Look To The Stars News: Mia Farrow

Mia Farrow Visits Storm-Ravaged Haiti

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Actress Mia Farrow has made a humanitarian visit to Haiti to visit victims of the recent devestating storms.

The trip – organized by UNICEF – will last from September 19 to 23, and will take the 63-year-old actress to projects in Gonaïves, Cite-Soleil, and Cabaret, all affected by heavy flooding.

“I saw a city mostly submerged in deep mud [and] people still stranded on roof tops,“ said the actress after her visit to Gonaïves, by far the worst area affected by the storms, with an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people in temporary shelters according to local Civil Protection. “Other people are still living in school and in a church. There is a sense of confusion, loss and anger. The people in the shelters had not eaten for days, [there is] not enough water coming – of course there is in no sanitation of any kind.“

Four successive hurricanes have pounded the country since August 16 and affected more than 800,000 people. Cities like Gonaïves remain partly flooded where relocated families wait for the filthy water to recede and to discover what is left of their homes. UNICEF is providing potable water, hygiene kits, water purification tablets, oral rehydration salts, blankets, school kits, and additional items to help women and children in need. They are also providing school furniture and school kits to help get children back into school by October 6.

“My hope is to be a good steward of this information, to take this message to the United States and the international community with the hope that the conscience of the world will respond,“ said Farrow.

Farrow’s visit follows a similar trip by Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean earlier this month.

Mia Farrow To Discuss Political Rights Of Women

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Actress Mia Farrow is to attend a special seminar next week to discuss the political-rights crises faced by women in Thailand and Burma.

The seminar – to be held in Thailand’s Chiang Mai University on July 21 – will be led by Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, and will feature female activists from all around the world. Organized by the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the seminar will cover a range of issues relating to the treatment of women in the political arena, and will include video testimony from Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Laureate who has been under house arrest in Burma.

“We don’t have such a special event very often in Thailand, let alone Chiang Mai, so I do hope that it will create interest, more understanding and support for women’s causes,” said Virada Somswasdi, president of the Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development. “The efforts of NWI members and other women involved in the delegation to Thailand are not only to keep alive the issues of peace with justice and equality, which include violence against women and the crisis of political rights, but also to highlight the importance of a just and peaceful global community for women.”

Organizers hope the seminar will promote the unseen work of women in local governments in Thailand and Burma, and give them a chance to speak out.

Other well known activists expected to attend include labor rights activist Qing Zhang from China and Dr Sima Samar from Afghanistan.

Pitt and Jolie Among Time's Most Influential People

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:30:24 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

TIME magazine placed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together in 21st place in its latest annual list of the world’s most influential people, and George Clooney stepped up to write a glowing tribute.

Jolie and Pitt were among the “Heroes and Pioneers” of the list, and the couple’s friend summarises the reasons for their selection:

“There are hundreds of people who could be honored for their good works, but I’ve seen Brad and Angelina firsthand, and their commitment together is truly impressive.”

Clooney praised the pair’s concrete and personal actions, saying, “They brought help to Pakistan in 2005, after a catastrophic earthquake killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. They have tended to the poor and sick in Africa. And they’ve raised global awareness—and contributed $1 million of their own money—for the victims of atrocities in Darfur.”

Pitt and Clooney co-founded Not On Our Watch to address the Darfur crisis, and Clooney was obviously impressed by the charitable integrity his friends demonstrated in helping with the Hurricane Katrina aftermath: “They actually moved to New Orleans and have set about trying to make right what so many have made wrong. Brad established a project [Make It Right] to finance and build 150 new homes in the Ninth Ward.”

Similarly proud of charity poster child Jolie, Clooney writes, “Angelina has worked tirelessly through the United Nations on behalf of refugees around the world, touring border camps in Africa, Asia and Latin America and lobbying on Capitol Hill.”

Other celebrities noted in the TIME 100 list for their philanthropy include Oprah (with a tribute written by Michelle Obama), Mia Farrow (for her work with UNICEF and more), Andre Agassi (with a tribute by Andy Roddick), and Lance Armstrong (at position 26).

Celebrities Bring Attention To UN Efforts

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:11:03 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

With the press watching their every move, more and more stars are making their moves count by sharing the spotlight with United Nations missions.

In the past months alone, actress Drew Barrymore pledged $1 million to the United Nations’ World Food Program to bring attention to rising food prices; actress and Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon began raising money for the United Nations Development Fund For Women for education, job training and better laws for underprivileged women; Bono raised an impressive $42 million at his (RED) charity auction for the United Nations Foundation AIDs programs; and actress and UNICEF spokeswoman Salma Hayek promoted her anti-tetanus campaign on Oprah.

Outspoken actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow uses her celebrity in ways that politicians might not, relentlessly reminding us of the tragic details of Dafur. Farrow says, “I’m completely free to say anything I want. I have no trade agreements with anyone.”

George Clooney, the latest to be named Messenger of Peace by the United Nations for his efforts in Chad, Congo and Dafur, told ABC News, “I think what they’re looking to gain from [awarding me] is cameras following me to places that they’re trying to get attention to and that’s fine. That’s a good use of celebrity if you ask me.”

Celebrity faces fronting causes may help attract broader attention or raise bigger money more quickly, but it may also do something for the celebrity.

Actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, who is pushing governments to plan an Iraq refugee relief effort, told ABC News, “[Activism] gives celebrity some reason. Celebrity is very weird… So when you’re doing something good and you can bring attention to that or discuss that, then it feels like you have some sense in your life.”

Mia Farrow Blocked From Darfur Peace Rally

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:03:29 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Police have stopped actress Mia Farrow from holding a rally in Cambodia as part of a campaign to end atrocities in Darfur.

Around 100 baton-wielding military police blocked Farrow, who established Fund4Darfur in 2007, and her fellow activists from entering the compound at Tuol Sleng, the Phnom Penh high school at the center of Cambodia’s Killing Fields.

“Darfur has nothing to do with Cambodia,” said Phnom Penh police chief, Touch Naruth. “Go protest in Darfur!”

The group planned to hold a peaceful rally in which they were to lay flowers and light a symbolic Olympic torch in the compound. The event was to follow similar rallies in Chad, Rwanda, Armenia, Germany, and Bosnia as part of a campaign to persuade China to push the Khartoum government in Sudan into ending the violence in Darfur.

“Our hearts are breaking for what happened in Cambodia today,” said Farrow, who is on the advisory committee for the Dream For Darfur campaign. “The Chinese government was trying to prevent us from commemorating the genocide in Cambodia, and denying survivors the chance to show solidarity with the people in Darfur.”

The United Nations is currently trying to deploy a peacekeeping force in Darfur, where international experts say 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million driven from their homes during fighting between Sudan’s government and Darfur rebels. China is a major investor in Sudan’s oil industry, and has been accused by lobby groups of breaching international rules and encouraging bloodshed by selling Sudan weapons that have been diverted to Darfur.

“I grieve every day about what is happening now,” said Darfur refugee Omer Ismail, part of the group in Cambodia for the rally. “As we gather here, [there continue] the attacks, the rapes, the systematic murder of innocent men, women, and children.”

The Cambodian government has threatened Farrow and her supporters with deportation and other unspecified “consequences”.

In other news relating to Darfur, George Clooney has been named as a United Nations Messenger of Peace by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Clooney is the ninth UN Messenger, and joins Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Muhammad Ali, and Vijay Amritraj in helping to expand understanding of how the ideals and objectives of the UN demand everyone’s attention.

UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said Clooney had been “recognized for focusing attention on crucial international political and social issues”, especially in Darfur. Along with fellow actors Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt, Clooney, 46, has used his celebrity status to raise public awareness and money for refugees through their Not On Our Watch initiative.

Clooney is currently visiting the Sudan, and will receive his designation on January 31 at UN headquarters.

Celebrities Offer Support To Darfur

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:29:43 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Sudanese region of Darfur is benefiting from several new initiatives this month, all designed to raise awareness and money for the war-torn area. And the biggest effort comes from an independent record label that has waded into the music industry to put its money where its mouth is.

Waxploitation, established in 1997 by Jeff Antebi, is a label for innovative artists that has broken with the tradition of managing “producer/engineers” and instead manages artists as record producers – a huge difference in the industry, and one that has led to a huge shift in industry interests.

But not only are they challenging the way record companies operate, Waxploitation is leading the way with programs to fight poverty and hunger, especially in war-affected Sudan. The label has just released a compilation CD, featuring a host of artists who have donated songs to the effort, which has debuted at number 32 on the iTunes chart and almost sold out its first physical CD printing.

“Causes 1:Darfur” includes songs by The Cure, Travis, Death Cab For Cutie, and Spoon, with all proceeds going to three non-profit organizations: Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam America.

“This level of attention is not something we were expecting, given how grassroots our marketing efforts have been,” said Jeff Antebi. “But it shows the strength of the fans and artists who participated and the enormous desire to help Darfur. It’s quite telling that on iTunes people have chosen to buy the album, instead of cherry-picking individual songs. That says people are aware of how important the donation is.”

“Causes 1:Darfur” follows the label’s first charity release, “Genocide In Sudan”, and is available from www.waxploitation.com and iTunes for only 90 days to highlight the urgency of the situation.

The label has also hit the news this week by launching its fourth Darfur Benefit Auction, a massive online event that aims to raise money for the 2 million people forced to flee their homes in the wake of conflict in the region.

The auction, which can be viewed on www.ebay.com/causesauction, features a huge range of unique and collectible items, many of them personally signed by celebrities such as Kanye West, Coldplay, Macy Gray, and Gnarls Barkley. Norah Jones, Avril Lavigne, and Nickleback have all signed guitars for the auction, and other items have been donated by Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, Nokia, and Adidas.

Also joining the fight for Darfur this month is Golden Globe winning actress, Mia Farrow. The 62-year-old has launched Fund4Darfur in association with the Aegis Trust, the UK’s leading genocide prevention organization.

“I have visited Darfur seven times since 2004,” said Farrow on the Fund’s new website. “In these visits, I have seen the suffering that the people of Darfur endure. I believe strongly we should work together to give dignity and hope to survivors and enable Aegis to continue its work against genocide.”

Singer Annie Lennox has also lent her support to the initiative, and has donated a track from her new album to be used to promote the Fund.

Fund4Darfur will directly support survivors of Darfur’s ethnic cleansing, and one third of the money raised will be used to fund campaigning for the protection of Darfur’s threatened African population. Donations can be made at www.fund4darfur.org.

Look To The Stars News: Mia Farrow

Mia Farrow Visits Storm-Ravaged Haiti

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