Angelina Jolie +

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 2 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Wednesday called for greater focus to be put on the reintegration of former Afghan refugees as she wrapped up her second visit to the western Asian nation.

During her two-day trip, the acclaimed actress met internally displaced people and refugee returnees still struggling to survive and reintegrate almost 10 years after returning to Afghanistan from years of exile.

More than 5.5 million refugees have returned since 2002, mainly from Pakistan and Iran, and now make up 20 per cent of the population. UNHCR is concerned that too many of these former refugees continue to live without jobs, shelter and other basic needs.

“It’s clear travelling through the country that what needs to be done is a very focused approach in places of return. We need to revisit the idea of what return is and the difference between just returning and reintegrating,” said Jolie, who last visited Afghanistan for UNHCR in 2008.

“The focus needs to be put now on reintegration, and that means not just putting up shelter but making sure there is water, job opportunities, a school for the children and medical clinics,” she added.

On Wednesday, Jolie returned to visit families living in a dilapidated warehouse in Kabul that once served as a storage facility for the national bus company. The Tamir Mili Bus depot is now one of 30 UNHCR-identified sites in the Afghan capital where returned refugees and internally displaced people can live while they eke out a living.

The Goodwill Ambassador caught up again with Khanum Gul in the small damp room she shares with her husband and eight children. A UNHCR plastic tarpaulin covered a gaping hole in the front wall, providing some shelter from the wind and snow. On Jolie’s first visit in 2008, Khanum had just given birth to her son Samir.

“It was very distressing to see that, because of the poor conditions, Samir seems to be suffering some form of developmental delay due to malnutrition or lack of medical care. He can’t walk and is barely surviving in what can only be described as a very cold and damp warehouse,” Jolie said.

Khanum’s husband, Eshan, tries to earn a living as a daily labourer. He waits for hours every day but is rarely picked for work. The couple also support Khanum’s ailing 70-year-old mother, Bi Bi Zamo Jan, who also met Jolie on her first visit.

“This old woman was so upset, because she feels like a burden. She watches her grandchildren go onto the streets every day to wash cars for a dollar a day so the family can eat. Often they earn nothing,” Jolie said. “Everyone I have met on this visit has been very clear. The Afghan people don’t want to become beggars. They want the opportunity to work for a living with dignity so they can provide for their families.”

The day after arriving on Monday evening, the Goodwill Ambassador travelled to the village of Qala Gadu, which lies north of Kabul on the Shomali Plain, the scene of fierce fighting during successive waves of conflict in Afghanistan since the late 1970s. Among the 2,500 families in the area, almost everyone is a returned refugee or was internally displaced before 2002.

Jolie met a group of young girls who will study at a new primary school that is being built in the village with funding from the actress. She also paid for a school in the remote returnee settlement of Tangi in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The girls in Qala Gadu currently study next to the local mosque. The lack of a proper classroom means most girls can’t study beyond 4th Grade.

Ten-year-old Sahira presented Jolie with flowers on behalf of her classmates, saying: “If you build this school, I promise I will work really hard and study until the 12th Grade.” Sahira, who wants to be a doctor when she grows up, is the youngest of five daughters and the first of them to attend school.

UNHCR is currently rallying support from donors and humanitarian and development agencies to redouble efforts to help returning refugees integrate in Afghanistan.

By Ariane Rummery in Kabul, Afghanistan
more read : UNHCR

Angelina Jolie, UN refugee agency Goodwill Ambassador, issues appeal for civilians and refugees in Côte d’Ivoire and Libya

KABUL, Afghanistan – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie today voiced deep concern for the tens of thousands of civilians caught up in two separate and fast-unfolding emergencies: Côte d’Ivoire and Libya.

“As we witness these newest crises unfold in west and north Africa, it is critical that all parties respect the fundamental right of people in danger to flee to safety – whether civilians caught in conflict in their own country or refugees and asylum seekers caught in new conflicts,” Jolie said. “All I’m asking is that civilians be protected, and not targeted or harmed.”

In Côte d’Ivoire, fierce fighting in the Abobo district of Abidjan and clashes in the west over the past few days have blocked access for humanitarian organizations and brought the country perilously close to all-out civil war. Thousands of people have been displaced in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial hub, and refugees have been streaming across the country’s western border into Liberia in unprecedented numbers. Eastern Liberia is already dealing with more than 70,000 Ivorians who have arrived there since the presidential election of late November.

At the same time, UNHCR is worried for thousands of refugees, asylum-seekers, and irregular migrants still inside Libya and in circumstances of considerable danger. Few of these have been able to make it out of Libya and into either Tunisia or Egypt – where most people leaving the country have been heading. On Tuesday, UNHCR said it was particularly concerned for sub-Saharan Africans who have become vulnerable because of suspicions that they are foreign mercenaries. Amid chaotic scenes at the Tunisian border, UNHCR also issued a joint appeal with the International Organization for Migration for a massive humanitarian evacuation for people fleeing Libya into Tunisia.

“With these new waves of uprising and conflict, there is and will continue to be massive new displacement. The world needs to address this moment. We have to give people safe passage, evacuation if needed, and ensure they have asylum. We don’t want to look back and find their deaths are on our hands,” Jolie said.

The acclaimed actress was speaking from Kabul, Afghanistan, where she has been on a low-profile two-day visit to listen to the problems of returned refugees still struggling to survive and reintegrate almost 10 years after returning from exile.

