DUE TO GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN
AND PRESSURE FROM CELEBRITIES
OLIVIA WILDE, BEN STILLER, PATRICIA ARQUETTE, RAIN WILSON, OLIVER STONE, DANNY GLOVER, MARIA BELLO, ELON MUSK, INCUBUS' BRANDON BOYD
AND DOZENS MORE!
Los Angeles, CA (13 December 2012) – Pressure on the United Nations
to take action to fight cholera in Haiti reached a tipping point today
thanks to a grassroots activism campaign lead by the U.S.-based
organization RYOT and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. The #UNDENY
campaign shed light, gathered momentum and gained celebrity support
pushing the United Nations to take responsibility for an epidemic raging
out of control. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today an anti-cholera initiative
aimed at raising money to eliminate the disease in Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. Initially, $215 million in existing funds from
bilateral and multilateral donors will be used to support the
initiative.
Celebrities and high-profile individuals who viewed the film, such as Olivia Wilde and Elon Musk (producers of the film Baseball in the Time of Cholera), Ben Stiller, Maria Bello, Patricia Arquette, Oliver Stone, Rainn Wilson, Danny Glover and Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd along with dozens of others, helped create a social media maelstrom that launched #UNDENY to the Top 5 Twitter trending hashtags in July and garnered the film nearly 300,000 views online.
Cholera arrived in Haiti just a few months after the earthquake in
2010, and strong evidence shows that U.N. peacekeepers brought the
disease to the island. President Bill Clinton acknowledged that U.N. soldiers were the "proximate cause" of the cholera, major publications such as The Economist, New York Times, BBC News, USA Today, Huffington Post and
dozens of celebrities and cause experts have laid the blame on the
U.N., however, U.N. officials have yet to take any blame or issue an
apology.
The World Premiere of the RYOT film Baseball in the Time of Cholera at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
in July, 2012 was the first major step in the grassroots advocacy
campaign “UNDENY” that exposed the U.N.’s role in the cholera epidemic
and led to the announcement today. The film follows the cholera outbreak
through the lives of Haiti’s first Little League baseball team,
portraying the disaster as a major U.N. scandal. Baseball in the Time of Cholera and UNDENY gained further traction after screenings on Capitol Hill and in London at the Olympic games: 104 members of Congress signed an official letter to Ambassador Susan Rice, urging the U.N. to take responsibility and take action to prevent further damage, and Esquire Magazine featured the film and RYOT co-founders Bryn Mooser and David Darg as 2012 Americans of the Year.
“It is great to see the power of the
people at work, with the power of social media the world is watching
much closer and speaking louder” Said Bryn Mooser, one
of RYOT’s co-founders. “The UNDENY project of RYOT’s is a true indicator
of the power of a grassroots, social media movement to drive change and
force the writers of history to address — if not take full
responsibility for — their actions.”
“This is the reason we founded RYOT,” added co-founder David Darg.
“Martin Luther King said, ’A riot is the language of the unheard,’ and
it is our goal through RYOT to give a voice to the voiceless.”
Although there is no explicit mention of the cause of the cholera
outbreak in the U.N. press announcement, by launching this cholera
initiative, they are implicitly noting their responsibility in the
epidemic. RYOT’s Baseball in the Time of Cholera and UNDENY campaign palyed a vital role in forcing the U.N.’s hand.
RYOT
Everyday we turn to news outlets to get reports of recent events or
learn previously unknown information. Up until now, news has been all
about "What's going on in the world?" RYOT lets you know "What's going
on in the world and how YOU can be a part of it." RYOT is the only news
outlet bringing you updates as they happen and letting you become part
of the story. With RYOT, you Become the News. The RYOT Foundation also
exists to elevate at risk children to a place of safety in the
developing world. Through innovative projects and strategic
partnerships, RYOT foundation focuses on sustainable ways to foster hope
in the midst of despair. We believe children everywhere should not only
have access to basic needs such as food, water and shelter but that
they also have the right to joy and fun. The RYOT Foundation not only
focuses on essential relief but also funds programs that allow kids to
be kids, no matter what their surroundings dictate. The key to a better
world isn’t just keeping the next generation alive, it’s about allowing
the next generation to be creative, to love and appreciate life and
ultimately, to dream. Visit RYOT.org
BASEBALL IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
As
a Cholera epidemic rages in Haiti, the United Nations denies it is
responsible for introducing the disease despite glaring evidence
suggesting Nepalese peacekeepers are to blame. Baseball in the Time of
Cholera is the story of a young Haitian boy who plays in Haiti's first
little league baseball team and the Haitian Lawyer seeking justice
against the UN. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in
the struggle for survival and justice. The film Baseball In The Time of Cholera has over 250,000 views on Youtube, watch it here
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