ONE Campaign, an organization that fights poverty and disease in Africa, published a video with celebrities in complete silence to protest the world’s slow response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
The video, titled “Waiting,” features Morgan Freeman, Ben Affleck, Will Ferrell, and Matt Damon. Text appears between appearances, such as, “This is what waiting looks like,” and, “We can’t wait to stop crises like Ebola.”
“We thought of something silent to cut through the noise and to let it speak for itself,” said ONE’s chief marketing officer, Roxy Philson. “The world waited far too long to respond. While our leaders waited, many people paid with their lives. It stemmed from the thought that there’s been plenty of talk, but not enough action. We didn’t want to go down a conventional route.”
The World Health Organization said there are 15,145 reported cases of Ebola in eight countries and 5,420 deaths from the disease. Liberia claimed cases of Ebola are down in the country, but the disease continues to strike in neighboring Sierra Leone. ONE, which was founded by U2 frontman Bono in 2004, also set up a petition to put pressure on world leaders to stop the Ebola outbreak. There are 197,952 signatures as of November 21. The organization set a goal of 250,000 signatures. ONE set up an Ebola response tracker “to hold leaders accountable for their pledges, ensuring that countries deliver the services needed on the ground.”