A new kind of fauna has appeared on the vast, sun-burned expanses of Africa: Celebrities.
The baby born in Namibia to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt probably put that south African desert nation on the map for many of her parents’ fans. And possibly for other celebs as well: on Friday, a government official there was quoted as saying that Britney Spears is considering a Namibian birth for her next baby (which the pop singer’s rep denied later in the day).
George Clooney’s recent trip to the conflict-wracked Darfur region got more media attention than the millions of refugees who continue to be harassed, raped and killed there.
When actor Matt Dillon tried to visit Darfur, the Sudanese government denied him a visa, perhaps weary of the celebrity limelight. The government denies accusations it unleashed a genocide by backing counterinsurgency militiamen known as janjaweed, who are blamed for most of the atrocities in Darfur’s three-year conflict that has left more than 180,000 people dead.
“If celebrities can attract some attention by coming here, all the better,” said actress Mia Farrow, a United Nations Children’s Fund goodwill ambassador who this week was on her second trip to Darfur.
“If I thought it was useless or self-serving to come, I certainly wouldn’t be here,” said Farrow, who toured humanitarian projects and met with local leaders during her four-day stay.
Nothing new
Celebrity activism — from protesting the Vietnam war to rallying opposition to gun control — certainly isn’t new. Bob Geldof 1985’s Live Aid concert may have been a high point for stars and Africa, but recent events show interest is still strong.
Some celebrities come for professional reasons, then find their charitable impulses stirred by what they see on the world’s poorest continent. After filming on location, the cast and crew of “The Constant Gardener,” a thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz involving corruption in Africa, set up a charity to try to improve conditions in Kenyan slums.
Jolie has traveled to Africa frequently as an actress and as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. But her recent trip was purely personal — she and Pitt retreated to Namibia for private family time for the birth of their daughter. The Namibian government was more than accommodating, telling journalists seeking visas to cover the celebrity birth that they needed permission from Pitt and Jolie in writing before they could be allowed into the country.
The government arrested photographers, confiscated film, set up large barriers on the beach to shield the couple and ringed their hotel with heavy security.
After Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born May 27 in a private Namibian clinic, her parents donated $300,000 to Namibian government-run hospitals to help other babies in the impoverished country.
In Sudan, Farrow said she had been involved in helping developing world children for several decades.
“By reaching out to others, I’ve found a life that is meaningful,” she said.
She described how her own privileged childhood in Beverly Hills as the daughter of film director John Farrow and movie star Maureen O’Sullivan was interrupted when she caught polio at the age of nine.
“It gave me some perspective and made me discover the other world, of pain, and fear,” she said.
After her first marriage to singer Frank Sinatra, she began adopting children from poor countries, beginning in 1973 with an orphan from the Vietnam War. Farrow, who had three sons with her second husband, musician Andre Previn, and one with film director Woody Allen, is the mother of 14.
“These children were the first significant commitment I made to others,” said the actress, who also became active in the campaign against polio and in a charity headed by Nelson Mandela before becoming a Unicef ambassador 10 years ago.
While visiting Angola with Unicef after the war there in 2002, she caught malaria and nearly became deaf because of subsequent treatment.
Reckless or responsible?
She brought her 17-year-old son, Ronan, along to Sudan. He recently underwent a knee operation and hobbled by her side on crutches as the pair visited several volatile refugee camps.
“I don’t think I’m reckless, and I hope I’m a responsible mother,” she said, acknowledging that she knew there were some dangers to traveling through Darfur.
“There are certain risks worth taking, and there are certain inactions that are inexcusable,” she said. “You’ve got to stand with what you believe in.”
Farrow recalled one woman in Darfur telling of witnessing janjaweed militia killing her husband and two of her children, and then turning on her.
“She couldn’t even remember how many times they raped her,” Farrow said, clutching a necklace of amulets the woman gave her, telling her they would keep her safe.
“I was speechless, I had nothing to give back to ensure her own safety,” Farrow said. She said she could only promise to tell her story to the world, hoping such accounts would force the world to take action. She said she would plead for the international community to hasten the arrival of U.N. peacekeepers here.
“Her story is sacred,” Farrow said.
“I just wish I could be more famous, or more powerful, so that my voice would carry further when I speak about Darfur,” she said.