Actress Mia Farrow ended her hunger strike 12 days after it began in an act to bring awareness to the genocide occurring in Sudan.
The actress cited “health concerns” as her reason for halting the fast, posting on her website "I have been instructed by my doctor to stop my fast immediately due to health concerns."
Farrow said her doctors advised that if she continued her hunger strike, she could develop seizures and other seriously medical conditions.
“And when I can no longer continue,” Farrow said when beginning the fast of only water, “I pray another will take my place, and another, until finally there is justice and peace for Darfur’s people.”
Entrepreneur Richard Branson is now taking over the strike, in attempts to create a celebrity chain of fasters to bring more publicity to the genocide in Darfur.
Branson said he is "honored to be taking over the fast for the next three days.”
"We all need to stand up and demand that international aid is restored and that the people of Darfur are protected and given the chance to live in peace," he said.
Brief History of the genocide in Darfur
• Sudan is located in central Africa and is one of the largest and most mineral rich countries on the continent.
• The genocide in Darfur is part of an ongoing struggle between the Islamic north of Sudan and the Christian, mineral-rich south.
• It is rooted in colonial favoritism of the South and the fight for profitable resources such as minerals and oil, the Sudanese government of the North, has participated in widespread killing of the Southern people.
• Launched by the Sudanese government, the genocide in Darfur has already claimed 400,000 lives and displaced millions of people. But the most insidious aspect of the genocide is the lack of action on behalf of international community.
• Now thousands are fleeing to the Chad border with anywhere from 30,000 to 4 million more refugees expected to follow
• Over the last month, the genocide in Darfur has grown exponentially dire. Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was indicted on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, 16 aid agencies were expelled from the region, and food, water, medicine, and shelter supplies have run out in the refugee camps. Already hundreds of thousands may
Fast is Over - May 08, 2009 from fastdarfur on Vimeo.