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UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie urges the world not to forget Iraqi refugees

News Stories, 2 October 2009

DAMASCUS, Syria, October 2 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie called Friday on the international community not to forget the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who remain in exile despite a relative improvement in the security situation in their homeland.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have returned to their country from Syria and other nearby countries over the past year, but many more are unable or unwilling to return to a country still rocked by violence. As the Iraqi story has largely disappeared from global headlines, so has the plight of the refugees.

Jolie, returning to visit Iraqi refugees in the poorest suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus after a 2007 visit, said these refugees still needed vital help and support. “Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services. They will, therefore, be in need of continued support from the international community.”

The acclaimed American actress, travelling with her partner Brad Pitt, was welcomed into the homes of two Iraqi families in the Jaramana district of southern Damascus. The first family, grouping seven people, fled to Syria in 2006, while the second family, members of a minority religious group, fled to Iraq in July this year after a son, Waleed,* was twice abducted and his mother, Hoda,* physically abused. The family patriarch, Fares,* had to pay US$25,000 in ransom the first time Waleed was abducted.

The second time, both son and mother were snatched, and Fares had to find US$40,000. The two were released, but they had suffered a terrible ordeal, including torture. “I was assaulted every day for 13 days by up to 10 men,” Hoda* recalled, her voice trembling. “I wanted to kill myself and the only reason I decided not to go ahead is because of my children,” she added.

On the release of Hoda and Waleed, the family fled to Syria.

“I’m grateful to you for sharing this story,” a clearly moved Jolie said, clutching Hoda’s hand. “It helps to make it easier to understand your problems. There’s a lot of suffering in this part of the world; you’re a very brave and strong woman for putting this behind you for the sake of your children.”

The family said the Syrians have been very welcoming, but they still find it difficult remaining in the country and wish to be resettled. Meanwhile they are relying on food and financial support from UNHCR.

The refugee agency, working closely with local authorities and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, helps the most vulnerable refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly in Syria and Jordan where the largest numbers have found refuge. This includes material, financial, medical and other assistance.

Many of the families who have fled to Syria over the past few years, have exhausted their savings and must now rely on the generosity and help of the government and humanitarian agencies like UNHCR.

The first family Jolie visited – mother, father and five children aged seven or under – is a good example. They were crammed into a squalid, stuffy one-room basement apartment with a tiny window. Most of their possessions, including mattresses, blankets and boxes of food, were provided by UNHCR.

They also had harrowing tales to tell, including the kidnapping and torture of the father, Taha, who still suffers from nightmares and finds it difficult to leave the apartment. His wife, Ibtissam, spoke about their struggle to pay the rent and to buy extras such as clothes and medicine. She works as a cleaner in a market, even though she has a degree in teaching.

“I tore up my university degree,” she said, adding: “What value does it have when I am just a cleaning lady.” Ibtissam told Jolie that her family also wanted to start a new life in a third country. Two of the families that Jolie met during her 2007 visit have been resettled in the United States, while a third family recently returned to Iraq.

The Goodwill Ambassador said the families she visited today, “have not recovered from the trauma they faced,” while adding that, “until other solutions are found, or these refugees are able to go home, it is essential that the international community help UNHCR to provide financial and food support so that they can survive. They don’t have the right to work, so they have no way of surviving without our help.”

During her day-long trip, Jolie also met with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and his wife, Asma al-Assad, who told her about the efforts being made by Syria to provide health care to the most vulnerable and to encourage refugee children to go to school.

“It is clear that the Syrian people, no matter the challenges or difficulties they may face, have always shown generous hospitality to people in need. I hope that the rest of the world recognizes that we all have to share this burden and continue to take care of Iraqi refugees,” Jolie said after the meeting.

UNHCR estimates that more than 4.2 million Iraqis have left their homes since the beginning of the conflict in Iraq in 2003. To date, 215,000 Iraqi refugees are registered with UNHCR in Syria, the majority of whom are dependent on food and other material support.

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News Stories, 12 September 2009

Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya, September 12 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee settlement on the Kenyan – Somali border. Describing it as ‘one of the most dire’ camps she had visited, Jolie asked, “if this is the better solution, what must it be like in Somalia?’

Around 285,000 people live in a space designed for 90,000. Led by UNHCR Field Officer Maeve Murphy, Jolie heard about the struggle the humanitarian agency is facing to contain an impending humanitarian catastrophe.

