Sacha Baron Cohen may be gifted at making it awkward, but he knows when it’s time to get serious. Politicians will continue to argue over how to solve the issue while entertainers like George R.R. Martin weigh in. We’ve also heard the heart-crushing plights of the refugees themselves while the crisis persists. Now the eternally funny man and his wife, Isla Fisher, have dropped a massive donation to help ease the Syrian refugee crisis.
Cohen stepped forward with wallet in hand to deliver more than rhetoric. On Sunday, two charities announced that Cohen dropped $1 million dollars to help child refugees in northern Syria. The amount will be split between Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, which will use the money to provide shelter and immunizations:
Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, said the money would “save many thousands of lives and protect some of the most vulnerable children. By allowing us to make their generous donation to Syrian children public, Sacha and Isla are helping highlight the tragedy of the issue today,” he added.
One million dollars may only scrape the surface of the Syrian refugee crisis (as over 4.3 million refugees have fled their homes), but Cohen has gone much further than those who will only address the crisis with words. President of the IRC (and ex-British foreign secretary) David Miliband thanked Cohen and Fisher for their “great expression of humanity.”
See? Comedians do have hearts.
(Via Yahoo!)