Hip-Hop star Wyclef Jean hopes elections bring stability to Haiti




By Patrick Moser
AFP
PORT-AU-PRINCE
Petroleumworld.com 02 10 06

Haitian-born hip-hop star Wyclef Jean, who has preached against violence in the gang-infested slums of Port-au-Prince, said Thursday that presidential favorite Rene Preval has what it takes to bring stability to the volatile Caribbean country.

Speaking to AFP as Haitians waited to find out who won Tuesday's election, Jean also stressed the need to create jobs for the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who live in utter misery in shantytowns.

"Cite Soleil, Bel Air, that's where you have the majority of the problems of violence," the Haitian-born rapper said in reference to two notorious slums.

"Preval is probably the man who can deal with those problems better than anyone else," said Jean, the founding member of the Grammy-winning The Fugees band.

"Every one says Preval is the popular vote," he said as he rushed to catch his return flight to California.

Preval, 63, a former president, is hugely popular among the millions of impoverished Haitians and scored major victories in the capital in Tuesday's vote, according to unofficial tallies.

Wyclef, who founded the Yele Haiti charity a year ago, has traveled to his home country on several occasions, seeking to help defuse the violence and help the most disadvantaged Haitians.

"I was the first to go inside of Bel Air," he said. "I preached and said violence was not the answer."

Gang members later told him: "we stopped the violence, but now what do we do? We have no jobs," the singer and music producer said.

During a visit last month, Jean broadcast an appeal against the violence and the kidnappings that terrorize the volatile country.

"I want to see the violence in Haiti stopped. Innocent people, innocent children are getting hurt and killed every day," said Jean.

On his latest trip, he sought to convince people in the slums of the importance of voting, and led by example.

"I have a Haitian passport and I voted. I think it was really important to vote," he said.

"We have to put a government in there to have stability. We need someone in there to provide stability."

He said he hoped the election, which was largely free of feared violence and marked by a strong turnout, would help improve Haiti's international image.

Born in Croix de Bouquets, just outside Port-au-Prince, Jean moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was nine.

But he says he has never forgotten his roots.

In January, Jean took movie stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt on a tour that included a visit to a Port-au-Prince prison where dozens of children from slum neighborhoods are held.

"Their visit brought hope to the people, hope in that someone cares enough about Haiti to visit it and bring attention to the situation there," he said at the time.

AFP 02/09/06

Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved

 

 

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