Hollywood star George Clooney has called upon the US government and the international community to return their attention to the ongoing conflict in Darfur.
The actor and activist, 53, teamed up with John Prendergast and Sudan policy analyst Akshaya Kumar from the Enough Project, a nonprofit that works to end genocideand crimes against humanity, to author an opinion piece for the New York Times that details the escalating violence imposed by army officials onto Sudanese civilians, reported People magazine.
“Mass atrocities continue to occur in Darfur with no external witness,” Clooney and his co-authors penned in the piece, which runs Thursday in the NYT print edition, noting that the Sudanese government has continuously blocked the access of journalists, humanitarian workers and peacekeeping missions.
“Any window into life there is limited,” they wrote.
The trio also mention travelling to the country and hearing firsthand about sexual violence at refugee camps. “During our own visits to Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and refugee camps in neighbouring countries, we have heard story after story like those from Tabit,” they wrote.
The article continued, “These ‘torture rapes’ are just one tool in Sudan’s criminal arsenal, which also includes aerial bombing of hospitals and agricultural fields, burning of villages and the denial of food aid.”
The Tomorrowland actor has been a longtime activist against the violence in Sudan. He was arrested in 2012 for participating in a staged protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, DC, and contracted Malaria during a 2011 trip to Africa, where he pushed for more diplomacy to end genocide.
Clooney’s wife Amal also boasts a professional resume full of social activism.
