Beautiful People and Beautiful Events

Nick and George Clooney garner support at a Save Darfur Coalition rally.

A Famous Star Shines on Sudan

By Singapore News Group (Originally in English)

Together with Senators Sam Brownback and Barack Obama, George Clooney appeals for international help at the National Press Club in Washington.

U.S. actor George Clooney returned home on Monday, April 24, after a five-day trip to the border area between Chad and Darfur where he embarked on his latest role as ‘The Star’ who went to Darfur. Traveling with a cameraman, Clooney and his father Nick, a former television anchorman, had been in Darfur making a short documentary film to report the heartbreaking stories told by families in the Sudanese refugee camps. Through television interviews and speeches about the trip, he raised awareness by drawing attention to the situation and making an appeal for international help to bring an end to the suffering of the people in western Sudan’s Darfur region.

A short excerpt of the film was shown at an unusually packed Washington press conference where Oscar winner Clooney ♥♥♥♥♥ was joined by two senators, Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas and Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois, to urge that more attention be given from the United States, other nations and world institutions like NATO and the United Nations. Clooney also spoke at a “Save Darfur Coalition Rally” in Washington on Sunday, April 30. This event featured such prominent speakers as Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel and speed skating Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek.

Darfurians continue to wear colorful clothes and have smiles of hope despite the unfavorable conditions in their country.

The director and Academy Award winning actor also encouraged the public to attend similar rallies being held in other U.S. cities so that the U.S. and other governments would get the message to stop the bloodshed in Darfur. Organized by a remarkable multi-faith coalition of Jewish, Evangelical, Catholic and Muslim leaders who sincerely hope to bring peace to the crisis, these rallies have been attended by thousands of ordinary citizens who join activists, celebrities and lawmakers to urge for an end to the conflict in Darfur.

Sudanese people in a refugee camp tell their stories to Nick and George Clooney.

Even the producers of “E.R.,” the TV series that catapulted Clooney to fame, took the lead from him and included a Darfur subplot in E.R.'s crucial season finale episodes to jolt viewers into recognition of the immense suffering and the need for a peaceful resolution.

As a result of the greater awareness created by a few key individuals, many people of the world have spoken in a united voice and have shown through public outcry that peace and an end to suffering are what matter most. This show of love has also provided a positive push in improving the lives of the Darfurians in Sudan. Thus, it can be no coincidence that the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed in Abuja, Nigeria between the Sudanese government and the principal rebel movement in Darfur on May 5, 2006.