While I was celebrating Easter in a safe place with my basket and chocolate eggs, Angelina Jolie (though probably not giving much thought to the true meaning) was actually living out Easter. She and husband Brad Pitt went to Bosnia to help refugees. [I just hate it when I feel shamed by the Hollywood elite].
Jolie, the most notable Hollywood “do-gooder,” who seems to collect children from far off lands, has been a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ambassador since 2001. She has made prior humanitarian trips to Haiti, Syria and Kenya, and helped with some of the projects of the agency that deals with the 117,000 refugees in Bosnia whose homes were destroyed or lack adequate infrastructure in their villages due to the war 15 years ago.
The war, which lasted from 1991 until America stepped in, as President Clinton said, “make the United States the catalyst for a collective stand against aggression,” calling an end to the mass rapes and genocide.
Jolie says,”[I am] so inspired by these families. Despite the grim realities of their unsettled existence, they have an incredible determination to make a better future for their children. I hope we can find solutions for the remaining tens of thousands of displaced people… only then can we really close one of the most tragic chapters in modern history.”
“[I hope] to return to this beautiful country soon and meet with political representatives to further discuss the solutions that are so badly required.”
I have to applaud Jolie for using her stardom for good. So many don’t. I don’t know if I would. I think she is a great example. There are those who protest, this is merely a publicity stunt. So what? It doesn’t matter what the reasons behind her actions are, it just matters that she is doing something.
c. 2010
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