Cries of adulation - and hunger - followed Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean
and actor Matt Damon as they toured flood-ravaged Gonaives on Sunday to call
attention to widespread suffering in the marooned city.
Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike submerged the Haitian city and cut off
roadways. Where waters have receded, streets remain a stinking mud bath and
homes are carpeted with muck and encrusted pots, pans and laundry.
"I'm speechless, I can't believe it," said Damon, looking down from a UN
helicopter at people living on the rooftops of flooded homes.
The four-hour visit passed in a blur of stenches, colors and noise. "It's
inhumane. I wish there was a word in the dictionary. No human should be living
like this," said Jean, who became famous as a member of the Grammy-winning band,
The Fugees, and later emerged as a solo artist.
Damon and Jean sought to help the United Nations raise more than $100 million
for 800,000 Haitians in need after four tropical storms and hurricanes have
struck the country since mid-August.
Jean's Yele Haiti charity is helping the World Food Program and the
Organization of American States-affiliated Pan American Development Foundation
distribute food to 3,000 families.