”As the world’s attention shifts to the newest refugee crises, we need to remember that if we don’t support people in the long term to really get back on their feet – to feed, shelter and educate their families, to earn a living with dignity, and to participate in meaningful ways in their societies – we will see a continued cycle of instability and new crises,” Jolie said.

UNHCR is rallying support from donors and other humanitarian and development agencies to redouble their efforts to help returning refugees reintegrate in Afghanistan.

More Read : UNHCR

Angelina Jolie hits the Sony Pictures Classic Golden Globes Party on Sunday (January 16) at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The 35-year-old actress mingled with Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal at the bash and also hung out with director David Fincher and producer Cean Chaffin.
David picked up the award for Best Director for The Social Network!

Earlier in the evening, Angelina walked the red carpet with partner Brad Pitt in a gorgeous emerald green Atelier Versace gown.
jastjared.com

more video is go to screamingangie on YOUTUBE

Attorney Returns Home to Help Strengthen Judicial System

Washington, D.C. (January 12, 2011): SOS Children’s Villages, a global organization dedicated to providing family-based services for children without parental care, today announced that Nathalie Nozile, an alumna of the SOS Children’s Villages in Santo, Haiti, has been selected as the first Jolie Legal Fellow. Ms. Nozile was selected after graduating from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law this past spring.

The Jolie Legal Fellowship, created and funded by the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, supports the Government of Haiti’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the Haitian judicial system in the challenging post-earthquake environment. Jolie Legal Fellows are attorneys who will concentrate on the protection of Haiti’s most vulnerable children in the judicial system, by serving as special assistants to key Government of Haiti officials. Ms. Nozile leaves for Haiti later this month to begin her work.

“I am thrilled that Nathalie Nozile will be our first legal fellow in Haiti – where the need to enhance child protection is so great,” said Angelina Jolie. “Nathalie has a heartfelt commitment to improve conditions in her homeland, and brings to her work the unique perspective of growing up in an SOS Village. There, she learned firsthand the importance to a childhood of a stable and nurturing environment. Now, as a promising attorney, she will draw on her personal experience as she returns to help strengthen the Haitian judicial system. Nathalie will be working to help ensure equal access to justice and the protection of children’s rights in Haiti.”

Dr. Heather Paul, CEO of SOS Children’s Villages – USA, added: “The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has been a long time supporter of SOS Children’s Villages worldwide. Nathalie is an excellent example of SOS youths who are educated and imbued with a sense of responsibility to give back to their community and their country. We are so proud that a former SOS child will work within the Haitian judicial system with an eye to protecting those who are most vulnerable. Nathalie’s devotion to her country and demonstrated willingness to support its justice system echoes Ms. Jolie’s long-term commitment to ensuring legal equality and protecting the rights of children in Haiti and across the globe.”

Ms. Nozile, who made it a priority to volunteer in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake in the SOS Office of Emergency Programs, expressed her gratitude for this opportunity: “It is a great privilege and honor to become the first Jolie Legal Fellow. I made a decision to obtain a law degree long ago so that I could return to Haiti to serve my country, now in such a critical state. I hope my commitment will inspire more young professionals to return to Haiti, because Haiti needs us all.”

Ms. Jolie concluded: “Nathalie is a force … just wait and see. She will be doing many great things. She represents the best of Haiti. She is an extraordinary example. I am proud to know her and extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with her.”

SOS Children’s Villages has had a presence in Haiti for over 30 years. In its Children’s Villages in Santo and Cap Haitien, SOS is raising nearly 700 children who would otherwise be without parental care. Its Santo school, located near Port-au-Prince, now educates over 900 children who attend classes in two shifts. SOS is also providing emergency food supplies to 14,000 Haitians daily and will begin construction of a third Haitian Children’s Village in Les Cayes later in 2011.
SOS Children’s Villages

60th Anniversary: Angelina Jolie marks milestone with tribute to the displaced and UNHCR staff

MADRID, Spain, December 17 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors Angelina Jolie and Jesús Vázquez met in Spain this week and paid tribute to the staff of the refugee agency on its 60th birthday and to the people they help.

“In the week of UNHCR’s anniversary, I would like to highlight the strength and courage of the world’s refugees and [other] forcibly displaced people who are, for all of us, an example of generosity and dignity,” Jolie said during a visit Thursday to UNHCR’s Madrid office. “My thoughts go also to the dedicated UNHCR staff, who for many years have risked their lives to protect the lives of refugees.”

Award-winning actress Jolie was in Madrid to promote her latest film, “The Tourist,” and took the opportunity to meet UNHCR staff and discuss Spain’s asylum system, mixed migration flows into the country, resettlement and other important issues. She also heard about plans for the anniversary year.

Jolie met Vázquez, a popular TV presenter in Spain, and shared with him some of her experiences as a goodwill ambassador over the past decade. Since becoming a goodwill ambassador in 2006, Vázquez has been actively supporting awareness and fund-raising activities in Spain on behalf of refugees, including a charity art auction on Wednesday in Madrid.

UNHCR turned 60 on Tuesday. It was founded on December 14, 1950 to help Europeans displaced during World War II and was only expected to be in existence for three years. Today, it works around the world, helps millions of people and has an open-ended mandate.

UNHCR

Maintaining their busy travel schedule, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie were spotted at a photo call for “The Tourist” in Madrid, Spain today (December 16).

The Villamagna Hotel was the scene where the “Public Enemies” stud and the “Girl, Interrupted” babe were found to be hamming it up for the press ahead of the Spanish premiere of the film.