation, Yele Haiti filed tax returns for the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 only in August of last year. Those documents showed that Jean and his business partner and Yéle Haiti board member, Jerry Duplessis, had paid themselves $410,000 for services provided to their foundation. They also revealed that in 2006, the foundation paid $100,000 for the rental of a recording studio (Platinum Sound, owned by Jean and Duplessis, no less) which was used for the “musical performance services of Wyclef Jean at a benefit concert.”
Shortly after the January 12th earthquake, as Yéle Haiti was receiving up to $1 million in donations every day, Jean finally addressed his critics. He acknowledged accounting mistakes, but also issued an emotional defense of his organization and himself. “Did I ever use Yéle money for personal benefits? Absolutely not,” he said, in tears.
Now, as Jean looks ahead at his bid for the presidency, he faces new challenges both large and small. He will need to prove that he has a Haitian-only citizenship, that he has lived in the country for five consecutive years, and that owns land there. He’ll also have to prove his qualifications for running a country–not just any country, but a place with immense inequality, weak government institutions, and a population made up mostly of young people who no longer believe in the promises of politicians. More than half the population is under 21, the kind of demographic who consume Jean’s music and style–when there’s money to do so. But when it comes to reinventing and building Haiti, it remains to be seen whether young Haitians will see Jean as one of them.
Wyclef’s Serious About Haiti Presidential Bid
originally posted by Jamilah King for Colorlines [click here]
Aug 4th
Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean is reportedly one step closer to announcing his candidacy for the country’s highest office. The ex-Fugees star, who left Haiti as a young child and spent his formative years in Brooklyn, is set to announce his decision tomorrow.
The move certainly wouldn’t be without its share of controversy. Jean’s charitable foundation Yele was accused of fraud shortly after raising $2 million in a popular text message campaign in the aftermath of January’s devastating earthquake that killed upwards of 300,000 people. Before the quake hit, the foundation was widely criticized for misspending relief funds, allegedly paying Jean to perform at benefit concerts and buying advertising time on a television station owned by the singer.
He’s also taking heat for allegedly supporting the 2004 coup of popular President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who remains exiled in South Africa.
Previously, Jean has downplayed his political intentions.
“Do I have political intentions? At this time no. But what I do have is a movement — it’s called Face a Face, ‘Face to Face’,” Jean told reporters a few weeks ago. “The youth population … we are going to encourage them to vote.”
If Jean does decide to run for office, he’ll certainly have a tough road to forge. January’s magnitude 7.0 earthquake wasn’t just deadly, but exceedingly costly: an estimated 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or were severely damaged and 250,000 homes were destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,00 people homeless. While the International Monetary Fund recently cancelled the country’s $286 million debt, most of the international aid promised to help reconstruction efforts still hasn’t arrived.
President Wyclef? Singer Considers New Haiti Campaign
originally posted by Jamilah King for Colorlines [click here]
Jul 27th
One of Haiti’s most beloved native sons is considering a run for the country’s often contentious top office. Representatives for Wyclef Jean, the former Fugees frontman who was born in the country but infamously grew up in Brooklyn, said in a statement released to reporters this morning that he’s still undecided about entering the quake-ravaged nation’s presidential race.
“Wyclef’s commitment to his homeland and its youth is boundless, and he will remain its greatest supporter regardless of whether he is part of the government moving forward … If and when a decision is made, media will be alerted immediately,” the statement read.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Jean confirmed his plans to be involved in the November 28 election, either as a candidate or supporter.
“Do I have political intentions? At this time no. But what I do have is a movement — it’s called Face a Face, ‘Face to Face’,” Jean said. “The youth population … we are going to encourage them to vote.”
Of course, he comes with his own baggage of corruption. After the country was hit by this year’s devastating earthquake, Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation was widely criticized for misspending relief money. After raising more than $2 million in quake relief funds through a special text message campaign, it was revealed that before the quake hit, the organization paid Jean to perform at fundraising events and bought ad time on a TV station owned by the singer. At the time, Jean voiced disappointment at what he called the attack on his integrity and foundation.
Term limits prohibit current President Rene Preval from seek re-election, while exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide remains in South Africa, where he fled after a violent coup in 2004.
Wyclef has until the August 7 deadline to make his decision. Dozens of candidates are reportedly jockeying for the office, and the job of reconstruction in a country ravaged by a quake that killed more than 300,000 people and caused billions in structural damage is sure to be a tough one.
(Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)