Actors come together to support Syrian refugees

Actor Edward Norton ((Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A number of celebrities came together to help Syrian refugees after thousands of them started asking refuge in numerous countries. Edward Norton, known for his roles in Fight Club and Birdman, started a fundraiser on the website “CrowdRise”  to encourage people to donate money to support one of these refugees’ move to Michigan, and integration in the US.

“The Syrian Scientist” who lost his wife and daughter in a bombing and is fighting stomach cancer was featured on the famous “Humans of New York” facebook page, and his story garnered a lot of attention, including President Obama’s. Norton said he was moved to tears and inspired to step in and help after reading his story.

“I saw this story on one of my favorite sites, Humans of New York, and it moved me to tears. This man has suffered profound loss that would crush the spirit of many people and yet he still passionately wants a chance to contribute positively to the world,” Norton wrote on the website.

He continued: “Everything we raise here will go to help this family so that the father can get the medical treatment he needs to live and pursue his work, and his family can build a new stable life after their tragedy.” Nearly $400,000 has been raised through the efforts of Norton and Humans of New York facebook page.

Another actor putting in more effort in helping refugees is the British Benedict Cumberbatch, known for his Sherlock series, by showing his support by introducing a video documenting their suffering paired with Crowded House’s 1999 song, “Help is Coming,” intended to raise money for Syrian refugees.

Cumberbatch will take further action by using intermissions during “Hamlet,” in which he stars, to speak about the cause and raise additional funds for “Save the Children.” In the documentary, Cumberbatch recites lines from Kenya-born poet Warsan Shire’s “Home,”no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark,” followed by a commitment of assistance. “We see you. We hear you. Help is coming,”

Other actors have showed their support for refugees, Samantha Morton, who’ll star in the upcoming “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, has also been vocal on social media asking Britain’s prime minister to take some action to help refugees, while Angelina Jolie, in her continued humanitarian efforts, visited refugee families earlier this year for World Refugee Day with her daughter Shiloh.