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ANGELINA JOLIE
RELEASES TRAVEL NOTES
Copyright 2005 UHNCR
[ February 9th 2005 ]
A new
book offering insight on refugee life was released
today, detailing the experiences of UNHCR Goodwill
Ambassador Angelina Jolie over a year of travels
with the UN refugee agency. Notes from My Travels:
Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan
and Ecuador is a compilation of Jolie’s journals
between February 2001 and June 2002. It is dedicated
to refugees and UNHCR staff, and features a foreword
by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers.
"Since
her appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina
has more than fulfilled my expectations," writes
the High Commissioner. "She has proven to be a
close partner and a genuine colleague in our efforts
to find solutions for the world’s refugees. Above
all, she has helped to make the tragedy of refugees
real to everyone who will listen. Angelina’s interest
in helping refugees, her personal generosity,
and her truly compassionate spirit are an inspiration
to us all."
UN Messenger
of Peace Jane Goodall adds, "I was deeply moved
by her descriptions of individual refugees struggling
to live with dignity and hope, and found her personal
commitment to be an inspiration. Angelina’s journals
document her awakening as a humanitarian activist
and I hope they will move readers to act." Describing
her own book, Jolie says, "I am not a writer.
These are just my journals. They are just a glimpse
into a world that I am just beginning to understand,
a world I could never really explain in words."
The book
starts with Jolie’s first trip with UNHCR to Sierra
Leone and Tanzania, where she experienced first-hand
the plight of refugees. Later trips brought her
into contact with Cambodian returnees, Afghan
refugees in Pakistan, and Colombian refugees in
Ecuador. "These problems do not disappear just
because we do not hear about them," she notes.
"There is so much more happening around the world
than what is communicated to us about the top
stories we do hear. We all need to look deeper
and discover for ourselves.... What is the problem?
Where is it? How can we help to solve it?"
Jolie,
who has been a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador since
August 2001, will donate all her proceeds from
the Simon and Schuster book to the refugee agency.
She has also joined UNHCR on missions to Kenya,
Kosovo, Namibia, the North Caucasus, Thailand
and Sri Lanka.
More
information on Notes From My Travels
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