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Angelina Jolie
visits Iraq and Iraqi refugees
UNHCR Goodwill
Ambassador witnesses humanitarian crisis
28 August 2007 DAMASCUS – UNHCR
Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has visited Iraq and Syria to see first-hand
the plight of hundreds of thousands of families uprooted by the ongoing conflict
in Iraq.
The UN refugee agency estimates
more than 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes – 2 million to neighbouring
states and another 2.2 million displaced inside Iraq.
Yesterday in Damascus, Jolie
visited a UNHCR registration centre and spent hours talking to Iraqi refugees in
their homes. Today, she crossed into Iraq to visit 1,200 refugees trapped in a
makeshift camp at the border, unable to flee Iraq, and later watched scores of
Iraqis crossing into Syria at a border checkpoint.
As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador,
Jolie said she would leave politics to others while focusing on the region's
huge humanitarian needs.
"I have come to Syria and
Iraq to help draw attention to this humanitarian crisis and to urge governments
to increase their support for UNHCR and its partners," Jolie said. "My
sole purpose in both countries is to highlight the plight of those uprooted by
the war in Iraq."
After talking with some of the
stranded refugees at Iraq's Al Waleed camp on Tuesday, Jolie said: "it is
absolutely essential that the ongoing debate about Iraq's future includes plans
for addressing the enormous humanitarian consequences these people face."
While in Iraq, she separated from
UNHCR to visit privately with U.S. troops and other Multi-National Forces based
in the area.
Jolie arrived in Syria on Monday.
In Damascus, she met some of the thousands of Iraqi refugees registering with
UNHCR, nearly one-quarter of whom are victims of violence and torture. Tens of
thousands are without jobs, and many young people are in danger of losing out on
an education and a future. She recognized Syria for its open borders and
generosity to Iraqis.
In late July, UNHCR and UNICEF
launched a joint $129 million education appeal aimed at getting 155,000 young
Iraqi refugees throughout the Middle East back into school. The United States
announced Tuesday that it will contribute $30 million to the appeal.
Story date: 28 August 2007 UNHCR
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