Actor George Clooney risked his
life to bring attention to the violence in Sudan and tells TODAY’s Ann
Curry that on his recent trip, he was nearly hit by a rocket that hit
less than a mile away and vows to expose war criminals.
MSNBC :
>>> back with george clooney 's mission to bring attention to the atrocities in the sudan . he traveled to the border region between sudan and south sudan where violence has been flaring up. he said he witnessed horrors first hand and got caught up in an attack. we sat down on tuesday hours after his return and i asked if this was his most dangerous trip to date.>> sure. i think you were just there. you would agree that it's gotten heated. so, yeah. it was hairy. there were moments that were dangerous.>> what made it dangerous?>> the randomness of the violence. people are getting killed and hurt all over. there were 39 people in the village we were in in the last month had been killed. 39. 514 injured. 39 killed in a village of 1,000 people. you know, that's just in one village.>> by?>> by bashir.>> the president of sudan .
>> three guys who were charged for war crimes in darfur are the exact same people bombing innocent people. they are living in caves because they are getting bombed. they are getting bombed every day. this is not a military exercise. these are innocent people. it is a war crime .>> what's your evidence? you went there with cameras?>> we went with cameras. we have evidence of that. we have certainly firsthand evidence.>> this was yesterday? [ speaking in a foreign language ]>> we showed up in one village. there were 150 people who came out and were cheering for us to come. clearly someone had told them we were coming. they probably had seen one of my films. and then all of the sudden, everyone just started running.>> we're going to go.>> move.>> a rocket just sailed over there. let's see if we can see what it hit. you can see the kids. take a look over here. this is everybody headed into the caves to hide.>> how close was the rocket to you?>> about a kilometer away, the first one. it was close enough to feel it. it was close enough to make you -- wake you up.>> at one point you walk up to an unexploded bomb.>> yeah.>> yesterday at 10:30 in the morning, 15 bombs hit this tiny village where everyone is hiding in the rocks. and this is an unexploded bomb. it's buried up to its neck in the dirt. that's what you do with unexploded bombs ?>> he kept putting the bushes on it. i'm like, it's okay. you can leave them there.>> you can stop moving the bushes and step back slowly.>> i believe we'll just leave that there. that was interesting. the interesting thing was watching the fear. this whole thing is about fear and intimidation. this is ethnic cleansing . it's that simple. by identity they want them to leave.>> how do you know it's ethnic cleansing ?>> they are only getting rid of people who are nonarab, period, that's it. at the end of the day what it all comes down to is creating space to get to the oil. at the end of the day , it's oil. south sudan has the oil and north sudan has the refineries. that's a problem.>> why do you risk your life? why care so much? this is your sixth trip to this region. why sudan ?>> once you get there and you see people that, left to their own devices, without being attacked have lived and survived and thrived in areas that are very difficult to do because they are survivors. but let's take it away from that for a second. the important thing is why everyone at home? why people in the united states ? let's take away the idea that we are the most generous nation in the world. let's take away all the facts that we care about people. let's go completely selfishly and talk about economics. right now, what is going on in the sudan changes the cost of your gas every single day of your life. if for no other reason than your economic interests, there is plenty of reason to make sure that your government is involved in trying to secure some form of peace.>> you have said, i would like indicted war criminals to enjoy the same level of celebrity as me. okay. make them famous.>> make them famous.>> omar al bashir , hussein, hahroun, taha. quite a few guys should be remembered like kony. i know that's become a big issue here. while we were on the road we found out about that.>> what do you think?>> i think it's great. the best takeaway is that if that means people across the country and across the world know the name of a war criminal , good. they should know the name of all the war criminals .>> some people watching this are going to wonder how they should square this passionate activist talking about global politics , the price of oil and sudan with the guy they see as an award-winning actor.>> not so much award winning recently.>> with a great sense of -- want to say more about that?>> i would like to talk about that.>> are you inspired by what you have seen?>> there is always inspiration in those kind of moments. you feel an enormous sense of responsibility. we are only successful as a human race by how we look out to the people who can't look out for themselves.>> on that point, george clooney will testify about what he has witnessed before the senate foreign relations committee today. he will visit the oval office for a meeting with president obama and the secretary of state hillary clinton . he's also planning to protest in front of the embassy on friday.
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