Message of UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie on World Refugee Day 2012
Press Releases, 20 June 2012
We risk forgetting the individual when we speak in numbers, but the numbers tell an important story. In the past year 4.3 million people have become displaced. There are still 2.7 million refugees from Afghanistan. 12 million people are stateless. And for the fifth consecutive year the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 42 million.
Sadly, a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in the city of a developing nation. 70 per cent of refugees under UNHCR's protection have been in this situation for more than five years. Their safety and well-being depend on the continued generosity of those countries who have kept their borders open to refugees, and on the vital efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever and whenever it is necessary.
Unfortunately, the world is producing displaced people faster than it is producing solutions to displacement. And the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian – they are also political. The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly, for that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day.
Angelina Jolie, 20th June 2012
UNHCR is grateful to Ms. Jolie for a new donation made today of US$100,000 for our work in helping Syrian refugees
Angelina Jolie donates $100K to Syrian refugees, writes essay for World Refugee Day
I totally forgot that yesterday was World Refugee Day. Damn! And there I was, focusing solely on Angelina Jolie’s “Maleficent: Texas Ranger” ensemble. The UNHCR already released Angelina’s World Refugee Day PSA a week ago, and while she was working on her film in England, Angelina made sure to time two pieces of news for the significant day. One, she wrote a first person essay which was published on the UNHCR’s website. Two, she donated $100,000 to the UNHCR’s operations geared towards Syria and the unfolding humanitarian crisis there. Here’s her essay:
UNHCR believes even 1 person forced to flee is too many. And it’s true. Every individual refugee matters. Each has their own story. Each has suffered and survived more than I could ever bear. And yet, they rise up to live another day.[Via UNHCR Press Release]
We risk forgetting the individual when we speak in numbers, but the numbers tell an important story. In the past year 4.3 million people have become displaced. There are still 2.7 million refugees from Afghanistan. 12 million people are stateless. And for the fifth consecutive year the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 42 million.
Sadly, a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in the city of a developing nation. 70 per cent of refugees under UNHCR’s protection have been in this situation for more than five years. Their safety and well-being depend on the continued generosity of those countries who have kept their borders open to refugees, and on the vital efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever and whenever it is necessary.
Unfortunately, the world is producing displaced people faster than it is producing solutions to displacement. And the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian – they are also political. The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly, for that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day.
Angelina Jolie, 20th June 2012
It’s basically her “state of the refugees” address as a special envoy for the UNHCR. She’s listing facts, not opinions, and offering a generalization as to where the majority of people should be able to find common ground – that refugee crises occur when there’s conflict, and dealing with the conflicts would be more productive than dealing with another refugee crisis.
In addition to those good works, The HALO Trust announced a new initiative to bring “added transparency to humanitarian landmine clearance.” You can now view landmine-affected areas on Google Earth, and the narration for the program is done by Angelina. Jolie is described as a “longtime HALO supporter” – she toured HALO’s headquarters last year, she’s toured landmine-affected areas and she funded a massive de-mining initiative in Cambodia too. You can read more about the new program here.
Angelina Jolie's New $100,000 Donation
Angelina Jolie may be busy filming Maleficent, but that's not going to get in the way of her mission to help save the world.
We just got word that the Hollywood superstar has once again opened up her checkbook…
Angelina Jolie arrives to meet government ministers at the Foreign Commonwealth Office on May 29, 2012, in London, England.
Credit: Dan Kitwood/AFP/GettyImages
Angelina Jolie's humanitarian work is never done.
On June 20, the Oscar winner donated $100,000 to the U.N. Refugee Agency for its ongoing work with Syrian refugees. Jolie, a UNHCR special envoy, also released a special statement on behalf of World Refugee Day.
"UNHCR believes even one person forced to flee is too many. And it's true. Every individual refugee matters," she wrote. "Each has their own story. Each has suffered and survived more than I could ever bear. And yet, they rise up to live another day."
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"We risk forgetting the individual when we speak in numbers, but the numbers tell an important story. In the past year, 4.3 million people have become displaced. There are still 2.7 million refugees from Afghanistan. Twelve million people are stateless. And for the fifth consecutive year the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 42 million."
VIDEO: Angelina Jolie explains how she avoided leading a "shallow" life
Jolie, who is currently engaged to Brad Pitt, 48, continued: "Sadly, a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain one for many years -- often stuck in a camp or living precariously in the city of a developing nation. Seventy percent of refugees under UNHCR's protection have been in this situation for more than five years. Their safety and well-being depend on the continued generosity of those countries who have kept their borders open to refugees, and on the vital efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever and whenever it is necessary."
Donations to the agency provide protection, shelter, clean water and life-saving assistance to refugees around the globe.
"Unfortunately, the world is producing displaced people faster than it is producing solutions to displacement. And the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian -- they are also political," she concluded. "The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly, for that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day."
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Both Jolie and Pitt have dedicated themselves to bettering the world around them. In June 2011, the couple donated $500,000 to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which supports mid-term and long-term rebuilding efforts in the Joplin, Missouri area; it had recently been destroyed by a series of tornados.
PHOTOS: How Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie built a life together
Five months earlier, Jolie and Pitt donated $2 million to the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia, where they had recently spent the holidays. The decision was partly inspired by her daughter, Shiloh, now 6, who was born in the African nation in 2006. "We want her to grow up with an understanding of her country of birth," Jolie explained at the time.
Jolie and Pitt are also parents to Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 3.
On June 20, the Oscar winner donated $100,000 to the U.N. Refugee Agency for its ongoing work with Syrian refugees. Jolie, a UNHCR special envoy, also released a special statement on behalf of World Refugee Day.
"UNHCR believes even one person forced to flee is too many. And it's true. Every individual refugee matters," she wrote. "Each has their own story. Each has suffered and survived more than I could ever bear. And yet, they rise up to live another day."
PHOTOS: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's surprise BFFs
"We risk forgetting the individual when we speak in numbers, but the numbers tell an important story. In the past year, 4.3 million people have become displaced. There are still 2.7 million refugees from Afghanistan. Twelve million people are stateless. And for the fifth consecutive year the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 42 million."
VIDEO: Angelina Jolie explains how she avoided leading a "shallow" life
Jolie, who is currently engaged to Brad Pitt, 48, continued: "Sadly, a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain one for many years -- often stuck in a camp or living precariously in the city of a developing nation. Seventy percent of refugees under UNHCR's protection have been in this situation for more than five years. Their safety and well-being depend on the continued generosity of those countries who have kept their borders open to refugees, and on the vital efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever and whenever it is necessary."
Angelina Jolie walks through the jungle led by Plinio, the President of Providencia community on April 22, 2012 in Ecuador.
Credit: J Tanner/UNHCR via Getty Images
Credit: J Tanner/UNHCR via Getty Images
"Unfortunately, the world is producing displaced people faster than it is producing solutions to displacement. And the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian -- they are also political," she concluded. "The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly, for that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day."
PHOTOS: What should Angelina Jolie wear on her wedding day?
Both Jolie and Pitt have dedicated themselves to bettering the world around them. In June 2011, the couple donated $500,000 to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which supports mid-term and long-term rebuilding efforts in the Joplin, Missouri area; it had recently been destroyed by a series of tornados.
PHOTOS: How Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie built a life together
Five months earlier, Jolie and Pitt donated $2 million to the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary in Namibia, where they had recently spent the holidays. The decision was partly inspired by her daughter, Shiloh, now 6, who was born in the African nation in 2006. "We want her to grow up with an understanding of her country of birth," Jolie explained at the time.
Jolie and Pitt are also parents to Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 3.
