UNITED NATIONS — Actor Ben Stiller and supermodel Alek Wek are standing with refugees.
Stiller and Wek visited the U.N. General Assembly on Friday to present Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with a petition bearing over 1.3 million signatures, calling on governments to act with solidarity and shared responsibility for the world’s 21.3 million refugees.
“I’m honored to be here today to share the petition that people all over the world have signed showing support for refugees,” Stiller said.
“Every day war forces thousands of families to flee their homes. Families like yours, families like mine to escape violence and leave everything behind, everything except for hopes and dreams for a safer future. We believe all refugees deserve a right to protection and live in safety,” Stiller added, reading from the petition.
Wek, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Refugee Agency who herself was forced to flee her home in what is now South Sudan at age nine, said she wouldn’t be where she is today if not for the agency’s work.
“I know what it’s like to lose everything, to desperately search for safety and shelter to be separated from my family members. I also know the joy of being welcomed to a new community, to getting back into education, to being able to work and fulfill my potential and give back. This is why we’re here today to call for solutions for all refugees,” she said.
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