In
the wake of a major tragedy, some
bands and artists find it difficult
to stand idly by or wait for someone
else to take action. U2, with their
politically charged music and frequent
humanitarian efforts, are one of those
bands. When news of the shocking destruction
of lives and property in southern
Asia hit, U2 posted a call to action
on their Web site, asking friends
and fans to help the families who
lost loved ones in the Indian Ocean
earthquake and subsequent tsunami
on December 26.
In
a post on Thursday, the band began
by assuring fans that bassist Adam
Clayton, who was rumored to have been
potentially injured by the tsunami,
was "unaffected by the tragic
events around the Indian Ocean following
Sunday's tsunami waves." Clayton
had been vacationing in Malaysia at
the time.
The
post went on to provide links to a
BBC story on the tsunami relief effort,
and links to six Web sites--including
the United Nations World Food Programme,
the American Red Cross, and UNICEF
South Asia Tsunami Relief Efforts--to
offer some direction for fans to "contribute
towards the work of those helping
survivors rebuild their lives."
For more on this story see www.U2.com.
U2--and
Bono in particular--have long been
involved in philanthropic efforts.
Bono has been touted for his work
with the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa
and was nominated in 2003 for the
Nobel Peace Prize. When MTV News interviewed
U2 in November, they spoke about why
Americans and Europeans need to step
up to the challenge of helping countries
affected by the AIDS crisis, and in
general, providing aid to nations
less fortunate than our own.
"Bottom
line--something is wrong," Bono
said. "We can't have all this
over here and not be helping people.
It's not the decent thing to do. It's
not American, it's not European. We
just end up floating with the tide
down this river to nowhere. And it's
time to stop. I'm very optimistic
about what can happen if we [were
able to] put a man on the moon,"
he continued. "You Americans,
you can do this. We can do this. We
can actually turn things around. That's
what I intend to spend my life doing,
and that gives me cause for serious
optimism for what we can achieve in
the world."
—
Alyssa Rashbaum, with additional reporting
by John Norris
©
2004 MTV Networks © and TM MTV
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