George Clooney is at it again — putting this life on the line to draw attention to unfolding humanitarian crisises. This time, he’s travelling in Southern Sudan ahead of a vote for the nation’s independence and, thus, a possible civil war. “If you knew a tsunami, or Katrina or a Haiti earthquake was coming, what would you do to save people?” Clooney asked.
The 49-year-old actor is travelling with “Today Show” host Ann Curry through a region rarely entered by foreigners, but increasingly focused on ahead of the January vote.
In 100 days, people here will vote on whether to secede from the rest of Sudan, and war, even genocide is predicted,” writes Curry on her blog. “Remember Sudan is where Darfur is, and now its same President Omar Al Bashir, who the International Criminal Court has indicted for genocide in Darfur, is expected to fight to keep South Sudan because it has more than 75 percent of the country’s oil.”
Curry goes on to call the region “one of the most desperate places on earth” — and says that violence in the last few weeks has forced many to flee the area they are headed to. For security reasons, she doesn’t go into too many more details. Clooney has so far visited a mass grave from 2008, slept in a hut with “frogs in the toilet…bugs the size of small countries on the beds” and traveled through the unstable border of North and South Sudan.
To follow their progress, check out Curry’s twitter feed here. We wish the entire team a safe journey as they bring awareness to an issue not many of us would have the courage to explore and report on.
About Michael dEstries
Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.View all posts by Michael dEstries →
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