Jolie Returns To See Refugees Who Fled Syria

Angelina Jolie has met Syrians who have been fleeing the fighting in their homeland.

The Tomb Raider star was speaking to refugees who had just completed the perilous border crossing to seek safety in neighbouring Jordan.

Jolie, a special envoy for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), last visited the region in September and since then the number of registered Syrian refugees in the area has increased by more than 200,000.

In Jordan alone it has risen by nearly 50,000.

Jolie visited the sprawling Za’atri refugee camp north of Amman, which has doubled in size since she was last there. She spoke to refugees she met then and some of the newly arrived.

“What I saw last night is a dramatic example of the plight of hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have been uprooted by the fighting and are in a desperate search for safety,” Jolie said.

“Civilians inside the country are being targeted. Many of those trying to flee are exposed to extreme danger right up to the border itself.

“I appeal to all sides in the conflict to do all they can to ensure the safe passage of these innocent civilians.”

The Mr. & Mrs. Smith actress met a family who moved from Damascus to their home town of Daraa four months ago. They hoped the situation would improve, but finally it was too much.

The mother told Jolie they had no choice but to flee. There was no electricity, no water, no food and most of all no safety. Tears filled the youngest daughter’s eyes as her mother talked of their ordeals.

The woman told Jolie: “When the bombing got really fierce and hard and non-stopping, they used to hide in the holes under the ground.

“When the weather got bad and raining started to take place, all of these holes under the ground were flooded with water, so it wasn’t suitable.”

Nearly half a million Syrians fleeing the fighting have been registered in neighbouring countries since the conflict began.

Hundreds of thousands more are unregistered, but are expected to come forward for help in the next few months as their resources are depleted.

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt made a donation of $50,000 (£31,000) for the purchase of family tents for refugees.

She had previously donated  $5m (£3.1m) to UN efforts to help refugees.

On her last visit to the region Jolie met refugees and had talks with senior politicians in Turkey and Iraq.

sky news