Mia Farrow Makes Plea For Darfur Aid

WASHINGTON (July 3, 2006) — Mia Farrow, who recently returned from her second trip to Darfur, says more international aid is desperately needed in the western Sudan province.

The actress and U.N. Children’s Fund goodwill ambassador told ABC’s “This Week” that in Darfur alone, UNICEF has only 20 percent of what it needs to continue its work.

“And that’s really why I’m here, to tell people I’ve seen firsthand that UNICEF and other aid agencies are all that there is right now to sustain these lives, keeping people alive,” Farrow said on the show, which aired Sunday.

The conflict in Darfur has left more than 180,000 people dead, driven 2 million from their homes and undermined stability in neighboring Chad and Central African Republic.

It began in early 2003 when members of ethnic African tribes rose in revolt against the Khartoum government. Sudan’s government is accused of responding by unleashing Arab militias known as the janjaweed, which have been blamed for the worst atrocities.

“Tell your leadership, you know, OK, there may not be oil in Darfur, but there are human lives, 6 million human lives, and we care about them,” Farrow said. “We are a family. We are a human family. And when one member is suffering, we all suffer.”