Rebel News rights a wrong as Maui fire relief efforts continue

We recently made a quick stop in Hawaii, where Maui is still recovering following the deadly 2023 wildfires that tore through the historic town of Lahaina. Despite feeling like we were in paradise for a few hours, this was no vacation.

We returned to Maui to see how rebuilding efforts were going, and, more importantly, to right a wrong. 

You see, a year and a half ago, our Rebel News team came to Maui to cover the horrific wildfire that killed more than a hundred people. We were so touched by the stories we heard that we set up a crowdfund for the local people to help with medical supplies, tents, food and other things like that.

Incredibly, our viewers raised more than US$50,000. After we raised the money, we hired a local trustee with a signed contract to only use the funds for relief efforts. No salaries, nothing like that.

About a month ago, we were on the island to see what work had been done. That's when we learned there was a misappropriation of those funds, half hadn't been spent at all — and the other half had been spent on precisely the things were weren't supposed to spend it on.

So, we hired a lawyer and demanded the money back. We told the trustee he broke the agreement and we'd be coming for the rest. And he realized he was wrong; he agreed to do the right thing and send back the money that was misappropriated.

Good news: we got it. Which is why we came back Maui again, to make sure it went to Mikey Burke with the Lahaina Community Land Trust, who will make sure that money goes to the people who need it.

Mikey's organization started in the aftermath of the fire as a way to help those dealing with profiteers trying to capitalize on the disaster. Her goal is to make sure the people who lived in the area prior to the fire have a chance to come back, so that the community can recover instead of being replaced.

Those people in this place are part of what made Lahaina special. It's a kind of nationalism, in a sense. Mikey told us there was a “vast exodus” but that she was “trying to keep them here” as best she could.

Although the emergency need for medical and food supplies has passed, she told us how the funds would be used to help people return to their homes, or, if they chose to sell, that it would be used to help keep the home affordable and ownership in the hands of locals.

Mikey told us about the Hawaiian word “kuleana,” which means responsibility. We do a lot of crowdfunding here at Rebel News. It was very important for us to make this right, to show that we care about our donors' intent and treat their money with respect.

“When you have kuleana to some place, it is to your core. It is because of your ancestors, and it is because of the generations to come,” she said.

“The leadership of Lahaina Community Land Trust, we are of this place. We have been here for generations, and we have to look our own community in the eye to let them know that we are fighting for them.”

Ezra Levant

Rebel Commander

Ezra Levant is the founder and owner of Rebel News and the host of The Ezra Levant Show. He is the author of multiple best-selling books, including Ethical Oil, The Libranos, China Virus, and most recently, Trudeau's Secret Plan.