‘I am scared to speak up but…’: Canadian actor calls for ceasefire in Gaza

Canadian actor Amrit Kaur, who bagged the Best Actor Award for her latest performance in Fawzia Mirza’s ‘The Queen of My Dreams’, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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Actor Amrit Kaur received the Best Lead Performance Award in a Drama Film, at the Canadian Screen Awards over the weekend, when she took the opportunity during her acceptance speech, to call for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged strip of Gaza.

“It’s a scary time to be an artist. I am scared. I am scared to speak up. But this honour reminds me that I am an artist,” she said on stage after collecting her trophy from her co-star Hamza Haq.

Kaur continued, “To be an artist, it is my job to feel and to empathize. And for those of you who are telling us artists not to speak up in fear of losing jobs, in fear of losing careers, in fear of losing reputation, you are telling us not to be artists.”

“I want to say to you people that I am an artist and I refuse to sacrifice and live in the hatred of humanity. Ceasefire now. Free Palestine,” she concluded.

Further speaking to journalists, Kaur shared that she wanted to win the award solely to make her speech in favour of a ceasefire. She stated, “If I’m being silenced, then I am being told to not be an artist, to be a puppet. That’s a real thing and it’s really scary, especially as people of colour who have spent so long being marginalized and so long told that we can’t operate in the spaces to speak up.”

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“We’re scared of what we’re losing, but it’s about humanity. It’s about human life. And that’s period, the line has been crossed,” added the actor.

It is pertinent to note here Kaur’s speech came after several of her fellow actors lost their jobs when they raised their voices against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Last year, actor Melissa Barrera was replaced from ‘Scream 7’, whereas Nicola Coughlan of the hit series ‘Bridgerton’, who has been active with her role, shared recently that she was warned about losing work if she continues to do so.