The Weeknd pledges to donate USD 1 Million to Ethiopian relief efforts
Apr 05, 2021
Washington [US], April 5 : The Grammy-award winning musician The Weeknd has pledged to donate USD 1 Million to the Nations World Food Programme to aid in relief efforts in Ethiopia.
According to E! News, the singer -- who recently took a stand against the Grammys -- on his Instagram account on Sunday (local time) to announce that he had planned to aid those entangled in the conflict between the government in Addis Ababa and the Tigray region.
Taking to the captions, he penned an emotional note that read, "My heart breaks for my people of Ethiopia as innocent civilians ranging from small children to the elderly are being senselessly murdered and entire villages are being displaced out of fear and destruction".
"I will be donating $1 million to provide two million meals through the United Nations World Food Programme and encourage those who can to please give as well," he added.
E! News accumulated an internal report from the US government which claimed that the intention of the conflict, which has killed thousands and left others without homes and basic necessities, was to remove the ethnic Tigrayan population from Ethiopia. Contradicting that, the Ethiopian government strongly denied the accusations.
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, revealed that this case has hit him personally because his parents are also from Ethiopia. In the 80s, the pair had immigrated to Toronto, where the artist was born and raised.
Following the announcement, scores of the 'Blinding Lights' star's fans chimed to the comments section and praised him for his noble cause.
One wrote, "The weekend out here doing what most billionaires and CEO's of multi-million dollar companies would turn a blind eye to. Respect man, we love you."
Another wrote, "True King using his platform for good. We need people like you. Prayers for all the innocent Ethiopians and may our part help as much as they need it."
