Angelina Jolie’s PSA for World Refugee Day
June 20th is World Refugee Day where organizations such as the UNHCR attempt to raise awareness of the plight of millions of refugees all around the world. As their goodwill ambassador, Angelina Jolie recorded a PSA.
This topic is very close to my heart. Those of you who have been reading PittWatch for awhile may recall that last year in July I took part in an international Blogathon where I used my personal blog to post every half hour for 24 hours straight. I managed to raise several thousands of dollars which were donated directly to the UNHCR to help those in need, buying netting and medicine to protect against Malaria, providing food for a family for a year, or helping build shelter. A large part of that money came from PittWatch readers and I was incredibly grateful.
Unfortunately, the Blogathon is not happening this year, the organizers are taking a year off because of other obligations and a need to re-organize. However, because June 20th is World Refugee Day, I urge you to think like Angelina Jolie and try to help the refugees. Right now the UNHCR is focusing strongly on Myanmar (Burma) after the cyclone devastated so much of the area. You don’t need to donate a huge amount of money - even five dollars will help. For instance, it only takes $80 to provide 20 wool blankets to help protect people from the cold, so if 16 people give $5 that covers the blankets. Many of us think nothing of spending $5 on a lunch down the street from the office or a fancy coffee, so let’s put it to good use that one day instead. And if you can’t afford to send money, you can still help by spreading the word. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc about World Refugee Day.
Angelina does so much good for the UNHCR, both with money and her time. As her fans, we can help too! Please let us know what you do!
(Thanks to everyone who let me know about the video)
Technorati Tags: angelina jolie, angelina jolie video, unhcr, world refugee day
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POSTED IN: Activism, Angelina Jolie, United Nations, Video
37 opinions for Angelina Jolie’s PSA for World Refugee Day
gena G.
Jun 18, 2008 at 9:15 am
I LOVE YOU ANGELINA. MY HEART GOES OUT TO ALL THE REFUGEES. I HELP THE BEST I CAN. IVE BEEN SENDING LITTLE BIT OF MONEY TO THE UNHCR TO HELP BUY SOME MOSQUITO NET OR EVEN SOME FOOD.. SO PLEASE EVERYONE HELP THE BEST YOU CAN. TO ALL MY KABABAYAN, REMEMBER WE WERE ONCE ARE REFUGEES. TO BRAD AND ANGELINA, GOD WILL ALWAYS BLESS YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN.
ange
Jun 18, 2008 at 9:48 am
LOVE you ange
Tina
Jun 18, 2008 at 10:11 am
Great video! She has such a great voice….it’s sexy and strong…by the way…she got cleavage in that interview with MTV…very sexy. Way to go AJ! My prayers go out to all the refugees nationally and internationally. I thought of all those people too who are displaced due to the flooding in Illinois and Missouri. In a sense, the are sort of refugees.
D
Jun 18, 2008 at 10:18 am
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/help?id=3f94ff664
i read jolies journals long time ago they were all really interesting. what a strong/amazing woman!
Sue
Jun 18, 2008 at 10:38 am
In response to your call for Myanmar, I just made my donation, UNHCR has acknowledged receipt. God bless you a thousandfold and please do not stop calling for help.
D
Jun 18, 2008 at 11:01 am
oh i believe maddox jolie pitt foundation has their own burma project, talked to someone from there a few wks ago.
http://www.mjpasia.org/background.htm
ligaya
Jun 18, 2008 at 11:58 am
A quick & easy way to inform myself & learn more is to watch the 6 UNHCR videos @ http://www.youtube.com/unhcr. My plate is full for this Friday’s World Refugee Day, but I pledge to inform friends & family each future WRD. (If I can find time, I’ll at least send the video link to family & friends tomorrow.) Also, I’ll highlight the UNHCR in our holiday letter as our good cause for the year.
Our tax rebate came just in time. Depending on our budget, we’ll donate $80 for blankets or $200 for a tent. I like the idea of sending aid to Myanmar through the UNHCR.
The website said that a traveling exhibition of a refugee camp is in a children’s museum in Las Vegas until the end of the year. Since we’ll be there after xmas to watch the Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles “Love” show, we’ll go to the museum too.
I already subscribe to their short & sweet newsletter; I’ll checkout the joint Google Earth/UNHCR project that brings us virtually into the camps. This technology was developed to help rescuers after Katrina (love the link between Angie’s & Brad’s work).
ligaya
Jun 18, 2008 at 12:45 pm
When I was checking out the UNHCR website, there was an article with lots of statistics & big numbers - it was overwhelming – so I set it aside for later when my brain could understand it. I was thinking that for most people, especially in the developed world, the whole refugee situation is overwhelming and hard to comprehend. It seems such a huge problem to solve. I just figured it out for myself. As long as there are wars & conflicts, there will be refugees & displaced persons. I firmly believe that someday, maybe thousands of years from now if we survive global warming, we’ll have learned that wars cost us more than we gain. Then there won’t be refugees & displaced persons.
