HelloAngel

By Diane L.
2005.10


Living an hour away from Manhattan has its advantages. On October 5th, it was possible to see Bono in the role that purportedly got him on the short list for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize—a crusader against African poverty. Two days later, he and his band would be headlining the first of five sold-out shows at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. I felt fortunate to have a ticket to the sold-out lecture, where he would make introductory comments for a speech by noted economist and FOB (friend of Bono) Jeffrey Sachs.

Sachs's speech was the first in a projected series of annual speeches honoring the contributions to political and economic affairs by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003). Moynihan is best remembered as a four-time Senator from New York and also was an ambassador to the United Nations, a college professor and an author of several books on the subject of urban poverty. Glucksman Ireland House, located at New York University and focusing on Irish and Irish-American studies and culture, sponsored the lecture.

Some familiar faces were in attendance at the 800-seat Jack H. Skirball Centre for The Performing Arts. I didn't realize until after the lecture that the distinguished white-haired gentleman who had been speaking to a woman about two rows away from me was Frank McCourt, author of "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis." And several rows away, to the right, my goodness, there was U2 manager Paul McGuinness.

"There's The Edge," the woman behind me said shortly before the lecture began.

"Where?" I turned around and asked.

"Down there, where the flashes are going off."

I just had to see for myself, so I ran down about 10 rows and sure enough, there was our guitar hero standing next to Patti Smith in the middle of a center aisle. Edge looked very cute and several lucky fans got to shake his hand and say hello. I didn't, as author and veteran newsman Pete Hamill was just about to make a few introductory comments by the time I spotted our hero.

Back at my seat, I listened as Hamill, NYU President John Sexton and Glucksman Ireland House founder and chairperson Loretta Brennan Glucksman in turn welcomed us to the event. Then, it was Bono's turn to talk. The PLEBA girl in me noticed that he was wearing a black T-shirt under a long-sleeved blue shirt, black pants and pink-tinted glasses.

"Well, Edge, back to being a warm-up act," the singer joked. He went on to state that, "my claim to fame is that I studied with Jeffrey Sachs." Bono described himself as a "Jeffrey Sachs groupie" and talked about his books as if they were hit albums. He also mentioned that he'd taken "rock star remedial economics" by studying with Sachs while the professor was still at Harvard University. Bono also noted that the economist was "sometimes angry at small things, like me, for instance—I'm sure I annoy him sometimes."

"Jeffrey Sachs is not afraid of a big idea," Bono said. "All economic arguments against debt relief were bullshit and I thank Jeffrey Sachs for that," Sachs's personal style made him as likely to be "preaching from the pulpit or singing from Madison Square Garden" as teaching economics. The crowd laughed as he went on to say that "even now, I'm twitchy about the other woman … I try to get Jeffrey on the phone—no, he's away with Angelina Jolie. I sometimes wonder if he remembers who I am."

Before giving up the stage to Sachs, Bono mentioned that the One Campaign was aiming to get 3 million signatures by the next election, a milestone that would make the organization larger than the National Rifle Association (NRA). "Is that megalomania? Yes," he admitted but he felt it could be done.

Bono took a place on a dais on the stage, where he sat with Hamill, Sexton and Glucksman as Sachs spoke. Sachs has an impressive list of credentials: he taught at Harvard for over 20 years before becoming the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University in Manhattan and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia. He is an advisor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP). Most importantly, Sachs is the most compelling speaker you can ever imagine—the professor has the gift of taking complex information and presenting it in a manner that makes it easy for those of us that aren't economics-savvy to understand.

Sachs began by reassuring Bono that he hadn't been forgotten and noted that he should be in the running for four Nobel Prizes: physics, economics, literature and peace. He then spoke about people he'd met in Africa and their day-to-day struggle for survival. Women spend hours a day gathering water and bringing it home, in addition to all the other chores they must do. These people work hard, harder than those of us in the West can imagine. And all too often, the result is crops failing, no income and children dying. This last point was brought home when Sachs showed a slide of a mother and her 14 children, then pointed to one boy and said he and his wife had learned he had died before their next visit to the family.

One upsetting slide and story was of a young boy who was in a malarial coma. Sachs spoke of how he had been treated with a drug that cost five cents and was only effective in 70 percent of malaria cases. He went on to say that a drug exists that is far more effective in treating the disease, but it is not used because it costs $1.20 to administer. The message was clear: while the powers-that-be were intent on keeping their costs down, people like this little boy were dying. The thought that a child would die because someone, somewhere, wanted to save $1.15 is horrific and haunting. Or, as Sachs put it, "What a game we're playing with life."

Another story Sachs told was of a meeting in a community that he attended. He asked how many people would want nets that would protect them from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Everyone raised their hands. The economist then asked how many actually had one of these nets. No one raised their hands. Seems these nets cost $5 each, and the powers-that-be were reluctant to provide such help to people like those in the community. Sachs noted that these people knew they needed to take preventive steps like having nets to stop malaria-bearing mosquitoes, but they simply could not afford to do so.

Sachs did mention one success story. He said that a "beautiful clinic" had been put up in eight weeks, at the cost of $2,000 to $3,000. This clinic was a far better option for people than the current option for too many: six patients sharing a bed and having to bring their own drinking water from home.

"There is nothing heard less than the poorest of the poor," Sachs said. Later in the speech he noted that "the biggest problem in America is we've become afraid of the poor." It is hoped that the efforts of the One Campaign, and people like Sachs, will encourage people to live the words of a holy man whose words are too often distorted to meet other's ends: "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me."

During the speech, Bono sat and gave Sachs his full attention. And it was a rare opportunity to watch the man when he is not "on"—performing, making speeches, signing autographs, being the world-famous Bono. During Sachs's speech, he was just another audience member, chewing gum, drinking water, scratching his hip. I felt like I'd been given a look at Bono off the stage and out of the spotlight, one that only a fortunate few really know.

Sachs received a well-deserved standing ovation for his speech, and a couple of minutes later, he and Bono received a token of Glucksman Ireland House's appreciation: matching NYU jackets. Both looked like big men on campus in their stylin' purple-and-white jackets.

As with any event featuring Bono, there were plenty of fans hoping for a magic moment with the man. We stood against barricades as he was about to enter the Skirball Centre and some were rewarded with handshakes, autographs and photographs taken with the singer. After the lecture, even more people waited for their chance for a meeting. Glucksman received an appreciative round of applause when she left the building. Soon afterward, Edge walked out to applause and cheers; he waved to us and left in a limo. Bono managed to meet and greet a few fans as he walked to the waiting van; fans followed as the van waited at a red light. Then it was off, carrying the singer into the night.

For more information on Jeffrey Sachs and his latest book, "The End of Poverty," visit http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/endofpoverty.

jobob

Nice report, Diane.

Jamila

Thank you very much, Diane, for your report.

For those of us who couldn't get this extraordinary forum, your report helped to fill in the gaps of what actually happened that night.

promenade

Wow! Great article, Diane. I feel as if I was there, and I wish I had been! Sounds like it was inspiring and very special.