“Shocking to see how...Iraq has deteriorated,” says Jolie.
“We are being tested here as an international community, and so far, for all the immense efforts and good intentions, the international community is failing," actress and director Angelina Jolie said yesterday at a camp for displaced persons in Dohuk, Iraq. ”The people I met today need to know that we will be with them.”
"Nothing can prepare you for the horrific stories of these survivors of kidnap, abuse and exploitation and to see how they cannot all get the urgent help they need and deserve," Jolie said.
While most of Hollywood was attending the SAG awards, Jolie took a 2 day visit to Iraq. The camp she visited holds over 20,000 displaced Yazidis who fled ISIS’ assault on Mount Sinjar in early August. Women recounted their dramatic ordeals to the Hollywood actress, telling tales of kidnappings, detentions, escape and release. There were some people who escaped ISIS by “walking through the night and hiding by day…. listened to the stories of extreme hardship and loss, including from people who still have sons, husbands and daughters detained, and others who had heard their daughters were moved to Syria. Others had lost all contact with their loved ones and had no idea of their fate.”
"The needs so dramatically outstrip the resources available in this vast crisis. Much more international assistance is needed," said Jolie. In her role as special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR,) Jolie warned that last year they’d received only 53% of the $337 million needed to care for over three million displaced Syrians and Iraqis. Without the needed funds, a humanitarian crisis in northern Iraq is sure to continue.
Photo courtesy: UNHCR
“It is shocking to see how the humanitarian situation in Iraq has deteriorated since my last visit,” Jolie said. It is her fifth trip to Iraq as UNHCR ambassador.
The Syrian civil war has entered its fifth year, and over 3.8 million Syrians have fled, while 7.6 million Syrians are internally displaced. At least 3.1 million Iraqis are also displaced due to ISIS’ savage onslaught last year.
In a strong statement, Jolie added: "Too many innocent people are paying the price of the conflict in Syria and spread of extremism. I express my deepest sympathy to the family of Haruna Yukawa the Japanese hostage reportedly murdered in Syria on Saturday, and to all the families and victims of these vile and extreme acts."