Watch ‘Game of Thrones’ Cast Support Refugee Crisis Campaign
HBO and the Game of Thrones cast have partnered with nonprofit International Rescue Committee to raise money for the global refugee crisis. Several actors from the fantasy series appear in a YouTube video announcing the “Rescue Has No Boundaries” campaign, asking for donations to help the “16 million people” displaced in countries like Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Serbia and Greece.
Fans can donate either through the traditional route or through an Omaze platform offering a plethora of perks, including T-shirts, replicas of Arya Stark’s sword, signed Season Five posters and a chance to hang out with the Game of Thrones cast at the Season Six premiere.
“Mass exodus. Millions on the move: escaping war, famine and destruction,” the cast – including Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Sophie Turner – says in the clip. “This is no fiction, no fantasy. Sixteen million people are displaced worldwide. Every month, hundreds of thousands flee their homes. Refugees, families, children struggling to stay alive. Real people now on the most dangerous journey of all. What would you do to protect your life, your family, your future? You can help.
“In Syria alone, after five years of war, half of the population has fled their homes,” they continue. The website notes that “an average of 50 Syrian families are forced to flee their homes, every hour of every day.” The campaign goal is to reach $1 million.
Game of Thrones Season Six premieres April 24th on HBO. The ominous first trailer finds Jaime and Cersei Lannister plotting revenge, Daenerys Targaryen reunited with the Dothraki and Tyrion Lannister warning, “You’re in the great game now … and the great game is terrifying.”