Nina
Boxer and Bono
Leica Digilux 1 |
LEICA GOES TO A PARTY
Have Camera, Will Shoot
Bono
at Tolerance Event
Story and Photos by Tim Boxer
DONNED my tux and took my wife to the Broadway Marriott Marquis for
the annual Simon Wiesenthal Center fundraiser. With punk rock star Bono
the heavy draw, I made sure I had my newly acquired Digilux 1.
The
center, renowned worldwide for its research in prejudice and hate,
chose well to honor the lead singer of the Irish group U2 with its
Humanitarian Laureate Award. Bono
grew up in Ireland with a Catholic father and Protestant mother, so
he knows what tolerance is all about.
Nina
and I came to chronicle this auspicious event. Leica’s most
formidable digital camera, with its one-button operation, commanded
the respect of everyone it targeted. The brilliant images that
instantly appeared in the monitor aroused the admiration of everyone
I photographed. [See review in Products.]
Leica
Digilux 1 could set a new standard for photojournalists.
Elizabeth
Vargas,
anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight Saturday, praised Bono
effusively. In fact, every speaker praised Bono to no end.
“Bono’s
lyrics speak about breaking down barriers,” Vargas gushed.
Jeffrey
Sachs and Bono
Leica Digilux 1 |
She
also lauded Rabbi Marvin Hier: “He is the best sound bite
in the business.”
Rabbi Hier, founding dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, based in Los
Angeles, honored Bono for his courageous efforts in fighting bigotry
and standing up for the victims of AIDS and hunger in Africa.
Israeli
Ambassador Yehuda Lancry joined the praise parade. He
applauded Bono’s “unshakeable commitment to fight bigotry and
hate.”
Even
Bill Clinton, who wasn’t even present, got into the act. He
sent a letter full of flattery for the rock star.
Rhonda Barad, eastern director for the center, read
Clinton’s message. Taking his cue from the Haggadah, the former
president said:
If
Bono were only an extraordinary musician, dayenu [it would
suffice].
If
he were only a successful artist who worked for peace, dayenu.
If
he only helped relieve poor nations of their debt, dayenu.
Dinner
co-chair Ira Lipman, founder of Guardsmark, a security
services company, announced that Wiesenthal has raised $11 million
for its New York Tolerance Center. It will open on May 8.
Jeffrey
D. Sachs
called his friend Bono “an incredible humanitarian.”
The
former Harvard economics professor, now head of Columbia
University’s Earth Institute, told of accompanying Bono this year
on a fact-finding mission to Africa.
“We
saw things that are almost impossible to describe,” Sachs said.
“We
went to a village in Malawi that was nothing more than a vast
orphanage due to the scourge of AIDS. Millions of children are
bereft of their parents who died from AIDS or the drought.
“These
deaths are avoidable. We just have to get the drugs to them.”
When
Bono mounted the stage for his rebuttal, he begged the audience,
“Don’t tell my band I’m here. They don’t know I’m wearing
a black tie and white shirt. That’s so unhip.”
The
singer said he sells music. But he also sells ideas. Right now
he’s working on three ideas concerning Africa:
Increase
debt cancellation for the poorest countries.
Fight
the spread of AIDS.
Establish
free trade zones.
He
is especially keen on fighting AIDS. He said that 2.5 million
Africans will die next year. They will leave behind 25 million
orphans.
“All
because we don’t provide the drugs for them,” he said.
Bono
and fans
Leica Digilux 1 |
When
Bono met Tom Lantos, the California Congressman talked about how the
Nazis sent people on trains to the death camps.
“Are
we not watching people being put on trains again?” Bono said.
“That’s
what’s happening in Africa,” the congressman conceded.
“I
want to offer my services to lie on the tracks,” Bono said.
|
