Bono fell in love with Africa in 1985, shortly after his triumphant appearance with U2 at the London Live Aid show. He spent the month of September with his wife, Ali, at an Ethiopian refugee camp in the northern province of Wella. The visit inspired a limited-edition book of black-and-white photographs, A String of Pearls, as well as the song, “Where the Streets Have No Name.”
It also inspired a passion for the continent. “I saw stuff there that reorganized the way I saw the world,” he says. “I didn’t know quite what to do about it. You can throw pennies at the problem, but at a certain point I felt God wasn’t looking for alms. He was looking for action. You can’t fix every problem, but the ones you can fix, you have to.”
Bono’s course of action has been to throw his weight, and his name, behind several high-profile campaigns to raise awareness about African suffering and Western responsibility. Since 2002, these efforts have been channeled through DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) the organization he founded—with Bobby Shriver and activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt campaign—to pressure governments of rich nations to be more Africa-friendly and African governments to be more people-friendly (DATA can also mean Democracy, Accountability, Transparency, Africa.)
Bono’s access to the most powerful people in the world is unparalleled in the arts or show business. Dylan requested that senators and congressmen “please heed the call” but he never campaigned on Capitol Hill. Bono knows fame is a currency that can get you to places where money, looks and even breeding can’t. And he’s chosen to spend that currency on things other than getting the best tables in restaurants. “We have a spotlight on us,” he says. “U2 fans have given me a great life and I’m a spoiled-rotten rock star. My kids don’t have to worry about schooling or medical bills. In return, there’s a deal. One, don’t bend over. Two, use this spotlight to shine on bigger problems.”
Being a big rock star also means being able to pull in rich, bright and influential people to add credibility to his causes. Not everyone can call on Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Lance Armstrong or Muhammad Ali for help. Not everyone can persuade the editor of Vanity Fair to make them guest editor for a month to produce an Africa issue, or persuade American Express to issue an Amex Red Card in the U.K. from which one percent of all money spent with it will go to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
There’s glamour in being interviewed by Oprah or finding yourself on the cover of Time, but mostly Bono’s work for DATA involves a lot of flying, mountains of research and hours of tough talk over office tables in government buildings. His big advantage over the suits of international diplomacy is that he represents no single country, political party or business interest. Nor is he on an extended re-election campaign. The aims of DATA are quite clear and quite brief. It wants the West to relieve Africa of unbearable debts, to ensure that affordable drugs to combat AIDS are widely available on the continent, to provide assistance for development and to lift trade restrictions.
Bono is ideally suited to this job. He has an inquisitive mind, an ability to digest and analyze complex information, a personal warmth and a great knack with words. He can communicate ideas with all the verve of a rock lyricist and can play the role of Moses with a smile on his face.
For many years, idealism in rock went no further than right-on lyrics and the fight for personal freedom. But Bono believes that, given the chance, a large part of today’s audience would actually like to do something to change the world outside. Africa, he’s convinced, is our opportunity.
“Our generation will be known for the Internet, the War on Terror and how we let an entire continent burst into flames while we sat around with watering cans—or not. I think it’s exciting to be part of a generation that actually says, ‘No.’ Now, the world is a smaller place; distance can’t decide who is our neighbor to love. Love thy neighbor. We can’t afford not to. The world is too close.”
For more information, visit DATA.org.