Indian-American actor Kal Penn has raised more than $500,000 for Syrian refugees, after a person on Twitter told him that he does not belong in America. The racist comment came soon after the US President Donald Trump passed an executive order banning refugees from at least seven Muslim-majority countries to enter the United States.
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Penn took the racist tweet in stride and replied to the guy saying, "To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name."
The Harold and Kumar star, who was also appointed as a public engagement adviser to former president Barack Obama, shared the image of the racist tweet with a fundraising page link which was created under the name "Donating to Syrian refugees in the name of the dude who said I don't belong in America."
To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
"We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don't belong in our own country, that American can't be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President's, into love," he wrote on the page.
Penn whose initial aim was to raise a sum of $250,000 soon surpassed his target and succeeded in raising over half-a-million dollars instead. Penn's initiative soon went viral on social media and people began to donate under their own names and some on behalf of Steven Bannon, Melania Trump, Kellyanne Conway and the US President Trump himself.
Soon after the target of $250,000 was reached within 24 hours, Penn posted a thank you message on the page saying, "Beautiful people - You just raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for refugees in less than 24 hours!
"This is such a testament to how proud we are of our beautiful country and how fired up we are to #resist our new president's dangerous policies with solidarity and love. Thank you! The donor page remains open, so keep it up!"
The fundraising page has received more than $503,815 in donations to the Syrian refugees till now, even as more donations flood in.
