Wyclef Jean opens up about Haiti shooting

The former Fugees star was shot in the hand on Saturday, March 19 as his car came under fire while driving through the city of Port-au-Prince promoting the presidential campaign of musician Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly.

Wyclef says that when the bullet first made contact with his hand he felt pain, “but it was more like shock and awe. They put in the anesthesia and stuff. The pain came after all that.”

But according to People, the singer is satisfied that the incident with a bullet is bringing attention to Haiti.

“It brought light to the fact that there was an election going on that day,” Jean told the magazine. “I don’t think none of you all knew about an election in Haiti until everyone heard what happened to me … The story is about the fact that we had an election and our party is in the lead. It’s a young party, trying to take over the country.”

The rapper made a run for President of Haiti, his home country, but was rejected by the country’s elector council on the grounds that he didn’t meet the necessary residency requirements of having lived there for five years before the election since his primary residence is in New Jersey. He claimed he was inspired to run after the devastating January 2010 earthquake.