Photo: Instagram.com/hendsabri
After 13 years of working together, actor Hend Sabri has decided to resign from her post of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) goodwill ambassador.
The Tunisian star shared the news on her official Instagram page mere hours ago, stating that she plans to continue humanitarian work “in other and different formats”. “I write this with a heavy heart and deep sadness,” Sabri wrote, “As I have decided to renounce my role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program, a role I have cherished and played for years. I have learned a lot… And I cried a lot with all of you along this journey that will always be in my heart.”
In her Instagram announcement, Sabri took her fans on a quick walk down memory lane, sharing her experiences with the WFP, saying, ” Thirteen years ago, I became part of the big family of the United Nations World Food Program. Part of great and noble mission. And I’m proud of it. I’ve seen throughout the years how brave men and women around the world dedicate their lives to serving others — and for that, I have deep love and respect for them.”
In her letter, Sabri then touched upon her reason for stepping down from her role as goodwill ambassador: the ongoing hunger in Gaza. “Over the past weeks, I have witnessed and shared the experiences of my dedicated colleagues at the World Food Program. Feeling helpless for their inability to fully fulfill their duty as always towards children, mothers, fathers and grandparents in Gaza,” the actor wrote. “I have tried to make a voice at the highest level on the World Food Program and join my colleagues in demanding to use the weight of the program – as it has successfully done before, to advocate and press strongly for an end to humanitarian and immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to use the program’s influence to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war… Because I was certain that the World Food Program — which received the Nobel Peace Prize just 3 years ago — having been an active participant in UN Resolution 2417 which condemned the use of hunger as a means of war — would use its voice as forcefully as it did in emergencies and multiple humanitarian crises.”
Having not witnessed an improvement in conditions over the past weeks, however, Hend Sabri chose to step away from the role, hoping for a brighter future. “I declare my resignation and wish all my colleagues at the World Food Program safety and peace. I’m sure I’m not giving up my humanitarian and social role, but I’ll do it in other and different formats,” she signed off.
Sabri’s announcement comes just days after Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser stepped away from her position as the goodwill ambassador for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) after close to 20 years of working together. The Qatari royal’s decision came after Sheikha Moza observed that UNESCO had failed to execute the job of rescuing and providing aid and relief to the suffering children of Gaza amid the current humanitarian crisis. “When I accepted then Director General Mr Koichiro Matsuura’s invitation to become a UNESCO Special Envoy for Basic and Higher education, I held great respect for the organization,” Her Highness revealed publicly. “I was profoundly hopeful that together we could change the field of education and protect it. But I was disappointed in the silence from UNESCO while students are targeted, and schools destroyed in Gaza, which does not align with UNESCO and its mandate on any level.”
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