On her way to visit the new arrivals area, children ran to greet Jolie. A little boy taught her the Somali handshake and soon the children were all giggling and offering hands for her to grasp.

Jolie reached the new arrivals site where she met a young woman with her three small children, two of them still babies. Their distended stomachs and streaming noses were clear signs of their recent misery. Sitting down under the tree, Murphy showed Jolie the different signs of malnutrition, noting that the family would go to the nearest hospital for care later in the day.

“We walked for days to escape the fighting,” the woman told Jolie. Relatives came to join the party providing obvious relief to the young woman. One spoke English and told her, ‘we need space’, noting that the arrival of the young woman was stretching an already overcrowded home. The crowd answered together when she asked whether the situation has deteriorated in Somalia since they arrived, ‘much worse’ translated the man. “I hear that the situation in Somalia is only expected to worsen in the coming months”, added Jolie.

On the drive to the next family, Jolie looked out of the window to heaps of strewn rubbish, “There is not even enough space for a trash dump, so people live amongst garbage”, she said. The car passed numerous water points with water cans lined up in rows, waiting for water to arrive. Murphy explained that the huge numbers of people in the camp meant that water could only be given every two days.

As she walked to meet another family she noticed a child pulling a water container along by a string. “We have stopped giving water containers that roll because we are so worried about contamination entering the water, spreading diseases like cholera” explained Murphy. Earlier this year a cholera outbreak was contained thanks to huge teams of humanitarian workers. “With up to 7,000 people arriving each month, rain on the horizon, they say it will be impossible to contain the next outbreak,” warned Jolie, who had prepared intensively for her mission.

Jolie chatted with UNHCR staff as they walked through the windswept, baking camp to meet the next family. Every home they passed was full of people, “there is no space left to offer, so we rely on the refugees to look after the new arrivals,” explained Murphy.

She stopped at a home cobbled together with tree branches and plastic sheeting packed with three families. Under the shade of a tree one of the families sat waiting for her. Zahra, the mother, had arrived in the camp the month before, loaded into a wheelbarrow with her youngest, pushed by her exhausted husband. “Luckily we found our old neighbour Anab from Mogadishu,” she said, nodding to a smiling woman waiting in the doorway of a small room. “We don’t have a roof though, just a place to stay,” she noted, after describing her health problems.

Moving over to Anab, Jolie was invited into the small room, shafts of sunlight filtering through the dilapidated roof. “I have heard so many good things about you,” she told Anab. After hearing Anab’s description of her daily struggle to survive, with 18 people living in her small shelter, Jolie said “it is amazing that as more and more people come into the camp they continue to be generous with what little they have.”

They arrived at the next home to find three families all crammed into a small compound with a young woman lying under a shade, clearly sick. Surrounded by his children, the owner of the shelter, Mahmoud was despondent. “We get water every two days,” he complained pointing to his five water cans. “Since the beginning of this year I have had to look after two other families here, but with the same space and the same quantity of water.”

“Fifteen people are surviving on 100 litres of water every two days,” warned Murphy, noting that UNHCR recommends a minimum of 20 litres per person per day. Looking around the compound, Jolie came away from the latrine saying “the toilets are already overflowing”. Jolie commented on the generosity that she was finding throughout the camp, “even if that means having one eighth of the water they need and their children are suffering from malnutrition.”

Before returning to the airstrip, Jolie met with UNHCR Kenya Representative Liz Ahua. “If we don’t get more land, it will be impossible to avert a major humanitarian crisis”, Ahua warned noting that UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
Antonio Guterres, received assurances in August that land would be allocated by the Kenyan Government within a week. “We hope this happens soon,” Ahua said.

Asked about her impressions, Jolie smiled warmly, “the Somali families I met today are full of warmth and affection. I wish more people could meet them, then they would have a stronger desire to help.”

Last month the UN High Commissioner announced that UNHCR will provide an extra US$20 million to meet the needs of refugees and the host community in Dadaab. UNHCR, he said, is putting maximum effort into seeking creative solutions despite the constraints. He called for a massive injection of funds from the donor community. As an emergency measure UNHCR has started moving around 12,000 new arrivals to the Kakuma camp in Northern Kenya.

UNHCR

News Stories, 12 September 2009

Dadaab Refugee Camps, Kenya, September 12 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee settlement on the Kenyan – Somali border. Describing it as ‘one of the most dire’ camps she had visited, Jolie asked, “if this is the better solution, what must it be like in Somalia?’

