SALEM — The nonprofit organization that presented Greg Mortenson with the Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice last year said it will not "rush to judgment" after CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" show raised disturbing allegations about the philanthropist who builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The news program questioned the truthfulness of key parts of Mortenson's best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea," the financial oversight of his Montana-based charity, the Central Asia Institute, and how much Mortenson may be profiting personally.
The Sunday night television broadcast hit local supporters hard, including school officials whose students have raised money for "Pennies for Peace," a program sponsored by Mortenson's charity.
"If it's true, it just made me feel sad, at least for our kids," said Betsye Sargent, co-head of The Phoenix School, which presented Mortenson with a check last year when he appeared in Salem to accept his award. "I think it will be very hard for them to kind of understand what he did — if that's what he did."
Interviewed early yesterday, Sargent said she had not seen the "60 Minutes" broadcast, but had spoken with others who have. She said she is reserving judgment until she hears more from the Central Asia Institute and Mortenson, who refused to talk to "60 Minutes."
The Salem Award committee is also taking a wait-and-see approach.
"This is an unfolding story, so we take the allegations very seriously, but we also think it's important not to rush to judgment," said Meg Twohey, co-chairwoman of the Salem Award Foundation. "And that is especially important because of the meaning of the Salem Award and of the Witch Trials of 1692."
Brian Watson, co-chairman of the of the Salem Award's search committee, also said he wants to wait until all the facts are known.
"As of today, we're still proud we selected Mortenson," he said. "We all felt the allegations, the extent of the allegations, need to be measured against the sum total of the man's work. ... He still goes to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and no one disputes that, and no one disputes he's working with Afghan elders and Pakistani elders to build schools."
"60 Minutes," however, reported that it looked into nearly 30 of the 140 schools Mortenson and the CAI reportedly have built and found that some were half-empty or are being used as storage sheds.
The Salem Award has been presented annually since 1992, the 300th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials. Honorees have included Gregory Allan Williams, one of the heroes of the 1992 Los Angeles riots; Chinese dissident Harry Wu; Dr. Jane Schaller, the founding president of Physicians for Human Rights; and Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The award to Mortenson was a high point for the organization, which last year also received a $25,000 grant from the Annenberg Foundation. A crowd of 800 packed Salem High School in May to hear the "Three Cups of Tea" author, who stayed afterward for several hours to sign books.
The award was presented by Mayor Kim Driscoll and Patricia Meservey, president of Salem State University.
Yesterday, a college spokeswoman said she did not "think it's fair to draw conclusions based on one news report."
The Salem Award Foundation was cautious in its response to the controversy, issuing a written statement yesterday.
"We are following the questions raised by '60 Minutes' and the responses that Greg Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute have provided. We do know that the seriousness and extent of these allegations must be weighed against the undisputed body of work that Greg Mortenson has accomplished in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the work that he has done in cooperation with the American military, and the work that he continues to do.
"Principles of fairness and judiciousness demand that we consider the current allegations in the full context of his work, and with the perspective that that gives us."
The Salem Award included a $7,500 prize. The check, Twohey said, was made out to the Central Asia Institute.
Mortenson and his charity issued statements before and after the broadcast, repudiating most of the charges.
While admitting that a key story about stumbling into a mountain village in Pakistan and being cared for by villagers — the experience that allegedly inspired him to begin building schools — was a combination of several trips to the country, Mortenson said the news program presented a "distorted picture using inaccurate information."
Mortenson also has posted statements on the CAI website.
Since this is school vacation week, Sargent said she and other staff at The Phoenix School won't get a chance to talk about this controversy with the older students until next week.
"It will be a very interesting and important discussion for them to have," she said.
Meanwhile, the school is still raising money for Pennies for Peace.
The 2011 Salem Award will be presented Saturday, May 7, at Salem High to Dr. Jonathan Shay for his pioneering work in the field of post-traumatic stress disorder and the military.
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