Angelina Jolie Writes About Meeting With Refugees: “I Was Speechless”

Over the weekend, Angelina Jolie headed to Northern Iraq, where the actress and UN Special Envoy visited a refugee camp for thousands of people who fled their homes following ISIS attacks. She met with children and families as she toured the Khanke camp, and during a press conference, she spoke out to say that more help is needed. “Since I was last there in Iraq, another two million people have been forced from their homes,” she said. Angelina called on world leaders to “find a common ground,” adding, “It is not enough to defend our values at home. We have to defend them here, in the camps and in the informal settlements across the Middle East, and the ruined towns of Iraq and Syria.”

Angelina also penned a piece for The New York Times on Tuesday, writing about her time with displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees. She opens up about trying her best to “give some kind of thoughtful guidance,” adding that she was speechless on her most recent trip: “How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her, and that she now lives alone in a tent and has minimal food rations?”

Her overseas trip and her op-ed piece come after a busy couple of weeks for the actress. Earlier this month, Angelina met with Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican, and two weeks ago, she attended the Critics’ Choice Awards, where her latest directorial effort, Unbroken, was nominated in four categories. See more pictures from her recent trip, and then read her full essay on refugee suffering.