Angelina Jolie urges international community to resolve Syrian refugee crisis
Jolie accuses international community of forgetting the Syrian crisis and implored them to work on finding a solution to end the conflict.
By NOA AMOUYALAngelina Jolie on Syrian refugee crisis
The magnitude of the Syrian refugee crisis that has left nearly 11 million people displaced has rendered actress and special envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie “speechless,” according to an op-ed she penned for the New York Times on Tuesday.Of her fifth visit to the war-torn refugee camps in Iraq, she wrote, “For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories. I try my best to give support….on this trip I was speechless.”Jolie recounted the horrific stories of the Syrian refugees she met while in Iraq who have no home and paltry food rations.“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?” Jolie wrote, of one of the refugees she met during her trip.In her piece, she accuses the international community of forgetting the Syrian crisis and implored them to work on finding a solution to end the conflict.“There has been no progress on ending the war in Syria since the Geneva process collapsed 12 months ago,” she said. “But the plain fact is we cannot insulate ourselves against this crisis. The spread of extremism, the surge in foreign fighters, the threat of new terrorism — only an end to the war in Syria will begin to turn the tide on these problems. Without that, we are just tinkering at the edges.”In 2013, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences bestowed the Unbroken actress with the prestigious the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award for her charity work.“When I met survivors of war and famine and rape, I learned what life is like for most people in this world and how fortunate I was to have food to eat, a roof over my head, a safe place to live and the joy of having my family safe and healthy,” she said at the ceremony.“I realized how sheltered I had been, and I was determined never to be again.”