Angelina Jolie Writes Impassioned New York Times Op-Ed About Iraq Trip, Syrian Refugees: "I Was Speechless"
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- Published on Thursday, 29 January 2015 05:45
- Written by Us magazine
Days after Angelina Jolie was photographed on a visit to northern Iraq, the Unbroken director has written an impassioned op-ed about her trip for the New York Times. In it, she describes the devastation she witnessed in refugee camps and calls for action to help the millions of displaced Syrians and Iraqis who no longer have a home."I have visited Iraq five times since 2007, and I have seen nothing like the suffering I'm witnessing now," she writes in the op-ed, published by the Times on Tuesday, Jan. 27."For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories," she explains. "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."As previously reported, the mom of six visited the Khanke Camp for Internally Displaced People on Sunday, Jan. 25. While there, she spoke with victims of ISIS — some of whom she describes in her Times op-ed."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?" the Maleficent star and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees questions. "When her brother found out, he killed himself."
She continues: "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 piece goes on to detail the increasingly dire situation in Syria, noting that neighboring countries "have taken in nearly four million Syrian refugees, but they are reaching their limits."With that in mind, Jolie calls upon the international community to take action. "What does it say about our commitment to human rights and accountability that we seem to tolerate crimes against humanity happening in Syria and Iraq on a daily basis?" she asks. "It is not enough to defend our values at home, in our newspapers and in our institutions," she writes. "We also have to defend them in the refugee camps of the Middle East, and the ruined ghost towns of Syria." Read Jolie's op-ed in full at the New York Times.
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Is Angelina Jolie a Righty or Lefty? Watch Celebs Guess!
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- Published on Wednesday, 28 January 2015 05:26
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie makes her way out of LAX Airport after arriving back in town on Tuesday afternoon (January 27) in Los Angeles.The 39-year-old actress/director is returning from Iraq where she visited over the weekend to spend time with displaced Iraqis at the Kurdish Refugee Camp.Angelina‘s movie Unbroken won a SAG Award this weekend for its stunt ensemble and on the red carpet, many stars were asked the question: “Is Angelina Jolie a righty or a lefty?”Watch below to see if the celebs could figure it out (spoiler alert: she’s a lefty!
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Angelina Jolie in Kurdistan
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- Published on Monday, 26 January 2015 05:10
- Written by Rudaw
Hollywood superstar and UN refugee envoy Angelina Jolie is in the Kurdistan Region to visit refugee camps.Jolie, who arrived on an unannounced visit Saturday evening, was expected to visit a refugee camp in Duhok province that houses tens of thousands of Yezidis and other refugees from Mosul.Rudaw also learned that she will give a press conference today following her visit to the camp.The Kurdistan Region is home to 1.6 million refugees from Syrian Kurdistan and the rest of Iraq, most of whom fled the Islamic State (ISIS) onslaught last summer.The American actress was appointed a Special Envoy in 2012 by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.This is Jolie’s second visit to the Kurdistan Region. In September 2012 Jolie visited the Domiz refugee camp in Erbil and met with Kurdish officials, including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.According to the UNHCR, Jolie has conducted “more than 40 field visits around the world, becoming well-versed in the phenomenon of forced displacement and a tireless advocate on their behalf.”
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Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken' May Not Be Released in Japan
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- Published on Saturday, 24 January 2015 10:56
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie keeps it chic in black while arriving for a departing flight at LAX Airport on Friday (January 23) in Los Angeles.The 39-year-old actress is flying out of town right before this weekend’s 2015 SAG Awards, where her film Unbroken has one nomination.It was recently announced that Unbroken may not get a release date in Japan.“We decide to distribute films on a case by case basis,” a spokesman for distribution company Toho-Towa, who works with Universal, said in a statement.Some of the Japanese have viewed Unbroken as an anti-Japanese movie, such as Japanese pop star Miyavi, who wrote, “The depictions of hard-to-believe inhuman acts make this an anti-Japanese film by definition.”
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Angelina Jolie organised helicopter for Jack O'Connell
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- Published on Wednesday, 21 January 2015 08:26
- Written by Contact Music
'Unbroken' director Angelina Jolie organised a helicopter so her lead actor, Jack O'Connell, could visit a terminally ill friend.Angelina Jolie chartered a helicopter so Jack O'Connell could visit a terminally ill friend.The 24-year-old actor was preparing to star in her movie 'Unbroken' when he learned his pal didn't have long left to live so his director helped him to return home to Derbyshire in order to make a visit before it was too late.He said: ''He was terminally ill. She provided me with a helicopter from down South where I was preparing for the shoot, so I could go and visit him.''And after Jack's friend died, Angelina wanted to visit his family and the actor thinks the 'Maleficent' star helped them through their grief.He added: ''After his passing, she insisted on meeting his family and spending time with them in his house. It did them the world of good.''That is an insight into Angelina and how big her heart is. She had no agenda - what did she want out of me? She was doing that because that's the humanitarian in her.''The 'Harry Brown' actor also felt grateful that the actress-turned-filmmaker took the time to meet his own family.He told Grazia magazine: ''She met a handful of my nearest and dearest, bless her, she didn't need to do that either. But she took it upon herself.''While I was preparing for the shoot, she decided it was a good idea when she was in the country to come and do that.''
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