United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie in Haiti

Hollywood actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is in Haiti where she met with survivors of last month’s devastating earthquake as well as some of the local and international aid workers assisting in the relief effort.

Ms. Jolie arrived yesterday in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which bore the brunt of the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck the small Caribbean nation on 12 January.

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie outside UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince. (UN photo by Sophia Paris)

The quake killed up to 200,000 people and left 2 million in need of assistance, in addition to causing widespread damage and destruction to vital infrastructure in Haiti, already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

“It will take years to rebuild Haiti,” Ms. Jolie, a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said after seeing the devastation for herself.

“Every day, the UN, governments, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and local organizations are providing more people with protection, food, water, shelter and health care, yet the needs are still enormous and the displacement could last a decade,” she stated.

United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie in Haiti

Hollywood actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie is in Haiti where she met with survivors of last month’s devastating earthquake as well as some of the local and international aid workers assisting in the relief effort.

Ms. Jolie arrived yesterday in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which bore the brunt of the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck the small Caribbean nation on 12 January.

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie outside UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince. (UN photo by Sophia Paris)

The quake killed up to 200,000 people and left 2 million in need of assistance, in addition to causing widespread damage and destruction to vital infrastructure in Haiti, already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

“It will take years to rebuild Haiti,” Ms. Jolie, a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said after seeing the devastation for herself.

“Every day, the UN, governments, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and local organizations are providing more people with protection, food, water, shelter and health care, yet the needs are still enormous and the displacement could last a decade,” she stated.

On arriving in the capital, Ms. Jolie was briefed by the top UN official on the ground, Edmond Mulet, on the scale of the humanitarian operation and the remaining challenges.

She noted that providing adequate shelter to the displaced is crucial in light of the upcoming rainy season, which could add to the devastation. “Everyone is bracing themselves for a second wave of tragedy,” she said.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Kim Bolduc, said earlier this week that some 250,000 of the 1 million people in need of shelter have received tents or plastic sheets. However, the main concern now is to bring in sufficient hazard-resistant, hurricane-proof shelter, a task made all the more difficult because the port was severely damaged by the quake and air transportation would be enormously costly.

Jolie urges more support for Iraqi displaced

Academy award-winning actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency Angelina Jolie last week called for greater support for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who remain displaced.

“This is a moment where things seem to be improving on the ground, but Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives,” said Ms. Jolie, who was visiting families in a makeshift settlement in a suburb of Baghdad, on her third visit to the country.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador spent a day at a camp in the Chikook suburb of northwest Baghdad, home to some 20,000 people, listening to men, women and children forced from their homes in the western suburbs of the capital.

Angelina Jolie: refugees 'most impressive people I have ever met'

In Washington D.C. UNHCR Goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie speaks out about how refugees have impacted her own life.

Angelina Jolie video highlights refugee issues

This World Refugee Day, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie reminds us to take the time to remember refugees on this day and to respect refugees’ struggle.

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie released a 30-second public service announcement that she co-produced with UNHCR. The video includes images and video from refugees and other victims of conflict around the world. It is expected to reach millions of viewers. In addition to television networks, the video is appearing on airport monitors. Washington’s Dulles and Reagan terminals will display the video on 172 monitors.

Angelina Jolie rebuked by Thailand

Agence France – Presse and the Associated Press report that actress Angelina Jolie has been criticized by senior officials in Thailand for remarks she made while touring refugee camps in the country.

Jolie

Jolie is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt were visiting a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border when she made her remarks.

AFP reports: While touring the northern Ban Mai Nai Soi camp home to 18,000 refugees from Myanmar, Jolie said she hoped Thailand would be “just as generous to the Rohingya refugees who are now arriving on their shores.”