Rwanda May Not Want Paris Hilton
Do High Publicity Charity Missions To Africa Create Philanthropists?
A former party girl turned philanthropist plans a trip to Rwanda. Are her intentions pure, or is it all a calculated publicity move to change her image?
Paris Hilton has been known for many things throughout her term in the spotlight. She began her career as a fashion model at the age of 19 which paved the way for additional high publicity stints as a socialite, actress and occasional singer (among others). Now the pop culture heiress seeks to add another career to her resume; philanthropist. Joining a list of Hollywood stars (Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor to name a couple) that are attempting to beef up their image by paying a visit to Africa, Paris Hilton is planning a trip to Rwanda in November. But does Rwanda want Paris Hilton to visit their country? Paris’ impending trip has some Rwandans and Afro-optimists rolling their eyes in annoyance.
Jennifer Brea is a contributing writer to political and cultural editorial Africabeat. In an article she wrote on Paris’ upcoming trip to Rwanda, she outlines her disagreement with the idea of the crisis of Africa being used for the personal gain of tabloid celebrities. Defenders of the Rwandan society seem to be echoing her disagreement. In response to Paris’ announcement, Rwandan supporter Claude Adams had this to say in Jennifer's comment section:
“It's an offence to Rwandans...We all know we're being used here…”
The fact that Paris is having her entire visit documented with the hopes of turning it into a documentary entitled “The Philanthropist” doesn’t seem to sit well with Afro-optimist Jennifer Brea either. In her Paris Hilton Rwandan expose she was quoted as saying, “Why settle for a film when you can do a reality TV show? I'm sure there would be babies to kiss and gorillas to pet enough for at least two whole seasons.” But despite her blatant Paris bashing, Jennifer has said in her article that she is content with the fact that at least Paris is doing something.
The prospect of fulfilling her promise to help others would seem like a great career move for Paris but there are those that believe she has honorable intentions. Scott Lazerson who is the founder of the children’s charity Playing For Good was quoted in Newsweek as saying, "She's using her celebrity...for the good of humanity.” But humanity (meaning the Rwandan society) seems to be wary of the idea of being exploited for the purpose of revamping the career of a tabloid celebrity. Whether this trip will help her achieve her desired goal of “leaving her mark” on the world remains to be seen but we shouldn’t be surprised if her “mark” ends up being just another blog entry on a celebrity gossip website saying how ridiculous she looked in a poverty stricken country wearing $500 designer shoes.
