Africa hot destination for committed celebrities

updated 11:35 a.m. ET June 19, 2006

EL FASHER, Sudan - A new kind of fauna has appeared on the vast, sun-burned expanses of Africa: Celebrities.

The baby born in Namibia to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt probably put that south African desert nation on the map for many of her parents’ fans. And possibly for other celebs as well: on Friday, a government official there was quoted as saying that Britney Spears is considering a Namibian birth for her next baby (which the pop singer’s rep denied later in the day).

George Clooney’s recent trip to the conflict-wracked Darfur region got more media attention than the millions of refugees who continue to be harassed, raped and killed there.

When actor Matt Dillon tried to visit Darfur, the Sudanese government denied him a visa, perhaps weary of the celebrity limelight. The government denies accusations it unleashed a genocide by backing counterinsurgency militiamen known as janjaweed, who are blamed for most of the atrocities in Darfur’s three-year conflict that has left more than 180,000 people dead.

“If celebrities can attract some attention by coming here, all the better,” said actress Mia Farrow, a United Nations Children’s Fund goodwill ambassador who this week was on her second trip to Darfur.

“If I thought it was useless or self-serving to come, I certainly wouldn’t be here,” said Farrow, who toured humanitarian projects and met with local leaders during her four-day stay.

Nothing new
Celebrity activism — from protesting the Vietnam war to rallying opposition to gun control — certainly isn’t new. Bob Geldof 1985’s Live Aid concert may have been a high point for stars and Africa, but recent events show interest is still strong.

Some celebrities come for professional reasons, then find their charitable impulses stirred by what they see on the world’s poorest continent. After filming on location, the cast and crew of “The Constant Gardener,” a thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz involving corruption in Africa, set up a charity to try to improve conditions in Kenyan slums.

Jolie has traveled to Africa frequently as an actress and as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. But her recent trip was purely personal — she and Pitt retreated to Namibia for private family time for the birth of their daughter. The Namibian government was more than accommodating, telling journalists seeking visas to cover the celebrity birth that they needed permission from Pitt and Jolie in writing before they could be allowed into the country.

The government arrested photographers, confiscated film, set up large barriers on the beach to shield the couple and ringed their hotel with heavy security.

After Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt was born May 27 in a private Namibian clinic, her parents donated $300,000 to Namibian government-run hospitals to help other babies in the impoverished country.

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