Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released a joint statement about current devastating world events in Afghanistan, Haiti, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, saying they are left “speechless”, “heartbroken” and “scared,” and noting the world is “exceptionally fragile right now.”
The couple’s statement comes after Prince Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, issued his own message to military veterans earlier this week. The Sussexes released their words through their charitable foundation, Archewell, encouraging everyday people to support organizations doing critical work, as well as using the moment to urge those in positions of power to “rapidly advance the humanitarian dialogues” at events such as the U.N. General Assembly and the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
“As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless. As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend’s earthquake, we are left heartbroken. And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared,” the statement began.
“When any person or community suffers, a piece of each of us does so with them, whether we realize it or not. And though we are not meant to live in a state of suffering, we, as a people, are being conditioned to accept it. It’s easy to find ourselves feeling powerless, but we can put our values into action — together,” it continued.
The couple noted Archewell is working with groups like World Central Kitchen, Vax Live, and Global Citizen to aid these crises, before ending the message with a note about shared humanity. “As an international community, it is the decisions we make now — to alleviate suffering among those we know and those we may never meet — that will prove our humanity.”
Underneath their signed statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex provided a list of ways they are pledging their support, ways others can help, and a list of mental health resources. You can see them all here.