And Still I Rise

For weeks I've been following with interest Wyclef Jean's bid for the presidency of Haiti. As a fan of the Fugees, I always knew he was Haitian but had left the country at a young age. So, I was rather surprised that he had thrown his hat in the ring given that there was a stipulation that prospective candidates had to have been resident in the country for 5 consecutive years prior to election day. Apart from that hiccup, Wyclef and his Yele foundation have been under fire for the alleged misappropriation of funds. Yet his candidacy was met with such exuberance especially by the youth that you dared to dream he could do the impossible. After all,Schwarzenegger who had never held public office and whose political views were unknown to most californians had won the Californian gubernatorial race.


However, following the ruling of Haiti's electoral council it appears that there is no fairy tale end for Wyclef. Still the problems that plague the Haitians,chief amongst them lack of leadership are ever present.I believe it's this desperate need for leadership that made Wyclef and his superstar persona so attractive despite him not having a manifesto that detailed how he intended to take Haiti forward. Apart from the hope his candidacy bid ignited there is no doubt it also brought the attention of the international media right back to Haiti. As was to be expected after the at times indecent coverage Haiti slowly slipped off the radar, almost forgotten by all as we slipped back into our comfortable routines. With the media 's renewed interest we learnt that conditions in Haiti remained dire and many of the international donors had reneged on their promises.

Now that Wyclef's candidacy has been stalled it will be interesting to see how the media responds. I do suspect that their focus will point elsewhere especially if Wyclef's legal challenge fails. Maybe, Wyclef's next bid should be ensuring that the media continues to shine a light on the Haitian situation. That might just be more rewarding than any presidential office.