Hollywood actor and director Ben Affleck recently traveled to Washington, D.C. with former presidential candidate John McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, to speak in front of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa about the country of Congo. The country is located in central Africa, and though its land is rich in valuable minerals, corruption, long running civil war and lawlessness has caused Congo to become one of the worst places in the world — rife with rape, murder and human trafficking.
The star of such movies as Chasing Amy, Paycheck, Daredevil and most recently, The Town, has been involved with Congo since 2005. Said Affleck to CNN on the region, “The more I traveled, the more I was struck about [Congo], the more I fell in love with the people, the more I was horrified by what was happening. And the more I did, I started to develop this idea of partnering with the Congolese people and wanting to empower community-based organizations there that were doing extraordinary work.”
In 2010 Affleck founded the Eastern Congo Initiative, a US-based advocacy organization for the people of Eastern Congo, and dedicated himself to bring awareness and change for the Congolese people.
On Tuesday, March 8, Affleck and McCain testified in front of Congress about all that he had learned and seen about Congo. The actor, who is married to Jennifer Garner and is a father of two, lobbied Congress to help protect the Congolese people and help to ensure that the November elections to be held within the country will be free of voter fraud and violence.
“This is an ambitious agenda, but it can be accomplished,” Affleck said. “The federal budget may be seen as a zero sum game but our morality, our sense of decency, our compassion for our fellow human beings, is not.”
“The United States government can and should play an active role in ensuring this November’s elections [in Congo] are free and fair,” the actor stated. “The last time Congo collapsed, armies came in from across Africa…Five million people died…We must learn from history and do our part to make sure this never happens again.”
“This is an ambitious agenda, but it can be accomplished,” Affleck said. “Come November, we must be able to look ourselves in the eye and say we did what our principals demanded—we helped democracy emerge in a place where tragedy was the alternative.”
McCain, who has traveled with Affleck to see the ravaged country of Congo added, “We are going to lose a generation of women and children in Congo unless we do something now. I am only a humanitarian relief worker. That’s the only thing I’ve ever done and that’s the only thing I know with regards to this region, but I only know what’s right. We can’t leave behind these women and children.”
All of here are proud of Ben Affleck’s hard work lobbying for the end of human rights violations in Congo, and wish the movie star nothing but the best in seeking support for the war-torn country. To learn more about his organization the Eastern Congo Initiative, please visit www.easterncongo.org
And be sure to check back for more of the latest celebrity news and features from Richard Munassi right here at Positively Celebrity!
Read Also
Tweet
