Where in the world was George Clooney?
Written by Michael Vass
I know that some people were curious about the non-appearance of George Clooney at the Oscar Awards on Sunday. And even more people are wondering about his appearance on the final episode of E.R. But far more important is the actual place he was at.
On Sunday, George Clooney delivered 250,000 postcards to President Obama from the Save Darfur organization. He then discussed his latest, and 6th, trip to the Darfur region.
It is in the Sudan where the genocide of Darfur has been taking place since 2003. Clooney, Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt and several other prominent celebrities and activists around the world have been trying to draw attention and help end the genocide for years, and I support that too.
The work of Save Darfur, the movie Darfur Now with Don Cheadle, and several other efforts have been mostly unheeded by the U.S. Government, including Congress. It is Congress that has been incapable of passing a single bill of legislation to place pressure on the Sudanese Government to end this slaughter of innocents. And that includes Democrats and Republicans alike.
But President Obama is supposed to be the President of change. He is supposed to be doing things differently in Washington. So I hope this meeting with George Clooney is the first step in a path where America does something to help end the death of children, women and men.
I think that the President cannot ask China to do anything, until the U.S. acts in a similar manner. Since 2004 the Congress has been unable to pass HR 180 IH, which would bar U.S. businesses from working with the Sudan – effectively helping to cut their funding for this genocide. To date over 400,000 are estimated to have been killed with 2.5 million, including children, refugees searching for safety from the fighting. If America will not stop funding such acts of vile murder, how can we expect China to do so?
But I am glad of this. At least Presaident Obama has listened to the plea. Even though he has never voted in favor of HR 180 IH while in Congress, and the fact he did not speak about Darfur on the campaign trail, this is a step in the right direction. But I hope he acts on it. Just as he promised in the media ignored, undiscussed trip to Chad
And I am glad that celebrities and entertainers like Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and so many more are actively doing something beyond lip-service for this cause. So I don’t mind he was not at the Oscar Awards, nor do I care about the end of ER. Some things are just more important.
