Actor Prompts UN to Respond
in Darfur

By Bonnie Shelton 09.27.06

Igniting debate at the recent United Nations Assembly, the ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of Sudan has not only grabbed the attention of world leaders but cultural icons as well.

A series of speeches by Academy Award winning actor and director George Clooney aided in bringing awareness of the issue and prompting the U.N. to respond.

"We are a world community, and we have a responsibility and this is a big one," Clooney told the U.N. Security Council the week before last. "We were brought up to believe that the U.N. was formed to ensure that the Holocaust could never happen again."

Labeled the first mass genocide of the 21st century, at least 200,000 civilians have been shot, burned or tortured to death in Darfur since 2003. Thousands are missing, and over two million people are homeless.

With the mounting concern over death and displacement tolls, Clooney spoke at the UN to urge the deployment of troops.

The U.N. voted at the end of last week to deploy more than 20,000 troops to the region over the next three months. The U.N. troops will relieve units sent by the African Union, which are slated to leave Sudan by Dec. 31.

Using his celebrity status, Clooney’s message to the public and government leaders has placed Darfur back in the media spotlight.

“Clooney is a conscience figure on our cultural landscape…and it seems that Clooney really cares,” said Dr. Benson Fraser, Communication professor at Regent University and missionary to Africa.
“We give celebrities special influence, special ranking, and special power…and politicians aren’t immune to that,” Fraser said.

Clooney is using his celebrity status to urge governments around the world to respond.

“What we cannot do is turn our heads and look away and hope that this will somehow disappear. Because if we do, they will. They will disappear,” Clooney said to the National Press Club in April.

A CLOSED DOOR NATION
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has adamantly opposed the insertion of outside troops and the allowance of international aid workers in his country. The Sudanese government is accused of allowing the Janjaweed, an Arab militia, to rape, pillage and murder in mass numbers. Reports say that the Janjaweed are trying to rid the country of “Africans” which the militia defines as non-Islamic blacks.

Meanwhile the Sudanese government continues to limit how many international aid workers can enter Sudan and assist refugees. The only immediate solution is for outside governments to intervene.

AP Photo by Abd Raouf Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, speaks during a press conference in Khartoum, Monday, Sept. 25, 2006. Al-Bashir lashed out at the U.S., saying Washington's plans to create a "new Middle East" were behind an international push to replace African Union peacekeepers with U.N. forces in war-ravaged Darfur.

“It is very difficult. Violence is getting worse. But it is possible with enough pressure--- enough international pressure to get the governments to respond,” said Sula Kim, an anchor and reporter for WVEC 13 in Hampton Roads, VA. Kim added that Clooney’s celebrity status will help create awareness on Darfur.

Every day women and children are gang-raped. Men and young boys are emasculated. Villages are burned or bombed, livestock is either stolen or slaughtered, and food sources are destroyed.

“It could be the worst ethnic cleansing the world has ever seen,” Kim said.