Like cancer has no cure right now, yet we do the best to prolong & improve the quality of life for cancer survivors – there’s no instant, immediate and permanent solution for the refugee situation right now, and we do the best we can to save lives, even if we can’t save them all. You probably heard the story of the little boy throwing starfish that had been stranded by the tide back into the sea. A man asked why he did that, since there was no way the boy could rescue them all and it wouldn’t matter. The boy answered, “It matters to this one,” as he threw another starfish into the sea. I didn’t think I’d live to see the end of apartheid during my lifetime, but I did. With a lot of work, the impossible becomes possible.
LizA
Jun 18, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Thanks for this and ligaya, beautifully said. I love the starfish story.
irma
Jun 18, 2008 at 3:52 pm
We can do something to help the refugees, monetarily donations, prayers & volunteering, I may do the first & the second one. Even a small amount will make a big difference to the lives of the refugees who are displaced by wars or famine. Let’s do whatever we can to help. In our small way, let’s make our world a better place.
To Brad & Angie, you made us proud. God bless you both.
isacutie
Jun 18, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Thanks, Sherry. Let’s all remember that a little help from each, when put together, makes up a big help. I pray for all the refugees and hope that in some little way, I will be able to give some help as well.
fan
Jun 18, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Thanks sherry,angie is always at the heart of these issues,we all can help in anyway possible.
mélodie
Jun 18, 2008 at 4:37 pm
thanks sherry for all the good things you make: you’re a great person. (do you know if i can make a donation in europe too???)
i did a baby-sitting this evening, and i watched a broadcast about angelina and her past: i love her now, but i too loved her when she was a little bit “special”: she is an honest people and she never cheated! i loved her. in this broadcast they said that she and BBT were really in love but angie changed a lot after filming TR1 and discovering sadness in the world and so, she became really different of BB.
i loved her even if she wasn’t conventional (in fact, i loved and i love her for that!).
mélodie
Jun 18, 2008 at 4:52 pm
to my dear angie: i’m so proud of you. i think you’re right: you can make a difference, you can change the world. you changed my life and you made me thinking that if everybody try, we can change this world. a better world is possible. thank you for all the good things you make. i would like that everybody on earth who can give only one dollar for those people: it’ll make a difference.
this video is so simple but so great, so emotional: wonderful
mélodie
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:21 pm
sherry, i would like to propose a subject of discussion: angie and brad’s tatoos. i think it’s a good subject cause in wanted angie has a lot of “new”tatoos…
irma
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Angie is such a remarkable woman. Let’s help her make a difference. God bless the Jolie-Pitt’s.
ligaya
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Melodie, here’s the URL for UNHCR donations. I think you can donate from anywhere around the world: http://www.unhcr.org/giveshelter/
ligaya
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I couldn’t figure out where to post this, so here it is - a blow-up of Shiloh & Brad in the CCBB trailer:
http://i25.tinypic.com/2mg05xx.jpg
ligaya
Jun 18, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I think this is apropos of World Refugee Day because I think Angelina said she felt responsible for refugee children around the world. I’m sure being a mother herself cemented this connection.
Here’s a slideshow of memorable moments of Angie & her children:
http://www.usmagazine.com/angie_one_hot_mama_013008
irma
Jun 18, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Thanks Ligaya for CCBB trailer.that’s a very nice picture of father & daughter, love how Brad carried Shiloh & seems like he was telling her something.God bless.
Than God for Angie
Jun 18, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Dear Sherry: On behalf of yourseld and ngie, I just made my donation to UNHCR.org. Thank you for reminding me.
Sincerely,
TGFA
davesmomster
Jun 18, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I made my small contribution. We live on social security so can’t give big bucks but I think our small contributions add up for this cause. Yaay Brangelina, you rule.
mélodie
Jun 19, 2008 at 1:27 am
thank you very much for the link ligaya
BlessBrangelina
Jun 19, 2008 at 8:26 am
Thanks Sherry and Ligaya.
kim
Jun 19, 2008 at 9:38 am
Ligaya,
I have thought about the wars that go on in the world for quite along time and have gone down many thoughtful roads. I have explored the history of wars in the world (there is a pattern), to better understand what is happening today. I then turned my mind to how we can solve this problem of man kind. I have come to one conclusion, everyone needs to be educated, but how do you educate different people with different cultures. I came up with one answer, make sure they can read, write, and teach them Math as it is an universal language with no restrictions in language or culture. Once people are educated they can not be manipulated by others with hidden agenda’s. This is my opinion, and in no way should this opinion influence others except to stimulate others into doing there own research and forming there own opinions.
mélodie
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:01 am
kim: i exactly study this question at the university (i love History cause it help us to understand what happens now in the world) and i have to say that your opinion is correct: you should be an historian or a political expert!!!!
