Syrian child advocate walks star-studded red carpet at event

Ishmael Beah, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, Millie Bobby Brown, Jackie Chan, Priyanka Chopra, Angelique Kidjo and Femi Kuti attended UNICEF’s 70th anniversary event at United Nations headquarters in New York City on Monday. But the star of the show was child refugee Mustafa Al-Said, who walked the red carpet with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Bloom and Bobby Brown.
Bloom conducted an onstage discussion with Al-Said, who fled conflict in his native Syria and now lives in Germany as a child refugee advocate. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ishmael Beah spoke about his experience as a child soldier in Sierra Leone and his work advocating against the recruitment of children into armed groups.
The event co-hosted by 12-year-old Bobby Brown featured children and young people who have benefited directly from UNICEF’s efforts. Actress and girls’ rights advocate Priyanka Chopra’s appointment as UNICEF’s newest global Goodwill Ambassador was announced at the event.
“My involvement with UNICEF began almost 10 years ago in India. Today, I stand here humbled, enriched and committed, because of it. Thank you, UNICEF, for the amazing journey so far as well as this huge honor,” said Chopra. “I have been on many field trips to villages and centers across India. On those trips, I spent time with numerous young girls and their families and experienced firsthand the transformative power of empowering young girls with opportunities that are rightfully theirs.”
The program also featured Juan Carlos, a 27-year-old lawyer from El Salvador, who recalled how UNICEF helped him after he lost his limbs when he stepped on a buried land mine at the age of five years old.
The Empire State Building in New York marked UNICEF’s 70th anniversary by lighting the tower UNICEF-blue. The lights were switched on by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham.

Source: Arab News