Interview
Jean: President Clinton is
perfect for this position. He has a
natural love for Haiti and was the
only president who actually did
something. He and Hillary spent
their honeymoon there. And his
prestige means that he will
bring a lot of other eyeballs to
the table as well. It will be up
to Haitians to decide what to do
with that attention.
AQ: What’s next for Haiti?
Jean: What I hope for the
future of Haiti is tourism and job
creation. Haiti was the first black
republic of the world, and that’s
incredible. The island has so
much history, but people are
scared to visit because they think
they’re going to get shot. As for
At the end of the day,
past the unrest,
there will be change.”
—Wyclef Jean
myself, as a young Haitian and
as an entrepreneur, I have two
visions: one is a Yéle center—
a facility that consists of a sports
facility, a Wyclef Jean cultural
school for music and arts, and
a place that teaches about the
environment. I want to see that
happen before I shut my eyes.
And on the entrepreneur side, I
have the Jean Group, which is a
bunch of young entrepreneurs
doing our thing. We have a lot of
work to do.
AQ: And, what makes you
believe that there is a better
future for Haiti?
Jean: What gives me hope is
reading about the struggles of
Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus
Garvey, Gandhi, and JFK.
At the end of the day, past the
unrest, there will be change.
Whether I see it, or you see it,
or future generations see it,
depends on us working toward
that change.
506(); 5*.& 4;$"--;'03; 3&4063$&'6-;-&"%& 34
5IF;XPSME;DBO;DIBOHF;PWFSOJHIU;;8FµWF;TFFO;JU;IBQQFO;
)BSWBSE;,FOOFEZ;4DIPPM;&YFDVUJWF;&EVDBUJPO;QSPHSBNT;GPDVT;PO;HJWJOH;
MFBEFST;UIF;TLJMMT;OFFEFE;UP;GBDF;UIF;DIBMMFOHFT;PG;VODFSUBJO;UJNFT;
'PDVTJOH;JO;BSFBT;TVDI;BT;MFBEFSTIJQ;;TUSBUFHZ;;OFHPUJBUJPOT;;HPWFSOBODF;;
BOE;¾OBODF;;)BSWBSE;,FOOFEZ;4DIPPM;PGGFST;B;XJEF;SBOHF;PG;&YFDVUJWF;
&EVDBUJPO;QSPHSBNT;GPS;TFOJPS;FYFDVUJWFT;
)BSWBSE;,FOOFEZ;4DIPPM;& YFDVUJWF;&EVDBUJPO;;;
8F;XJMM;QSFQBSF;ZPV;GPS;UIF;VOFYQFDUFE;
'PS;NPSF;JOGPSNBUJPO;PO;BMM;&YFDVUJWF;&EVDBUJPO;QSPHSBNT;
PGGFSFE;CZ;)BSWBSE;,FOOFEZ;4DIPPM;;DBMM;;;;;;;;;;;;;;PS;
WJTJU;XXX;ILT;IBSWBSE;FEV;FF;BNFSJDBTRVBSUFSMZ;
