Yahoo Lifestyle Angelina Jolie Writes Moving Opinion Piece On Refugees
Following her visit to Iraq as a special UNHCR ambassador, Angelina Jolie has written a moving op-ed piece for the New York Times detailing the suffering of refugees displaced by conflict in the region.
The mother of six said that despite the fact she's visited Iraq five times before, nothing could have prepared her for the reality of so much individual human misery.
"For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories," Jolie wrote. "I try my best to give support. To say something that will show solidarity and give some kind of thoughtful guidance. On this trip I was speechless.
"What do you say to a mother with tears streaming down her face who says her daughter is in the hands of the Islamic State, or ISIS, and that she wishes she were there, too? Even if she had to be raped and tortured, she says, it would be better than not being with her daughter.
"What do you say to the 13-year-old girl who describes the warehouses where she and the others lived and would be pulled out, three at a time, to be raped by the men? When her brother found out, he killed himself.
"How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her, and that she now lives alone in a tent and has minimal food rations?"
The stories are sobering, and Jolie holds nothing back in her descriptions. At the end of the piece, the actress asks that in addition to funds, world leaders should offer sanctuary to the most vulnerable refugees.
"Who can blame them for thinking that we have given up on them? Only a fraction of the humanitarian aid they need is being provided," Jolie said.
You can read the entire essay here.
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