Haiti Relief Efforts
By Talia Whyte

Hundreds of members from the public came to Roxbury’s Hibernian Hall Jan. 16 to donate relief items that would be sent to earthquake victims in Haiti. The benevolence of the people coming through the hall shined through all day.
While most of the donors were Haitian American, there were also a good number of African Americans and black Africans in attendance. It is on very rare occasions that intraracial tensions amongst the different ethnicities in the black community can be put aside for a greater cause.
Furthermore, it was also interesting to note how quickly this event came together. Most of the email announcements for this went out only 24 hours prior, and the next day, Hibernian Hall seemed to be overflowing with relief items.
However, many people I spoke to were worried about how and if their aid and money would actually be used to help earthquake victims. That same morning, the news media accused Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean’s charity, Yele Haiti, of fiscal mismanagement. Later that day, Jean released a personal statement on YouTube, citing that all the accusations were false and was disgusted that people would question his dedication to help his native country.
“Those are my people dying down there, and I have to do everything possible to help,” Jean said.