Angelina Jolie +

GENEVA, April 19 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Monday expressed her concern for the lives and the well-being of thousands of displaced people who are trapped in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.

More than 170,000 Somalis have been forced from their homes across the country since the beginning of the year. Scores have been killed or injured in recent weeks amid some of the bloodiest fighting to date.

“I am deeply troubled by the complete and utter disregard for human life in Somalia,” Jolie said in a statement released by the UN refugee agency. “Another tragedy is unfolding in Somalia as street battles rage on in Mogadishu, causing incredible suffering, massive displacement and loss of life.”

While thousands of civilians have fled Mogadishu, many others stay behind, displaced and without any means to leave the beleaguered city and the waves of violence between government forces and the Al-Shabaab militia.

“I fear for their lives,” said Jolie. “I appeal to those who carry on fighting not to shell and target civilian neighbourhoods.”

The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, who met Somali refugees last September in north-east Kenya, added her voice to recent calls by High Commissioner Antònio Guterres for more international attention and help for the needy and vulnerable population in Somalia. Continued fighting and general insecurity make it extremely difficult for aid agencies to access and assist the displaced population.

Last week the refugee agency said it was shocked by the further loss of civilian lives in Mogadishu after more than 30 people were reported killed in the city, including children. Residents described last week’s shelling as among the worst in months.

“It is unacceptable that the conflict in Somalia continues to be conducted without respect for the safety of civilians and in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights principles,” UNHCR’s chief spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, told journalists last Friday in Geneva.

Somalia is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today with half the population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. There are more than 1.4 million Somalis displaced inside the country and some 570,000 live as refugees in the region.
Press Releases, 19 April 2010
UNHCR.org

ANGELINA JOLIE VISITS ‘ONE OF THE MOST DIRE ‘ REFUGEE CAMPS AT KENYAN-SOMALI BORDER : Spt.2009

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 6 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has called for steps to end the continuing suffering of displaced victims of the Bosnian War after hearing their harrowing tales and seeing their grim living conditions during a brief visit this week.

Jolie, travelling with her partner Brad Pitt, on Monday took a break from filming to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina and highlight the plight of 113,000 Bosnians and 7,000 refugees from Croatia. These people were forced from their homes during the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and many of them are living in collective centres, often in appalling conditions.

The acclaimed actress was clearly moved by the spirit – and the suffering – of the people she met and she pledged to highlight their case. Most of the people she talked to have been living far from home for well over a decade. Many of their children were born in exile and have never seen where their families come from.

Jolie kicked off her first trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina by visiting a crumbling and dilapidated collective centre in the eastern town of Gorazde, which lies on the Drina River and was a UN-protected enclave throughout the 1992-1995 war. She and Pitt visited another collective centre housing displaced people in Rogatica, where the inhabitants told the couple about the daily hardships they endure, including a lack of basic services such as running water.

“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,” Jolie said, adding that by “ending displacement and ensuring quality of life, we can help to promote progress and long-term stability.”

Among these “most vulnerable individuals” were a group of internally displaced women who suffered very bad experiences during the war. While Pitt went off to speak to their menfolk, Jolie spent some private time with the women.

After the meeting, an emotional Jolie said they had told her about the ordeal they had suffered before escaping to Gorazde during the war, including rape and torture. “I have my body, but it no longer has a soul,” one woman told her.

Jolie also met a family who had returned to their home village near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad and were trying to rebuild their lives with help from the UN refugee agency and local authorities. The area saw some of the worst atrocities of the war.

Their house has been reconstructed, but it still lacks running water, electricity and other essential infrastructure. So the parents and their four young children have had to bunk up in a house owned by relatives in a village three kilometres away.

The mother, Maja,* was taken aback when she recognized their celebrity guests and invited them into their humble home. When she had recovered her composure, she told Jolie and Pitt about the challenges they face.

But while Jolie was saddened by many of the things she heard, the Goodwill Ambassador said she was “so inspired by these families. Despite the grim realities of their unsettled existence, they have an incredible determination to make a better future for their children.”

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

Looking to the future, she noted that “Bosnia and Herzegovina now has the opportunity to move forward by ending displacement and further capitalizing on the EU [European Union] accession process. The local leadership has the ultimate responsibility to make choices to ensure that this will happen.”

The conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina forced more than 2.2 million people to flee their homes, making it the largest displacement of people in Europe since the end of World War II. The suffering continues to this day for many.

To date, more than 1 million people have returned home across Bosnia, with UNHCR playing a major role in the return, reconstruction and reintegration process. For those who remain displaced, many are elderly or ill and barely able to look after themselves. They have specific needs, including institutional care such as social housing, geriatric and mental health institutions or hospitals.
UNHCR.org

SARAJEVO (AFP) – Film stars Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt flew into Bosnia on a surprise visit to meet refugees still suffering from the Balkan country’s brutal 1992-1995 civil war, an official said on Monday.

“They are in Bosnia to visit the sites run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),” local UNHCR spokeswoman Aida Prljaca told AFP.

Jolie and Pitt have not been seen in public since Bosnian border police announced that a famous Hollywood couple had arrived late Sunday.

Prljaca said the couple’s visit to Bosnia would be discreet, without any contact with media, and that the UNHCR would likely issue a statement later in the day.

Dozens of photographers staked out the luxury Hotel Europe in the centre of the Bosnian capital overnight Sunday, said an AFP photographer.

The couple flew into Sarajevo from Venice, where Jolie is working alongside Johnny Depp on the film “The Tourist”, which is loosely based on the French mystery “Anthony Zimmer”.

Its director is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who was behind the critically acclaimed 2007 German film “The Lives of Others”.

Click enlarge and drag