Around 285,000 people live in a space designed for 90,000. Led by UNHCR Field Officer Maeve Murphy, Jolie heard about the struggle the humanitarian agency is facing to contain an impending humanitarian catastrophe.

On her way to visit the new arrivals area, children ran to greet Jolie. A little boy taught her the Somali handshake and soon the children were all giggling and offering hands for her to grasp.

Jolie reached the new arrivals site where she met a young woman with her three small children, two of them still babies. Their distended stomachs and streaming noses were clear signs of their recent misery. Sitting down under the tree, Murphy showed Jolie the different signs of malnutrition, noting that the family would go to the nearest hospital for care later in the day.

“We walked for days to escape the fighting,” the woman told Jolie. Relatives came to join the party providing obvious relief to the young woman. One spoke English and told her, ‘we need space’, noting that the arrival of the young woman was stretching an already overcrowded home. The crowd answered together when she asked whether the situation has deteriorated in Somalia since they arrived, ‘much worse’ translated the man. “I hear that the situation in Somalia is only expected to worsen in the coming months”, added Jolie.

On the drive to the next family, Jolie looked out of the window to heaps of strewn rubbish, “There is not even enough space for a trash dump, so people live amongst garbage”, she said. The car passed numerous water points with water cans lined up in rows, waiting for water to arrive. Murphy explained that the huge numbers of people in the camp meant that water could only be given every two days.

As she walked to meet another family she noticed a child pulling a water container along by a string. “We have stopped giving water containers that roll because we are so worried about contamination entering the water, spreading diseases like cholera” explained Murphy. Earlier this year a cholera outbreak was contained thanks to huge teams of humanitarian workers. “With up to 7,000 people arriving each month, rain on the horizon, they say it will be impossible to contain the next outbreak,” warned Jolie, who had prepared intensively for her mission.

Jolie chatted with UNHCR staff as they walked through the windswept, baking camp to meet the next family. Every home they passed was full of people, “there is no space left to offer, so we rely on the refugees to look after the new arrivals,” explained Murphy.

She stopped at a home cobbled together with tree branches and plastic sheeting packed with three families. Under the shade of a tree one of the families sat waiting for her. Zahra, the mother, had arrived in the camp the month before, loaded into a wheelbarrow with her youngest, pushed by her exhausted husband. “Luckily we found our old neighbour Anab from Mogadishu,” she said, nodding to a smiling woman waiting in the doorway of a small room. “We don’t have a roof though, just a place to stay,” she noted, after describing her health problems.

Moving over to Anab, Jolie was invited into the small room, shafts of sunlight filtering through the dilapidated roof. “I have heard so many good things about you,” she told Anab. After hearing Anab’s description of her daily struggle to survive, with 18 people living in her small shelter, Jolie said “it is amazing that as more and more people come into the camp they continue to be generous with what little they have.”

They arrived at the next home to find three families all crammed into a small compound with a young woman lying under a shade, clearly sick. Surrounded by his children, the owner of the shelter, Mahmoud was despondent. “We get water every two days,” he complained pointing to his five water cans. “Since the beginning of this year I have had to look after two other families here, but with the same space and the same quantity of water.”

“Fifteen people are surviving on 100 litres of water every two days,” warned Murphy, noting that UNHCR recommends a minimum of 20 litres per person per day. Looking around the compound, Jolie came away from the latrine saying “the toilets are already overflowing”. Jolie commented on the generosity that she was finding throughout the camp, “even if that means having one eighth of the water they need and their children are suffering from malnutrition.”

Before returning to the airstrip, Jolie met with UNHCR Kenya Representative Liz Ahua. “If we don’t get more land, it will be impossible to avert a major humanitarian crisis”, Ahua warned noting that UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
Antonio Guterres, received assurances in August that land would be allocated by the Kenyan Government within a week. “We hope this happens soon,” Ahua said.

Asked about her impressions, Jolie smiled warmly, “the Somali families I met today are full of warmth and affection. I wish more people could meet them, then they would have a stronger desire to help.”

Last month the UN High Commissioner announced that UNHCR will provide an extra US$20 million to meet the needs of refugees and the host community in Dadaab. UNHCR, he said, is putting maximum effort into seeking creative solutions despite the constraints. He called for a massive injection of funds from the donor community. As an emergency measure UNHCR has started moving around 12,000 new arrivals to the Kakuma camp in Northern Kenya.

UNHCR