“This is the worst devastation I have seen in all my years working with UNHCR.”
She’s long been a supporter of humanitarian causes, and Angelina Jolie is still asking the world to pay attention to those who need our help.
The actress, director and UN Refugee Agency special envoy visited West Mosul, in Iraq, over the Eid Al Fitr weekend.
Read:
Angelina Jolie brings her children to visit refugees in Jordan
Does anyone wear this Lebanese label better than Angelina Jolie?
Mosul was held by ISIS for three years before it was re-taken by Iraqi forces a year ago. It was the longest urban battle since World War II, and the city was left in ruins.
There, Jolie met with families who are trying to rebuild their homes and lives.
“This is the worst devastation I have seen in all my years working with UNHCR. People here have lost everything: their homes are destroyed. They are destitute,” she said in a press conference.
“After the unimaginable trauma of the occupation, they are now trying to rebuild their homes, often with little or no assistance.”
Jolie called for help for the people of Mosul and the 33,000 Syrian refugees living in the nearby Domiz camp. The end of the fighting did not mean the end of the need for assistance, she said.
“I have no words for the strength it must take to rebuild after loss like this. But that is what the people of this city are doing.
“They are grief-stricken and traumatized, but they are also hopeful. They are clearing their homes with their own hands, and volunteering and helping each other. But they need our assistance.”
The visit was Jolie’s 61st with the UNHCR. Back in January, she travelled with her six children to Jordan to visit refugees living in camps there.
You can read Jolie’s full statement over here.
Images: UNHCR
