Richard Branson

Said Branson,  “I have been asked by Mia to take over the fast starting next week, but I have also now asked Mia to stop and I am starting my three day fast today to continue to ask world leaders to take immediate action and demand that international aid is restored.”

“I’m honoured to be taking over the fast for the next three days from Mia Farrow in her courageous stance to support the people of Darfur.  Over a year and a half ago, I travelled to Darfur and was horrified by the stories that people of all ages shared with us. Young children had watched their entire family get killed and then had to survive on their own in unimaginable conditions. I was humbled and inspired by the courage of the Darfuri people and the commitment of the aid organisations that were working on the frontlines. Now, with 13 aid organisations expelled from the country, over 1m people are at grave risk. We cannot stand and watch as 1m people suffer. We all need to stand up and demand that international aid is restored and that the people of Darfur are protected and given the chance to live in peace.

“Please join us and get involved in supporting the people of Darfur by going to www.fastdarfur.org and taking action.”

Great work, Richard — and our best to Mia too as she recovers from this latest inspiring effort.

“Strangely I am feeling fine. I realize we don’t need to eat every day. And we certainly don’t need 3 meals a day,” but that has changed overnight. She also stated that boredom has been a bigger problem for her than hunger: “I feel so well that I’m bored. I can’t really go out. I was told not to do (go up) the stairs (but I do anyway).”

-Mia Farrow on day 11 of her 21-day fast to help raise awareness about the starving refugees in the Sudan. Earlier this week Ecorazzi featured a clip from Farrow’s video blog. Do you think she can last 10 more days? Chime in and share your thoughts!

Mia Farrow is taking things to the next level — and perhaps a little too far — with a planned hunger strike next week as an “act of solidarity with the people of Darfur.” I only question the move because she’s 64-years-old — and a hunger strike can put your body through some serious hell. I like Mia — and would prefer she continue the good fight in someway that doesn’t jeopardize her health, but she’s obviously made up her mind. From the article,

The 64-year-old actress and humanitarian says she will begin a “fast of only water” on Monday “as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease.”

Farrow was moved to begin the hunger strike after the Sudanese government expelled international aid agencies from the country last month. Farrow says she is calling on world leaders to “help build a credible peace process” to end the violence in Darfur. Her protest is part of Genocide Prevention Month, a campaign to stop genocide worldwide.

We wish Mia luck in bringing attention to the crisis in Darfur. We’d also like to point her towards this article: How To Go On A Hunger Strike Safely.

Photo credit: PR Photos

As Ecorazzi previously reported, stars like Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean have come out in a big way to help victims of the recent storms in Haiti that killed at least 425 people, destroyed thousands of homes and razed 60 percent of the island’s agriculture.

Mia Farrow, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, is the latest celeb to get involved and help raise awareness for the impoverished nation. On Sunday, Farrow spent some quality time with storm victims at a cathedral in Haiti and spoke with the press about what she witnessed.

Mia told the AFP, “I saw a city mostly submerged in deep mud (and) people still stranded on roof tops. 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.”

The United Nations has distributed food and water to some 240,000 people, but raised only 2 percent of its US$108 million aid goal. If you’d like to be as totally rad as Mia, visit Wyclef’s Yele Haiti  and learn how you can get involved!

After writing personal letters and making impassioned pleas to the Chinese government to help stem the worsening crisis in China, director Steven Spielberg has decided to withdraw as the artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Spielberg said of his decision:

“I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. Sudan’s government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more.

Actress Mia Farrow was particularly pleased that Spielberg decided to back out. “I’m delighted by his decision and it’s a desperate time for Darfur so this is a shred of good news in a very bleak week. Through his participation with the games it was clear that he was giving his moral cover to Beijing at a time when they’re underwriting genocide in Darfur. So I hoped that he would discontinue his participation with the games.”

China currently receives two-thirds of its oil from the Sudan. As of 2006, more than 2.5 million people have been displaced and over 200,000 killed in the conflict. To get more involved with the relief efforts in Darfur, visit Dreams For Darfur or DarfurGenocide.org.

This weekend, dozens of Cambodian police denied Mia Farrow and the members of Dream for Darfur-an American advocacy group- access to a Tuol Sleng prison, the Khmer Rouge’s main torture centre during its genocidal rule in the 1970’s.

Farrow and the group had planned to light an Olympic-size torch as a form of protest to pressure China into using their influence to help end the genocide in Darfur. They also planned on delivering a handful of white lotus flowers, a traditional Cambodian offering, in remembrance for the victims of all past and current genocides. Farrow was stopped by the guards, and eventually backed down and left peacefully. She released this statement: “”My heart – our hearts – are breaking for what happened in Cambodia today, especially for the survivors of all genocide.”

What’s crazy is that although I know at this very moment genocide is happening in Darfur, it so rarely ever affects my life. I mean, I think about what I’m going to eat for lunch (lemon-pepper tofu and carrots) way more than I think about Darfur-and that totally sucks. So Mia, while you may not have made it past the barricade, you’ve convinced this boy to  think less about possible meal options, and take some time out everyday to reflect on the horrors of this wasteful genocide. Hopefully, this article will do the same for some of our readers!  

To get more involved with the relief efforts in Darfur, visit Dreams For Darfur or DarfurGenocide.org.

photo credit: associated press