George Clooney Credits Christian Aid in Sudan, Tells of Unlikely Alliance with Pat Robertson
by Mark Ellis, Faith Issues
Hollywood actor George Clooney put his body on the line for Sudan when he was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington March 16th.
In recent statements he also credited the efforts of Christian aid groups to provide humanitarian aid and relief to those suffering what he described as “war crimes.”
On March 14th, Clooney testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee stating the Sudanese government was killing its people and blocking aid to the Nuba mountains and other areas. He described in vivid detail his visit this month to southern Sudan, where he saw hundreds of victims who sought shelter in caves from Sudanese bombings.
Clooney told CBN News prior to his arrest that Christian ministries play a significant role in providing humanitarian aid.
“They lead the work a lot of times here,” he said. “When we were at the Darfur rally it was ministers. It was a lot of people of faith that had been working very hard on this.”
“So in some ways I’m trying to honor whatever part I can in the hard work that they do because I’m a big fan of all of the work that’s being done,” he added. “And people really put their hearts and souls in it.”
Surprisingly, Clooney also mentioned his unlikely alliance with Pat Robertson in his efforts against the Sudanese government.
“When Bono was doing his ‘One’ campaign, that’s when I met Pat Robertson. I said to Bono, ‘Who do you have from sort of the Christian world?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t know.’ And I said, ‘What about Pat Robertson?’” he said.
“So I called him (Robertson) up, and I said, ‘Listen, we’re not going to agree on too many things, but there’s no two sides to this issue, and you and I can work together on this. And he said great. And he’s been terrific on this,” Clooney noted.
For many years, Clooney has been spotlighting the plight of the people of the Darfur region. In 2006 he spoke at a rally in Washington, DC, and made a TV special called A Journey to Darfur.
In 2007 he urged the European Union to take “decisive action” in the region, since Sudan had ignored UN resolutions. Clooney was involved in two additional documentaries about the abuses in the area.
In 2008 Clooney spoke to the UN Security Council about the conflict. He even traveled to Egypt and China to lobby their governments to pressure Sudanregarding its human rights violations. In 2011 he co-wrote op-eds to prominent newspapers that urged diplomatic isolation of the Sudanese regime, freezing bank accounts and halting transactions involving oil wealth diverted by government officials.
