Roy Exum
Wyclef Jean is a very talented native of horror-filled Haiti and escaped the squalor some time ago to become a Grammy Award-winning musician. But he came into my morning readings the other day because of reported "financial imprudence" in his efforts to help the pitiful earthquake victims. His Yele charity, also known as the Wyclef Jean Foundation, is said to have raised over $2 million in the past couple of weeks, but now there are cries of impropriety.
For example, it has been told that the foundation paid $250,000 to buy airtime on a Haitian television station that is, in fact, owned by the singer and his business partner. Earlier this week a tearful Jean appeared at a news conference and, in anguish, told the cameras, "Have we made mistakes? Yes. Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefit? Absolutely not!"
It isn't my place to judge Wyclef Jean or anybody else, but as such reports cast a worrisome cloud over a very wonderful outpouring of support for the devastated people, my plea is that none of us waver in our individual efforts or turn a cold shoulder to the many agencies that are doing all that is humanly possible to overcome the gruesome wreckage.
Some years ago I heard a great talk by Nelson Mandela, who is something of a personal hero to me. You may remember that he was imprisoned for 27 years before he became the president of South Africa. He fought for much of his life against apartheid and he won. So it was during a talk some time afterward that he urged the world "to never compare pain."
I have tried to apply that rule to so many things in my life, whether it is an infected elbow or a broken bone, one plea for help versus another, or even to decide what evil is worse than another. It doesn't work that way. Pain is pain. Evil is evil. But, this too - good is good.
For instance, I never want to tell a person to give money to the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation instead of the Siskin Children's Institute. They have a very different purpose, yet, thanks to the marvelous philanthropy of the late Siskin brothers (Mose and Garrison), they both play a vital and marvelous role in our community. Both need and deserve our support, but no one should ever tell a possible donor that one's mission is more urgent than the other - too many needy people are attached to either end.
As I look at Haiti, and watch as some loudmouths squabble over bottlenecks and others are all too eager to pose for the cameras, I see a far-bigger wonder - an enormous relief effort unfolding. I am very proud when I see American "boots on the ground," but I'm also warmed by the Israeli hospital tents, the streams of Canadians and - what's that - Cuba and Russia are there, too? My goodness, this old world of ours still has a chance!
The only plausible reason is because "good is good." Art Taylor, the head of the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau, told ABC News the other night that Wyclef Jean, our award-winning singer, isn't a bad guy. "There is no fraud here. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who cares more about Haiti than Wyclef Jean. People are seeing a lot of money coming in and they are not quite sure how it will be distributed."
The ABC News report was sensitive enough to include the fact that dirt has also been tossed at the giant agencies like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the United Way. The Red Cross, which now has donations for Haiti upwards of $120 million, was accused of bungling some things during Hurricane Katrina. You remember that? Then also remember that when an apartment building burned last week in Chattanooga, the same Red Cross was there almost immediately.
The Salvation Army, long slandered by critics because of its association with Jesus Christ, was most recently slammed by immigrants after asking for Social Security numbers for a Christmas giving program and, five or six years ago, one United Way president was put in prison before another was axed for financial misgivings. Don't give up on these saints!
No, the much bigger thing is that all three agencies have overcome their problems. There will almost assuredly be more hurdles, but the key to the whole Haitian relief process is that not one of us should abandon the cause because we perceive a minor flaw in the intricate process.
I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't remind you there is a stunning local effort known as the Children's Nutritional Program, but it is far for me to tell you which horse to ride. I'm here to beg only that you will saddle up and become part of any outfit you chose, keeping only your steady focus on the words, "Pain is pain."
royexum@aol.com