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Angelina Jolie taking a breaking for film and go together with Brad Pitt to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina and highlight the plight of 113,000 Bosnians and 7,000 refugees from Croatia.

Visit and private talk with a women there.

Angie also said something about this trip “After seeing these people and hearing their stories, I cannot overemphasize the need to focus on the well-being of the most vulnerable individuals of the population, ending displacement and ensuring quality of life, we can help to promote progress and long-term stability.”

Angie promised to help spread awareness about their forgotten and protracted situation. and before back, she said she want “to return to this beautiful country soon and meet with political representatives to further discuss the solutions that are so badly required.”

To read FULL article wrote by UNHCR – visit this LINK

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Aida Prljaca, the spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sarajevo, said the couple arrived on Sunday night (after the family’s Easter egg hunt in Italy).

According to The Associated Press, Brad and Angie hope to “spotlight the plight of 117,000 people who have not able to return to their homes, even though the Bosnia war ended 15 years ago.”

Source : Just Jared

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Damascus, Syria, October 2 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie called Friday on the international community not to forget the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who remain in exile despite a relative improvement in the security situation in their homeland.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have returned to their country from Syria and other nearby countries over the past year, but many more are unable or unwilling to return to a country still rocked by violence. As the Iraqi story has largely disappeared from global headlines, so has the plight of the refugees.

Jolie, returning to visit Iraqi refugees in the poorest suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a 2007 visit, said these refugees still needed vital help and support.

“Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services. They will, therefore, be in need of continued support from the international community.”

The acclaimed American actress, travelling with her partner Brad Pitt, was welcomed into the homes of two Iraqi families in the Jaramana district of southern Damascus. The first family, grouping seven people, fled to Syria in 2006, while the second family, members of a minority religious group, fled to Iraq in July this year after a son, Waleed,* was twice abducted and his mother, Hoda,* physically abused. The family patriarch, Fares,* had to pay US$25,000 in ransom the first time Waleed was abducted.

The second time, both son and mother were snatched, and Fares had to find US$40,000. The two were released, but they had suffered a terrible ordeal, including torture. “I was assaulted every day for 13 days by up to 10 men,” Hoda* recalled, her voice trembling. “I wanted to kill myself and the only reason I decided not to go ahead is because of my children,” she added.

On the release of Hoda and Waleed, the family fled to Syria.

“I’m grateful to you for sharing this story,” a clearly moved Jolie said, clutching Hoda’s hand. “It helps to make it easier to understand your problems. There’s a lot of suffering in this part of the world; you’re a very brave and strong woman for putting this behind you for the sake of your children.”

The family said the Syrians have been very welcoming, but they still find it difficult remaining in the country and wish to be resettled. Meanwhile they are relying on food and financial support from UNHCR.

The refugee agency, working closely with local authorities and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, helps the most vulnerable refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly in Syria and Jordan where the largest numbers have found refuge. This includes material, financial, medical and other assistance.

Many of the families who have fled to Syria over the past few years, have exhausted their savings and must now rely on the generosity and help of the government and humanitarian agencies like UNHCR.

The first family Jolie visited – mother, father and five children aged seven or under – is a good example. They were crammed into a squalid, stuffy one-room basement apartment with a tiny window. Most of their possessions, including mattresses, blankets and boxes of food, were provided by UNHCR.

They also had harrowing tales to tell, including the kidnapping and torture of the father, Taha, who still suffers from nightmares and finds it difficult to leave the apartment. His wife, Ibtissam, spoke about their struggle to pay the rent and to buy extras such as clothes and medicine. She works as a cleaner in a market, even though she has a degree in teaching.

“I tore up my university degree,” she said, adding: “What value does it have when I am just a cleaning lady.” Ibtissam told Jolie that her family also wanted to start a new life in a third country. Two of the families that Jolie met during her 2007 visit have been resettled in the United States, while a third family recently returned to Iraq.

The Goodwill Ambassador said the families she visited today, “have not recovered from the trauma they faced,” while adding that, “until other solutions are found, or these refugees are able to go home, it is essential that the international community help UNHCR to provide financial and food support so that they can survive. They don’t have the right to work, so they have no way of surviving without our help.”

During her day-long trip, Jolie also met with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma al-Assad, who told her about the efforts being made by Syria to provide health care to the most vulnerable and to encourage refugee children to go to school.

“It is clear that the Syrian people, no matter the challenges or difficulties they may face, have always shown generous hospitality to people in need. I hope that the rest of the world recognizes that we all have to share this burden and continue to take care of Iraqi refugees” Jolie said after the meeting.

UNHCR estimates that more than 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq in 2003. To date, 215,000 Iraqi refugees are registered with UNHCR in Syria, the majority of whom are dependent on food and other material support.

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Speaking of International Criminal Court’s Darfur investigation, the “Wanted” actress wrote, “The evidence the prosecutor has presented is clear and compelling… millions of people have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have been killed.”

She continued, “Darfur has almost disappeared from the news, and experts now call it a ‘low intensity’ conflict. But the intensity of the crisis has not lessened for those who are struggling to survive.”

“More than 250,000 people from Darfur have lived destitute lives in refugee camps in Chad for six years now. Camps with more than two million internally displaced persons inside Darfur are even worse. Thirty percent of those displaced are school-age children. Girls leaving the camps are raped; boys leaving the camps are killed. They want an education; they want to go back to their villages, to their land; they want peace. But they also want justice.”

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The Oscar winner and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador wrapped up her first ever trip to Afghanistan Thursday after spending two days touring the region, meeting with Afghan natives and raising awareness of the country’s growing problem of reintegrating returning refugees.

“The courage, resilience and quiet dignity of returnee families rebuilding their lives against the kind of adversity few of us can imagine shows the human spirit at its best,” Jolie said.

The actress’ solo sojourn came in advance of a planned international conference set to take place in Kabul next month to deal with the massive issue of landless and poverty-stricken citizens.

During her trip, which kicked off Tuesday and prevented Jolie from attending the Los Angeles premiere of her new film, Changeling, last night, the Goodwill Ambassador traveled to several provinces within Afghanistan and paid visits to some of the largest settlement sites in the country – all told, according to the UNHCR, more than 5 million displaced Afghans have returned to the region since 2001.

Jolie also met with families forced to squat in some of Kabul’s public buildings, lacking the land, finances and security to return to their homes.

At the end of her two-day stay, Jolie called for the development of long-term national programs to address the issue and for an increase in humanitarian aid budgets, preferably to be given before the coming winter months.

“Afghanistan has been struggling to absorb these massive returns,” she said. “It’s understandable. It’s one of the largest population movements in recent history.”

It’s unclear whether Jolie herself will take part in next month’s conference, though the report of her trip will be utilized.

Source : Eonline

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