Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher Donate $1 Million to Help Syrian Refugees

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher are showing support to Syrian refugees by making a hefty donation of $1 million. The Associated Foreign Press is reporting that the couple is splitting the amount between two charities. The first $500,000 will be donated to the organization Save the Children, which will provide vaccinations to children in Syria in order to help protect them against a measles outbreak. Another $500,000 will be given to the International Rescue Committee, which will assist refugees in Syria and nearby countries, particularly women and children. The donation will be used for health care, education, shelter and sanitation.

“The Syrian conflict is now approaching its fifth year and children are the first victims,” Save the Children’s chief executive, Justin Forsyth, said in a statement. “There is no safe place left in Syria, with shelling and violence omnipresent. Food and medicines have become scarce and basic necessities unaffordable.” Forsyth says the couple’s donation is “helping highlight the tragedy of the issue” and “will save many thousands of lives and protect some of the most vulnerable children.”

David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee also released a statement, saying, “Now is the time for all of us to double down on commitments to civilians caught up in the Syria conflict.” He called Cohen and Fisher’s donation a “great expression of humanity and a challenge to do more for the most vulnerable.”

The United Nations reports more than four million refugees have fled Syria for Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and North Africa. Celebrities such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Angelina Jolie and Edward Norton have shown support for Syrian refugees in recent months. Norton hosted a fundraiser to help a Syrian scientist who lost his family and is suffering from stomach cancer to move to the United States. Norton was able to help raise over $400,000 for the man, whose story was featured on Humans of New York.