Dear Mia:
I trust, Mia, that by now you’ve fully recovered from your fast for Darfur. It was noble of you, though a bit naïve, I have to say.
Africa is one of my passions, Mia, so I’m not belittling your intention, and I know you’re intelligent enough to know that the complexities of Darfur cannot be easily resolved. However, I thought it was a big mistake. Your lack of public support from prominent African Americans, and celebrities in general, didn’t help.
I remembered reading some time ago that Dubai construction companies had big plans for Khartoum. The story came back to me before your fast. It was when I saw the Hollywood brothel moving en masse to Dubai late last year for the opening of the latest vulgarium, the Atlantis.
The Sudan connection didn’t make much of an impression on Hollywood then, Mia, neither did the woes of those wretched Indo-Pak labourers. Even more tellingly, that hotel is operated by Sol Kerzner, possibly not a name familiar to you but he is the chap who ran Sun City -- that "entertainment" venue in a black "homeland" that white South Africans frequented for a hint of vice.
I suppose it would inconvenience the reputations of some if I point out that during the Apartheid era that was where many African Americans went for 30 pieces of silver to entertain Nelson Mandela’s captors. The history of celebrity activism wilts under scrutiny!
Now I know you were fasting about the exclusion of aid organisations from Sudan, but to most people in the Arab world western weeping over Darfur after the carnage of Iraq is rich to say the least. There is also quite a lot of anti-China sentiment in the Darfur protest camp, which confuses the issues and allows China and the Arabs to use U.S. foreign policy as a precedent.
When I consider that George Bush is enjoying his retirement in Texas and Tony Blair is traipsing around the lecture circuit filling his voluminous pockets, I understand fully why we are loathed by people who deride our hypocrisy. When Omar al-Bashir was in Doha -- with an arrest warrant over his head -- did we really expect the Arabs to hand him over while George and Tony enjoy their Liberty?
Mia, I know you have been involved with child welfare for a long time. I believe your sincerity, but I also expect you to have gained some experience and insight as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In the Arab world "face" goes a long way, and you could have, should have, opted for a different approach.
In some ways, Mia, your acting has never received the acclaim it deserves. Your performances in "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Alice" are for the ages. Everyone is aware that Gulf States are jockeying for prominence, and media is one of the areas that they are keen to see prosper. You could have exploited that for Darfur.
You should have, for example, gotten a group of prominent Hollywood women to visit the area.