Rita
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:02 pm
though I agree that education is a powerful tool, it (unfortunately) does not always stop the “manipulation”. Take a look at Hitler’s agenda and how he was able to persuade people, very educated people at that. I am not sure what the answer is, but education alone does not seem to be the best deterrant of wars and horrible agendas.
mélodie
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:28 pm
please girls continue to speak about this subject (education-manipulation): it’s really interesting for me: i want to become an expert in historic propaganda (it includes an element of education…) and i found those questions are really important in the world today!!!
Rita
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:36 pm
mélodie, take a look at Stanley Milgram’s research. Here’s a quick overview. Fascinating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
Neela
Jun 19, 2008 at 12:42 pm
noam chomsky has had a lot to say about propaganda, especially in the media … just a thought.
ligaya
Jun 19, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Compared with the topic, Wanted may seem frivolous. OTOH, it’s part of the 1/3 of the salary donated by Angelina.
Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Variety & Hollywood Reporter URLs under mod - just go to their websites.
isacutie
Jun 19, 2008 at 4:51 pm
It’s true that education can be a two-edged sword. Some people have managed to use to brainwash others to do deplorable things. That being said, however, I still believe that education, health, and poverty are among the most important issues to be addressed if we are to minimize wars. Sadly, I think wars can never be eradicated, but if people are educated, healthy, and need not to worry about where their next food will be coming from, they are probably going to be able to make better decisions and not be manipulated easily.
ligaya
Jun 21, 2008 at 4:02 pm
This is a companion PSA to Angelina’s. It’s by Luol Deng, NBA player & former refugee. He was given the Humanitarian Award this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgS1GZu6v2Q
ligaya
Jun 21, 2008 at 4:08 pm
On June 17, an exhibit dubbed “Experience Darfur,” opened on Trafalgar Square, in London. The square was turned into a mock refugee camp for a day to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oypq_Et01Ao&NR=1
ligaya
Jun 21, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Londoners are given the chance to see the world through the eyes of refugees. CNN’s Sasha Herriman reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ywUKYwoTCI&feature=user
Darfur refugees speak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5DElzUlnAY&watch_response
ligaya
Jun 21, 2008 at 7:37 pm
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/485bd6a92.html
Millions mark World Refugee Day with theme of “Protection”
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, meanwhile, said that while June 20 was designated World Refugee Day, it would go unnoticed by the majority of the world. “Even those for whom the day is for, they have no access to newspapers to read the announcements, they have no televisions to see PSAs [public service announcement] on their behalf. Many are running for their lives on this day or dying on this day,” she said in a short message.
ligaya
Jun 21, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Angelina visited these refugees 2x within the space of a few months -
The report also pointed to a lack of specialized health care for women leading to a high number of premature labor, miscarriages and infant deaths in the mainly Shiite southern provinces of Maysan, Wassit and Qadasiyah.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_refugees
Report: Women and children refugees suffer in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Women and children have been hit especially hard in Iraq’s refugee crisis, often forced to beg and in some cases turn to prostitution to provide for their families because so many men have been killed, a report said Friday. A biannual regional survey by the International Organization for Migration paints a bleak picture of Iraq’s estimated 2.8 million internally displaced people, or IDPs. They often face eviction threats and insufficient access to food, clean water and health care despite recent security gains, the report said.
But women and children who have been forced to flee their homes are particularly vulnerable because the men in the family have often been killed or abandoned them in a conservative Islamic society that generally doesn’t value women in the workplace. Women make up about half of the displaced population, surpassing the number of men in some provinces, including Baghdad. But they face difficulties finding employment and often are isolated because of their gender, it said.
Displaced children, meanwhile, have suffered from malnutrition and skin diseases due to a lack of clean water and sanitation, the report said. They also frequently lack access to education because they must work or beg on the streets instead of going to school.
Monitors in the provinces of Baghdad and Diyala “have observed large numbers of families with both widows and orphans, both of whom have many difficulties finding jobs, obtaining food, or receiving aid from local authorities and humanitarian organizations,” according to the Geneva-based organization. Observers in the Anbar province town of Qaim near the Syrian border also reported children begging in the streets while women collected garbage to resell for recycling, the report added.
Widows traditionally have been cared for by their late husband’s family in Iraq, but relatives have been overwhelmed because so many people have been killed in recent years. “It is estimated that hundreds of IDP women in the Kurdistan region are subject to sexual abuse and domestic violence,” the report said. “Many of these are forced into prostitution, sometimes by their own loved ones.” It also said many displaced children in the area are unable to go to school because they don’t speak Kurdish and are not able to transfer their documents from their place of origin.
Monitors observed a significant increase in the number of displaced children working in the streets selling cigarettes and tissues at traffic lights or offering to polish shoes. Displaced women in Kirkuk, the capital of Tamim province, have been forced into prostitution, often by relatives, the report said, adding that others were forced to marry much older men from the host community.
The report also pointed to a lack of specialized health care for women leading to a high number of premature labor, miscarriages and infant deaths in the mainly Shiite southern provinces of Maysan, Wassit and Qadasiyah.
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