Response To Village Voice Bashing of Wyclef and Yele Donors

January 21st, 2010

Wyclef In Haiti

Zach Baron of the Village Voice’s website took aim at Yele Haiti, and it’s founder Wyclef Jean on Tuesday after the organizations Monday press conference to respond to media reporting and innuendo regarding the organizations handling of it’s finances.

Here’s the gist of the piece:

This is pretty much the exact modern fable of technology and good intentions and media confusion, neatly contained in one mess of a situation. Which is to say: In a world in which Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, UNICEF, etc., exist–professional relief organizations, in other words–why would you ever give money to a musician’s charitable foundation? This is not what musicians do well. The only thing more predictable than the rampant Twitter and media-based (see: MTV) promotion of Jean’s charity was the vitriolic backlash against it. Many indulged in both. Those who encouraged people to donate to Yele Haiti were essentially wrong long before the Smoking Gun broke the predictable news that the foundation’s finances were on less than the up and up…”Yele Haiti is not a disaster relief organization.” Right…

…Of course it’s fucking not! Organizations that do this full time have cash reserves so they can spend your money right away. They have trained employees and relationships all over the world. They have experience with what works and what doesn’t, and how to get things done in places where the infrastructure has otherwise broken down. Governments the world over trust them. No one had any reason to believe, beyond the fact that Yele Haiti was asking, that Jean’s foundation was in any position to deliver on any of the above capabilities.

Full article here.


Forget Wyclef’s and Yele donor’s “good intentions” for a moment, and instead let’s talk about Zach Baron’s intentions in writing this article.

They certainly aren’t to help the people of Haiti withhis ‘ha ha, your stupid for giving Wyclef your money in the first place’ tone.

Let some myths be cleared up: NO substantiation of $1 of stolen money has been made. Innuendo was made of the fact that Wyclef used his company’s to put on Yele fund raisers and public service announcements, but no one has show that the money wasn’t properly used; only, and admitted by Yele reps in the press conference, that former Yele’s fund distribution practices weren’t the best way to go about doing things when it comes to public confidence.

Second, Yele was on the ground in less than 24 hours of the earthquake, and has a supply plane on the way. Yele provided relief during the 2008 Hurricanes. Further Wyclef (who is regard in Haiti much like Bob Marley was in Jamaica) has immense ability to gain access to the people, and to influence them; advantages Yele has over many other organizations. So Baron’s and others claims that Yele has no relief experience, or that they cannot provide relief now, are knowledge devoid assertions.

I could go on on like points, but forget it.

I’ll just ask Baron this, So What About Wyclef’s Call To Evacuate Port-Au-Prince: http://bit.ly/5LyFnY?

While people like Zack Baron claim that the Hatian born, long time Hatian activist Wyclef and his Yele Haiti organization don’t know what’s going on, and don’t know “how to get things done in places where the infrastructure has otherwise broken down” ; I heard this NPR report on the radio Tuesday about people leaving Paurt-a-Prince to go back to the Providences from where they’re from:

I never heard this notion mentioned anywhere once before Wyclef made a major point of this on Monday in his press conference, then today Tuesday I’m hearing NPR and CBS Evening News now bringing it up.

Then Today (Wednesday) I read the following on CNN’s Haiti Earthquake update blog:

5:15 p.m. - Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, who led relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has expanded on comments he made to CNN yesterday about his belief that the most vulnerable in the earthquake zone should be evacuated. “I don’t know if the flow of supplies can keep up with demand, unless we evacuate the injured, elderly, pregnant women, babies, and the disabled,” he said Wednesday. “It is wishful thinking to add more hospitals. We need to think how these airplanes can leave with patients to the U.S. and other countries to be distributed to hospitals to stabilize them.”

But again, the Hatian that’s been active in Haiti for years, and has the attention and respect of both the Haitian president as well as the people; doesn’t know anything about Haiti or what to do there…doesn’t know what to do when infrastructure collapses.

News to Mr. Baron, infrastructure in Haiti was collapsed long before last week’s earthquake shook buildings down to rubble, and working around the infrastructure to aid Haitians has long been Wyclef and Yele’ Haiti’s specialty. That’s why the Hatian prime minister and president approached Wyclef right after the quake and asked him to convey to the world there desire for Port-au-Prince to be evacuated. That’s why the Haitian people and donor’s stateside (and elsewhere) trust him, and continue to support Yele Haiti despite the narrow attacks and condescension of the likes Zack Baron and Matt Drudge.

Baron’s notion that only large, long existing, establishment organizations have a role to play in relief betrays his own, insular thinking and lack of understanding; instead of showing Yele donors foolish as he believes; as anyone with overstanding knows that there are different niche’s to occupy, and different roles to play by different types of organizations, with different capabilities. Mere size and anointing by the establishment is the deciding factor of ones utility.

You can follow Troy Livesay on twitter and at his blog for live updates from Haiti.



posted in Natural Disasters, News & Events, Social Commentary | | | View blog reactions |


2 Responses to “Response To Village Voice Bashing of Wyclef and Yele Donors”

  1. KimNorth on January 21st, 2010 4:59 pm | link

    I get why Wyclef Jean wanted to do something as he is from Haiti, but to start to ask the world for money is shaddy. I could see asking his rich friends and buisness for donations so he could go over with money and supplies in a plane.
    I hope his heart was pure in this and he just got overly excited to help and not that he used this as a money making for himself.
    Your VERY right that there are better ORG’s to give to that are able to do more with the money.

  2. KimNorth on January 21st, 2010 5:05 pm | link

    I want to make clear that I don’t think Wyclef has done anything wrong as I don’t believe all I hear in the news. Came to mind that maybe other well know ORG’S were behind this story of him being shaddy because they dont like folks coming out of the woodwork takeing money that might have been given to them as they have each other to compete with already.
    But still I cant blame people saying it’s best to give to well know ORG’s because at least we know the are being watched.

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  • D. Yobachi Boswell

  • Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.

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