Wyclef Jean

Jean, who has been aggressively helping his home country through his Yele Haiti foundation, long before the January 12 earthquake, is known as a philanthropist and is widely loved by the Haitian populace, but his campaign so far has been met with more criticism than commendation.

Critics say he lacks the political vision and experience required to be president, but supporters are saying his passion and his philanthropic endeavors will go a long way.

Actor and philanthropist Sean Penn has been one of the harshest critics of Jean’s presidential bid. Penn, who has been on the ground managing a camp in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake, said Jean has been a “non-presence” in the devastated country.

Penn said, “He (Jean) has been virtually silent, for those of us in Haiti he has been a non-presence... So, I want to see someone who is really, really willing to sacrifice for their country and not just someone who I personally saw with a vulgar entourage of vehicles that demonstrated a wealth in Haiti that – in context – I felt a very obscene demonstration.”

But, Jean fired back saying, “I don't have to live inside a tent to prove I am for the Haitian people… My country is not a city of tents.” Jean maintains that he is not absent in Haiti and although Penn hasn’t seen him for six months, “I've been going to Haiti for more than five years. When the hurricane of Gonaives toppled Haiti (in 2008), I was the first one there. When Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted out of the country (2004), I was the first one there negotiating with the gangs in getting things to change. If I did not create Yele Haiti to start stopping the violence even him coming to Haiti would not have been possible today.”

Locally, Jean has his critics as well. Djenane St. Fleur, a Haitian-American living in Broward said, “I think it’s a complete joke, because he (Jean) doesn’t have the proper qualifications. The people of Haiti need to choose somebody who has a political life; people who have worked on the ground, implemented policies, helped with the structuring of Haiti socially and economically. Fame alone and connections cannot resolve Haiti’s problems.”

St. Fleur, who has been to Haiti on a trade mission for Lauderhill Sister City International to Petionville, said, “I don’t think Wyclef’s heart is in the right place, because helping Haiti doesn’t require you to be a president. From my trip I found that there are people in Haiti teaching people to read while they are producing craft. The money made from craft is being used to educate them. We have doctors going back to their hometowns and doing small health fairs. Haiti needs financing and he could use his fame and connections to get Haiti that kind of financial help.”

Is Wyclef Jean eligible?

One of the concerns some of Jean’s supporters have is whether he will qualify, since Haiti’s constitution requires candidates to live five consecutive years in Haiti prior to the election to be eligible.

While this is a concern, Jean Rony Monestime, a student at Barry University, said Wyclef could qualify. He said before people rush to judgment they have to first understand Haiti. “The people believe in well-educated people for public office; however, in this particular situation the country is destroyed and they don’t believe in politicians anymore.”

Monestime is convinced that if Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) gives Jean the green light on August 17, he will become president.

“If the CEP accepts Wyclef as a candidate, he’s going to be president. Wyclef is not college educated; he’s a singer and he’s not qualified, but he speaks Creole – the people’s language and he’s not the traditional leader that Haitians have suffered through over the years.”

Jean, who is among a field of 34 presidential hopefuls, said, “I feel like I'm being drafted by the population right now to give them a different face, a different voice.”

Jean’s political platform includes increasing education and employment while rebuilding the country’s infrastructure. He cited the number one problem in Haiti as “corruption” and pledged to create “agrarian villages” for the displaced people currently living in tent cities.