Tunisian Egyptian actress Hend Sabry announced on Instagram on Wednesday that she has resigned from her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) after 13 years due to the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
“Over the past weeks, I have witnessed and shared the experiences of my dedicated colleagues at World Food Program,” she wrote to her 3.5 million followers. “There is a feeling of helplessness because they are unable to carry out their duty to the fullest extent, as they always do, towards children, mothers, fathers and grandparents in Gaza.”
“There was little they could do in the face of the crushing war machine that has no mercy on civilians who were besieged by death,” she added.
The award-winning actress said that she has tried to make her voice heard and tried to call for authorities to use the WFP to prevent the use of starvation as a weapon of war and to call for a ceasefire.
“I was certain that the World Food Program – which had won the Nobel Peace Prize just three years ago and having been an active participant in UN Resolution 2417 which condemned the use of starvation as a method of war – would use its voice as powerfully as it did in emergencies and multiple humanitarian crises,” she explained.
“However, starvation and blockades have been used as weapons of war over the past 46 days against more than two million civilians in Gaza,” Sabry said. “For this reason, I announce my resignation and wish all my colleagues in the World Food Program safety and peace,” she said.
However, Sabry said that she will not give up her humanitarian and societal roles. She will do them in “different ways,” she said.