Socially conscious Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney turned 58 on 6 May. While his work in the entertainment industry is well known and acknowledged, his humanitarian work is less prominent. With wife Amal Clooney, George Clooney has been part of many developmental projects and has donated his profits regularly to conflict-ridden areas.
On his birthday, we decided to understand woke Clooney’s humanitarian work.
Darfur Genocide
Along with his Ocean’s 11 co-stars Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, and producer Jerry Weintraub, George Clooney co-founded Not On Our Watch, whose goal was to aid victims of the Darfur genocide in Sudan.
According to Inside Philanthropy, the organisation 'contributes significant funds towards lifesaving, humanitarian, and emergency programs in the Darfur region.'
Apart from work in Darfur, the organisation also operates in Burma and Zimbabwe. Work in Zimbabwe has included supporting UNICEF in its child protection and welfare services efforts for Zimbabwean refugee children.
Poverty
Clooney has also supported the ONE Campaign, dedicated to fighting poverty in Africa. Another outfit Clooney has supported in this area is Realizing the Dream, a nonprofit founded by by Martin Luther King III, which aims to 'champion freedom, justice, and equality by working to eliminate poverty, build community and foster peace through nonviolence.’
Clooney Foundation for Justice
In 2016, Amal and George Clooney co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, CFJ. It focuses primarily on Syrian refugees.
Their most significant aid is a program they are designing for out-of-school Syrian refugee kids. The program will help these kids go back to school. CFJ has also sponsored the resettlement of Syrian and Yazidi refugees in the United States and plans to continue to offer support and assistance.
LGBTQ Rights
In April 2019, the Sultan of Brunei imposed a strict set of Sharia laws under which homosexuality would be punishable by death. This resulted in international backlash led by George Clooney, who in an open letter, called for a boycott of hotels owned by the Sultan, including the Dorchester in London and The Beverly-Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, which are frequented by celebrities.
Following the global furore, in early May, the Sultan extended a moratorium on the death penalty that would have permitted stoning for those convicted of engaging in gay sexual acts.
Even in the ongoing #MeToo campaign, Clooney was one of the first few Hollywood actors who said anything sensible about the issue and believed it to be a ‘watershed moment’ for women’s safety.
What we hope is this is a watershed moment for society where women feel safe enough to talk about this issue, feel believed and where men who are committing these crimes [and] violations don’t feel safe and feel as if they do these things they’re going to be outed, sued and may even get litigated and go to jail for it.George Clooney
As he turns 58, we hope that George Clooney keeps his humanitarian work going and work closely with his wife, Amal Clooney, who is doing ground-breaking work for women and society.
Wish you a wholesome year ahead, George Clooney!
(This story is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 5 May 2018. It is being republished to mark George Clooney’s 58th birthday.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)