The world has a ‘responsibility to protect’ the citizens of Darfur, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow told a crowd of 70 people at Harvard University’s JFK Jr. Forum Monday night.’
Farrow, who has appeared in more than 40 films including ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2000. She said there should be an increased pressure on world leaders to condemn the Sudanese government for their actions in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, where up to 300,000 people have been killed since 2003, according to the Associated Press.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges on March 4. In response, the Sudanese government expelled 13 international aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF. Monday, al-Bashir said he wants all international aid groups to leave within the next year, according to the Associated Press.
‘We are failing the people of Darfur, even as we are failing our essential selves,’ Farrow said. ‘There should be a human cry from everyone for the expulsion of these people.’
Farrow showed photos she had taken of the suffering in Darfur during a recent four- week-long trip to the borders of Sudan.
‘This is a baby dying,’ Farrow described. ‘Its mother could not feed her child after her breasts were torn when she was raped.’
A terrified face of a child whose village was attacked took up the screen next.’
‘You don’t see this expression at McDonald’s,’ Farrow said. Sixty villages were attacked while Farrow was in Darfur, and now most villages in Darfur are in ashes, she said.
Farrow said she is collecting artifacts and observing the culture of the Sudanese people in order to preserve their history. Farrow said she does not want their culture to disappear in the same ways its people are disappearing.
To save the people of Darfur, the U.S. needs to work closely with other countries, such as China, Egypt and France, which have leverage in Sudan, Farrow said.
United States officials need to set an example for the rest of the world and enact policy to promote a humanitarian solution in Darfur, she said. President Barack Obama, who has not yet appointed an envoy to Sudan, should do so soon, but military intervention should remain a ‘last resort,’ she said.
Farrow said she and her son Ronan set up 1-800-GENOCIDE, a hotline that puts the caller in touch with elected U.S. officials in order to pressure them into becoming involved in the Darfur cause.
Harvard junior Trevor Bakker, a member of the Harvard Darfur Action Group, said those concerned about the situation in Darfur should make their voices heard at a rally this Wednesday at Boston City Hall.
‘It doesn’t make sense to talk about the U.S. in the abstract,’ Bakker said. ‘We have to talk about actions we can take as citizens.’
Harvard sophomore Jacky Kwong, also a member of the Harvard Darfur Action Group, said most people seem unwilling to take action, but Farrow’s presentation made the issue seem imperative.’
‘It captures the urgency about the situation,’ Kwong said.
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