Haiti's Humanitarian Crisis Ignored as Media Focuses on Failed WyClef Bid

WyClef' Jean's candidacy dies with a wimper.

August 19, the night of the expected announcement from the Provisional Electoral Council (SEC), heavily armed United Nations blue helmets patrolled the streets in armored cars on the alert for a riot that never came. However, about 300 of WyClef's supporters did march through heavy rain to protest outside Haiti's electoral office in Port-au-Prince.

The Council rejected the singer-songwriter's candidacy because of the constitutional requirement that candidates who run must have lived in the country for five years prior to the November 28 election. WyClef moved to the United States when he was nine years old and his primary residence is New Jersey.

WyClef released a statement the next day that he would cooperate with the decision made by the SEC. "We must all honor the memories of those we've lost -- whether in the earthquake, or at anytime -- by responding peacefully and responsibly to this disappointment," he said.

That was then, now WyClef has announced that he is not abandoning his presidential bid. He will appeal the decision rejecting his candidacy. He plans to send a lawyer to a Haitian court to appeal the electoral commission's decision to keep him off the list of eligible presidential candidates. He says he has a document "which shows everything is correct" and that he and his aides "feel that what is going on here has everything to do with Haitian politics." Evidently, the appeal is being based on WyClef's honorary status as "Ambassador at large" for Haiti, a "post" he claims exempts him from residency requirements.

The whole elections process is a charade to begin with, given that it is being carried out under a brutal occupation, so it is not surprising that WyClef and his lawyers are pushing for inclusion in the elections in spite of being officially rejected. Unfortunately, the process is tainted, as WyClef suspects, but not because, "They are trying to keep us out of the race." It is primarily because Haiti is under occupation by the UN military (MINUSTAH).

Additionally, the legitimacy of the November 28 election is also questionable because Haiti’s largest political party Fanmi Lavalas has been barred from the election.

WyClef is being criticized not only because he is not qualified to run, nor because he does not meet the constitutional requirements, but because he does not have the political skills or savvy to deal with Haiti's multitude of problems. The elitist private business sector in Haiti will make mincemeat out of him. He is also not equipped to deal with the legions of multinational interests that occupy and run Haiti through the pulling of purse strings and the muscle of MINUSTAH’s occupying force.

WyClef has not even outlined a comprehensive political platform, except for the declaration that “Haiti is open for business” and other very general statements. It stands to reason that with the neophyte WyClef at the helm, Haiti will be open to further exploitation and the continued apartheid between the super-rich and the ultra-poor. The apartheid class system in Haiti needs to be addressed and acknowledged by Haiti’s next leader. There is also an urgent need to addressed the stranglehold that Non-governmental Agencies (NGOs) have on Haiti in order to determine how to regulate their activities.

Even if he were qualified to run, WyClef’s political constituency is tenuous at best. He has not built a base or electorate. People are asking: What's his platform? He’s a musician. While some are fans and enjoy his music, that does not necessarily translate into voting for him to be Haiti's next president.

Above all, the Haitian majority needs someone in the Presidency who will champion human development (education, health, food, security, housing and infrastructure), above sustaining foreign and private business interests which continue to plunder Haiti for cheap labor and rich natural resources, but do not support the local economy. A notable exception is the Irish-based cell phone company Digicel, which has promoted "the kind of grass-roots entrepreneurship long ignored by the business elite."

While all of the distraction over the candidacy of WyClef is going on, forced evictions continue in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps… and Haitians are tired of sleeping on garbage.

People are living in the streets and no homes are being built, but already they’ve announced plans to build a new textiles factory. Sweatshops should not take precedence over people’s health and well-being.

In this day and age of technology, Haitians are being taught how to sew. This move cements Haiti's role as the low-cost, low-wage, low-tech center of the world.

In the meantime USAID is giving money to countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in Europe to train high tech workers.

The media attention should focus less on the distraction of WyClef Jean’s failed presidential bid and the ensuing circus, and more on the desperate humanitarian situation on the ground in Haiti.