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On this Cinco de Mayo holiday(?), I came across an article that is chronicling the hunger strike that Mia Farrow is undergoing to raise awareness of the plight of the refugees in Darfur. I thought it was interesting juxtapose of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations of food and drink in excess. I am by no means condemning the celebration, but I was merely reminded to keep things in perspective.
In case you've missed it, Mia Farrow the actress and activist in undergoing a 3 week hunger strike to raise awareness of the 2.7 million refugees in Darfur. The Sudanese president last month reportedly banished 16 humanitarian aid groups who were seeking only to bring nourishment and medical aids to the refugees. It is reported that over 300,000 refugees have died in Darfur since 2003. Mia is hoping to bring awareness and to support the agencies that are trying to care for the refugees. As of today Mia is in her 9th day of the hunger strike, in which she is only consuming water. She is chronicling the fast on YouTube.
It is always interesting to me when ex-stars take up causes, for better or worse. I applaud celebrities for using their popularity and image for causes greater than themselves, even if they tend to turn some people away. In Mia's case, I applaud her and hope that she is able to have some positive effect in getting aid back into Darfur, and can say that her message reached my ears, though I don't plan to join her hunger strike. I am reminded of the "Refugee Project" in Seattle that I was lucky to experience and see first hand how difficult the process is for refugees to make it out of their situations, and how sad the situation is. I don't know how effective raising awareness can be to the terrible situation, though I will at least pass this on and hope for the best. She has joined with the group "Darfur Fast fro Life," so if you are interested to know more about this group I will link to them as well.