Actress Angelina Jolie visits Syrian refugees in Jordan.
- 12 years ago
UN ambassador Angelina Jolie arrived at a refugee camp in Jordan on Tuesday (September 11), meeting civilians fleeing the bloodshed in Syria.
More than 80,000 people have escaped to Jordan since the conflict erupted 18 months ago.
Jolie, who was accompanied by UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, spoke about some of the horror stories people had shared with her on her visit.
SOUNDBITE: Angelina Jolie, U.N. Refugee Special Envoy, saying (English):
"Often times you come to these camps and we have been around the world and met with people in conflict situations, very rarely you come when you meet them as they cross the border and you get to know people, the moment they become a refugee, the moment they have forever lost their home, their schooling, their livelihood, education, everything that they have been is gone and when I ask them what did you bring they say this, the shirt on my back.
The Hollywood actress looked deeply affected by some of the graphic tales she heard from children as young as nine, who'd seen first hand the horror and brutality of the conflict.
Stories that are hard for anyone to hear, particularly for a mother.
SOUNDBITE: Angelina Jolie, U.N. Refugee Special Envoy, saying (English):
"As a mother certainly, the amount of innocent children that are reported dead, the amount of innocent children I've met here who are wounded, and unaccompanied with their parents being killed and now they are on their own. It is impossible to imagine any mother standing by and not stepping up and doing something to stop this."
Jordan admits it is struggling to cope with the thousands of people flooding into its country every day.
Jolie's visit they hope will help to ramp up more international funding which is so desperately needed.
More than 80,000 people have escaped to Jordan since the conflict erupted 18 months ago.
Jolie, who was accompanied by UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, spoke about some of the horror stories people had shared with her on her visit.
SOUNDBITE: Angelina Jolie, U.N. Refugee Special Envoy, saying (English):
"Often times you come to these camps and we have been around the world and met with people in conflict situations, very rarely you come when you meet them as they cross the border and you get to know people, the moment they become a refugee, the moment they have forever lost their home, their schooling, their livelihood, education, everything that they have been is gone and when I ask them what did you bring they say this, the shirt on my back.
The Hollywood actress looked deeply affected by some of the graphic tales she heard from children as young as nine, who'd seen first hand the horror and brutality of the conflict.
Stories that are hard for anyone to hear, particularly for a mother.
SOUNDBITE: Angelina Jolie, U.N. Refugee Special Envoy, saying (English):
"As a mother certainly, the amount of innocent children that are reported dead, the amount of innocent children I've met here who are wounded, and unaccompanied with their parents being killed and now they are on their own. It is impossible to imagine any mother standing by and not stepping up and doing something to stop this."
Jordan admits it is struggling to cope with the thousands of people flooding into its country every day.
Jolie's visit they hope will help to ramp up more international funding which is so desperately needed.