Notes from My Travels: Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador Open ebook - 2003

Excerpt

Introduction

I was asked to write an introduction to my journals, to explain how my journals came to be, why my life took this direction, and why I decided to start it.

As I try to find the answers, I am sure of one thing: I am forever changed. I am so grateful I took this path in my life, thankful that I met these amazing people and had this incredible experience.

I honestly believe that if we were all aware, we would all be compelled to act.

So the question is not how or why I would do this with my life. The question is, how could I not?

Many nights I sat awake reading stories and statistics about national and international tragedies.

I read about UNHCR:

• More than twenty million refugees exist today.

• One-sixth of the world's population lives on less than one dollar a day.

• 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.

• One-third of the world has no electricity.

• More than 100 million children are out of school.

• One in six children in Africa dies before the age of five.

I read about different organizations that do humanitarian work. I had been reading about Sierra Leone when I was in England. When I got back to the States it was difficult to follow the stories, so I called USA for UNHCR and asked if they could help me understand the situation there and similar situations elsewhere in the world. Three weeks later I was in Sierra Leone.

I don't know how this will be as a book, how readers will find it. 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.

Copyright © 2003 by Angelina Jolie

Foreword by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established in 1951 to care for those forced to flee their homes because of persecution or war. Over the past five decades, UNHCR has helped an estimated 50 million men, women, and children to find safety and to restart their lives.

Our challenges are immense, and they could not be met without the dedicated support of concerned individuals around the world. One such champion of the refugee cause is Angelina Jolie.

On 27 August 2001, I named Angelina Jolie as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR. Some time before this, she had shown a profound interest in refugee issues, and had visited refugee camps in places like Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and Pakistan.

In 2002 and 2003, Angelina visited refugees in Namibia, Thailand, Ecuador, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Kosovo, and Ingushetia, and worked closely with UNHCR field staff. Her impressions are movingly recounted in these vivid personal journals. She will be making more field visits in the years ahead.

Since her appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina has more than fulfilled my expectations. 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.

Ruud Lubbers

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

Media reviews

Jane Goodall, Ph.D., CBEFounder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of PeaceAngelina is living proof of the power we all have -- every one of us -- to make a difference. 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. I look forward to my continued work with Angelina on behalf of the United Nations.