British actor Benedict Cumberbatch has lent his support to the release of a charity single to raise funds for refugees fleeing Syria and other war zones.
Cumberbatch, nominated for an Oscar for his role in last year’s “The Imitation Game,” has recorded an introduction to the song, a rerelease of the Crowded House tune “Help Is Coming.”
All proceeds from the song’s sale will go to the charity Save the Children, which is working to help children both within Syria and in the countries along the routes taken by those fleeing the conflict there — including Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Italy.
European nations have been struggling to cope with a massive influx of refugees in recent weeks, many of them from Syria but also including people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere.
In his introduction to the song and an accompanying short film, Cumberbatch — known to many for his role in BBC drama series “Sherlock” — quotes from the poem “Home” by the Somali-born poet Warsan Shire, who now lives in London.
“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark,” he says. “You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well.”
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The single is available for download now from iTunes, and a 7-inch vinyl version will be released September 28 in the United Kingdom, with a previously unreleased B-side.
The initiative, led by UK writers and broadcasters Caitlin Moran and Pete Paphides, was prompted by their horror over the images that emerged last week of Syrian toddler, Aylan Kurdi, who drowned off the coast of Turkey, along with his mother and older brother.
Crowded House’s Neil Finn said he was “continually amazed and grateful for the mysterious pathways that songs can travel,” according to a statement from Save the Children.
The song, originally recorded in 1995 and released in 1999, has had a long journey to find a good home, he said.
“It was always a song about refugees even if at the time I was thinking about the immigrants setting off on ships from Europe to America, looking for a better life for their families in America.”
Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children UK, said the single would “help to keep the public’s attention focused — and in turn European leaders accountable — on one of the biggest refugee crises of our time.
“No more body bags. No more children dying on our doorstep.”
