Angelina Jolie Writes Impassioned New York Times Op-Ed About Iraq Trip, Syrian Refugees: "I Was Speechless"
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 29 January 2015 05:45
- Written by Us magazine
Days after Angelina Jolie was photographed on a visit to northern Iraq, the Unbroken director has written an impassioned op-ed about her trip for the New York Times. In it, she describes the devastation she witnessed in refugee camps and calls for action to help the millions of displaced Syrians and Iraqis who no longer have a home."I have visited Iraq five times since 2007, and I have seen nothing like the suffering I'm witnessing now," she writes in the op-ed, published by the Times on Tuesday, Jan. 27."For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories," she explains. "I try my best to give support. To say something that will show solidarity and give some kind of thoughtful guidance. On this trip I was speechless."As previously reported, the mom of six visited the Khanke Camp for Internally Displaced People on Sunday, Jan. 25. While there, she spoke with victims of ISIS — some of whom she describes in her Times op-ed."What do you say to the 13-year-old girl who describes the warehouses where she and the others lived and would be pulled out, three at a time, to be raped by the men?" the Maleficent star and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees questions. "When her brother found out, he killed himself."
She continues: "How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her, and that she now lives alone in a tent and has minimal food rations?" The piece goes on to detail the increasingly dire situation in Syria, noting that neighboring countries "have taken in nearly four million Syrian refugees, but they are reaching their limits."With that in mind, Jolie calls upon the international community to take action. "What does it say about our commitment to human rights and accountability that we seem to tolerate crimes against humanity happening in Syria and Iraq on a daily basis?" she asks. "It is not enough to defend our values at home, in our newspapers and in our institutions," she writes. "We also have to defend them in the refugee camps of the Middle East, and the ruined ghost towns of Syria." Read Jolie's op-ed in full at the New York Times.
|
|
Angelina Jolie in Kurdistan
- Details
- Published on Monday, 26 January 2015 05:10
- Written by Rudaw
Hollywood superstar and UN refugee envoy Angelina Jolie is in the Kurdistan Region to visit refugee camps.Jolie, who arrived on an unannounced visit Saturday evening, was expected to visit a refugee camp in Duhok province that houses tens of thousands of Yezidis and other refugees from Mosul.Rudaw also learned that she will give a press conference today following her visit to the camp.The Kurdistan Region is home to 1.6 million refugees from Syrian Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, most of whom fled the Islamic State (ISIS) onslaught last summer.The American actress was appointed a Special Envoy in 2012 by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.This is Jolie’s second visit to the Kurdistan Region. In September 2012 Jolie visited the Domiz refugee camp in Erbil and met with Kurdish officials, including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.According to the UNHCR, Jolie has conducted “more than 40 field visits around the world, becoming well-versed in the phenomenon of forced displacement and a tireless advocate on their behalf.”
 |
Actress, Angelina Jolie, condemns Baga attack
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 04:40
- Written by Premium Tims NG
Hollywood actress and United Nations Ambassador, Angelina Jolie, has condemned the recent attack by the Boko Haram terrorist group on Baga, a community in Borno State.Ms. Jolie in a statement said each new crime committed by the group exceeds the last brutality and stressed the need for the group’s activity to be crippled in Nigeria.“Each new crime committed by Boko Haram exceeds the last in brutality. This is a direct consequence of the environment of total impunity in which Boko Haram operates. Every time they get away with mass murder, rape and the enslavement of women and children, they are emboldened,” Ms. Jolie said.Also, the Executive Director United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Anthony Lake, has condemned the prolific killings saying that words cannot express the agency’s outrage nor agony of resident of the constant violent attack.“Young girls sent to die with a bomb strapped to their chests in Maiduguri. And lest we forget, more than two hundred girls stolen from their families, still lost,” Mr. Lake said.He also said the unbearable images from the massacre in the community should fire up an effective action.Over the weekend, there were reports of a massive onslaught in Baga community by the Boko Haram. The Internet was agog with news that the terrorist group killed over 2, 000 people including women, children and the aged.The Defence spokesperson, Chris Olukolade, in a statement denied the high casualty figure in the attack. He said the casualty figure reported by the media is an exaggerated estimate.Mr. Olukolade also said the number of people who lost their lives during the recent attack so far – including some terrorists – have not exceeded 150.
 |
Angelina Jolie made an honorary dame by the Queen
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 11 October 2014 15:47
- Written by Telegraph
Angelina Jolie, the Tomb Raider star, has been made an honorary dame by the Queen . Angelina Jolie, the Oscar-winning actress, has been made an honorary dame by the Queen for her campaign work fighting sexual violence and for services to UK foreign policy.The 39-year-old film star, best known for her role in Hollywood blockbuster Tomb Raider, was presented with the award during a private audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.After the presentation, Jolie’s husband, Brad Pitt, and the couple’s six children, were shown into the Palace’s 1844 room and presented to the Queen.As an American, Jolie, cannot be addressed as Dame but can use the initials of the award - DCMG - after her name.The actress, co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative( PVSI), was recognised in the Diplomatic Service and Overseas Birthday 2014 Honours list and received the honorary damehood for services to UK foreign policy and the campaign to end war-zone sexual violence. During the audience, the Queen presented the actress with the insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.A Buckingham Palace spokesman said Jolie spent around 20 minutes with the monarch.
The award was first announced in June during the week when Jolie was co-chairing the End Sexual Violence in Conflict (ESVC) global summit in London with then foreign secretary William Hague.She said at the time: “To receive an honour related to foreign policy means a great deal to me, as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to. Working on PVSI and with survivors of rape is an honour in itself. I know that succeeding in our goals will take a lifetime, and I am dedicated to it for all of mine.”Her work as a humanitarian runs parallel to her career as a leading actress who has been a huge box office draw for more than a decade.She has been described by US Secretary of State John Kerry as a "fierce and fearless advocate" and he said her dedication to campaigning could overtake her successful film career as her lasting legacy.Jolie, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in the drama Girl, Interrupted, is also special envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.The actress announced in a New York Times article last year that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy because she carries the 'faulty' gene BRCA1, which sharply increased her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
 |
Angelina Jolie Releases Statement on Syrian Refugees
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 30 August 2014 10:25
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie is turning the spotlight from her big wedding to Brad Pitt to the devastating situation in Syria in a newly released statement.“Three million refugees is not just another statistic,” the 39-year-old actress and UNHCR special envoy, said of the displaced citizens who have fled Syria because of the civil war. “It is a searing indictment of our collective failure to end the war in Syria.”“International stability is steadily bleeding away in Syria. UN Security Council Resolutions are being ignored; war crimes are being committed on a daily basis; regional countries are staggering under the human burden; and Syrian refugees are dying in the Mediterranean sea, trying to reach Europe. We need to see a new attempt to resolve the conflict and greater efforts to support more than 13 million Syrians who are in desperate need,” Angelina added.“The reputation and credibility of the international system is at stake with so many thousands of lives threatened in Syria,” she concluded.
 |
Share
