Angelina Jolie visits Iraq refugees: 'I have seen nothing like the suffering I'm witnessing now'

Angelina Jolie continued her work for refugees this week, traveling to Iraq for the fifth time since 2007. She wrote that it is the worst conditions she has ever seen there.

Jolie penned a New York Times op-ed, which was published on Tuesday. “I have visited Iraq five times since 2007, and I have seen nothing like the suffering I’m witnessing now,” she wrote.

She visited a refugee camp in Dohuk province in Iraq, meeting with Iraqis and Syrians displaced by the fight with the Islamic State (ISIS).

“In almost four years of war, nearly half of Syria’s population of 23 million people has been uprooted,” Jolie noted. “Within Iraq itself, more than two million people have fled conflict and the terror unleashed by extremist groups. These refugees and displaced people have witnessed unspeakable brutality. Their children are out of school, they are struggling to survive, and they are surrounded on all sides by violence.”

Jolie writes that during these trips, she has heard the stories of mothers and their children and is often left speechless. She met with a family of eight children who are without their parents. “They are resilient against impossible odds,” she noted.

The point of Jolie’s piece was to urge countries of the UN to help support the countries bordering Syria and Iraq that have taken in millions of refugees.

“Countries outside the region should offer sanctuary to the most vulnerable refugees in need of resettlement — for example, those who have experienced rape or torture. And above all, the international community as a whole has to find a path to a peace settlement,” Jolie wrote.

Jolie, who received a special Academy Award for her humanitarian efforts, is currently a special envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Her latest film was Unbroken, which she directed and was nominated for three Oscars.

image courtesy of INFphoto.com

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on your website.

Learn more about debugging in WordPress.