Angelina Jolie pens a powerful note on Syrian refugees
Even after ten years, the actor tries to evoke sympathy for a war-torn nation
Angelina Jolie continues to use her star power to speak for those whose voices are not heard.
Jolie, a longtime special envoy for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has visited Syrian refugees, including survivors of ISIS attacks. She wrote about her experiences on the refugees' plight in an essay for Time magazine, which came out on Thursday.
"A few months into the Syrian conflict in 2011, I visited the Jordanian border at night, where shell-shocked Syrian families were crossing under cover of darkness to avoid sniper fire," Jolie wrote. "A medic at the border post told me about a family who'd recently arrived.
They carried with them their wounded eight-year-old son and his amputated leg. His leg had been severed in an airstrike. He'd begged them to bring it with them as they fled, in the hope that it could somehow be reattached."
She continued, "At the time, I hoped that stories like his might force the world's rich and mighty countries to intervene to stop the violence. But now, nearly a decade later, it strikes me as a metaphor for the Syrian conflict itself: the shattered innocence of a generation of children; the irreversible damage inflicted upon a secular, multi ethnic society; and the years of pleas for help that have gone unanswered."
Jolie pleaded for intervention from the US to help the refugees as well. "When did we stop wanting to stand up for the underdog, for the innocent, for those fighting for their human rights? And what kind of country would we be if we abandoned that principle?” questioned the Hollywood superstar.
“There is a lot of focus in America today on self-preservation. We're watching the brutal endgame of the war in Syria as if it has little to do with us. But it does! We should be using our diplomatic power for a cease-fire and a negotiated peace based on at least some measure of political participation, accountability and the conditions for the safe return of refugees."
Have something to add to story? Share it in the comments below.
Jolie, a longtime special envoy for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has visited Syrian refugees, including survivors of ISIS attacks. She wrote about her experiences on the refugees' plight in an essay for Time magazine, which came out on Thursday.
"A few months into the Syrian conflict in 2011, I visited the Jordanian border at night, where shell-shocked Syrian families were crossing under cover of darkness to avoid sniper fire," Jolie wrote. "A medic at the border post told me about a family who'd recently arrived.
They carried with them their wounded eight-year-old son and his amputated leg. His leg had been severed in an airstrike. He'd begged them to bring it with them as they fled, in the hope that it could somehow be reattached."
She continued, "At the time, I hoped that stories like his might force the world's rich and mighty countries to intervene to stop the violence. But now, nearly a decade later, it strikes me as a metaphor for the Syrian conflict itself: the shattered innocence of a generation of children; the irreversible damage inflicted upon a secular, multi ethnic society; and the years of pleas for help that have gone unanswered."
Jolie pleaded for intervention from the US to help the refugees as well. "When did we stop wanting to stand up for the underdog, for the innocent, for those fighting for their human rights? And what kind of country would we be if we abandoned that principle?” questioned the Hollywood superstar.
“There is a lot of focus in America today on self-preservation. We're watching the brutal endgame of the war in Syria as if it has little to do with us. But it does! We should be using our diplomatic power for a cease-fire and a negotiated peace based on at least some measure of political participation, accountability and the conditions for the safe return of refugees."
Have something to add to story? Share it in the comments below.