The award-winning actress, who arrived in the city of Lago Agrío on Thursday, visited UNHCR field operations and the isolated community of Barranca Bermeja, located in thick jungle on the banks of the San Miguel River, which marks the border with Colombia. The little village hosts 34 families, most of them refugees from the violence that has plagued parts of Colombia for decades.

In Lago Agrío, capital of Sucumbíos province, she had a reunion with a Colombian mother whom Jolie last met here in 2002. “At that time she had a lot of hope for her future,” the Goodwill Ambassador recalled, while adding: “She was recently treated for cancer. She still holds on to hope.”

The award-winning actress also met with refugee women in a shelter for victims of domestic violence, which is a serious problem in the region.

Some of the women in the centre, run by the Women´s Federation of Sucumbíos, told harrowing tales of beatings, incest and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Some women even have to resort to “survival sex” to get lodging to feed their children. Others fall prey to sexual exploitation.

In Barranca Bermeja, Jolie spent time with the community and was impressed by their mental strength in coping with the suffering they had endured in Colombia. One woman fled after two of her family were killed – she did not want to lose any more of her children.

There are around 51,000 registered Colombian refugees in Ecuador, but UNHCR estimates that about 135,000 people are in need of international protection. This makes Ecuador the country with the largest refugee population in Latin America. Many of the Colombians live in remote settlements in the north, like Barranca Bermeja, often too scared to seek help from UNHCR and its partners.

“It’s been eight years since I was last here and UNHCR’s presence has grown considerably,” Jolie noted after her arrival in Ecuador. “They are going into the thickest parts of the jungle to reach the refugees, who are living in very remote locations and in desperate conditions,” she added.

“I wanted to come back and meet with vulnerable people and focus on violence against women and unaccompanied minors,” Jolie explained. “I am so happy to be able to reconnect with some familiar faces, refugees I had met with during my 2002 trip.” Single women, girls and Afro-Colombians are among the most vulnerable of the refugee population.

Jolie will be taking part on Friday (14:00 GMT) in a global live video link from northern Ecuador with Washington, DC, Damascus in Syria and Dungu in north-east Congo. The event, which includes refugees as well as High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is one of UNHCR’s top World Refugee Day events this year.

Source: UNHCR

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,” said Jolie. “Another tragedy is unfolding in Somalia as street battles rage on in Mogadishu causing incredible suffering, massive displacement and loss of life.”

While thousands have fled Mogadishu, many others stay behind, displaced and without any means to leave the city.

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

UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador 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.

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.

Source: Alert Net

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) goodwill ambassador (pictured above talking to a 10-year-old boy who lost a limb after the quake) arrived Tuesday to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and visited medical centers and the UN mission, according to the UNHCR’s Web site.

The star also visited a cash-for-work program run by the UN Development Programme, which is intended to eventually help 400,000 Haitians earn an income.

“To give people the ability to work towards their own future is so important at this time. It helps to restore their hope and respects their dignity,” Jolie said.

Jolie also visited children’s villages that provide care for newly orphaned children. “I was struck by the strength and spirit of the Haitian people,” she said when visiting a tented hospital. “Children as young as nine months old were coping with amputations with extraordinary resilience. I even met a little 10-year-old boy who had recently had his leg amputated, who was giggling to himself about a silly book as he sat on the floor.”

Prior to arriving to Haiti on Tuesday, Jolie spent a day in the neighboring Dominican Republic to meet with quake survivors.

Jolie and partner Brad Pitt have contributed $1 million to Doctors Without Borders’ emergency medical care operations in Haiti.

Source: ET

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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.

* Names changed for protection reasons

Source: UNHCR

Source: Contact Music

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