Augustine Anthony
As U.N. ambassador for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt has seen conditions of displaced persons from close and can feel the pang of those forced out of their homes and countries.
Her three years work with the world body has also given Jolie exposure to global policy-makers dealing with the kind of human catastrophe the conflict in Syria has spawned. The plight of the suffering Syrians remained largely a moral talk until last week when heart-rending images of a 3-year-old drowned Syrian boy lying dead on a Turkish beach made world headlines.
While several European countries have opened their doors to embrace children, women and the aged, fleeing war-zones in Syria, a recent op-ed by Angelina Jolie in The Times of London should open the eyes of other European nations like Hungary, whose response have piled further misery on the refugees.
In the piece titled “Don’t Blame Refugees for Seeking a Better Life,” co-authored by Arminka Helic, a member of the House of Lords and former refugee from the 1990s war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jolie’s call for the world leaders to deal with the “ consequences and causes of the global refugee crisis,” merits imminent attention.
As very rightly pointed out by her, anyone who had faced such traumatic events would have done the same what the Syrian people are doing – flee.
Listening to stories of Syrian refugees at Jordan crossing. Photo: UNHCR June 18, 2013
They should not be treated like the Hungarian camerawoman did – kicking the old and young while filming the desperate migrants trying to break away from the police holdup while traveling through Hungary into Austria and Germany.
These poor souls rather need help of those who can.
“Syrian refugees deserve our compassion,” writes Hollywood star Jolie Pitt while urging members of the public and growing number of political leaders, who have taken moral stand and pledged assistance.
Her words could help build on the current momentum to make people understand feelings and predicament of not just victims of the Syrian conflict, but of the global refugee crises.
“It requires us to use not just our hearts but also our heads and not just aid but also diplomacy, and to focus our efforts not just this year, but for years to come,” says Jolie. For her, not just in Europe, but every country must be a part of the solution.
Her comments come as rich Middle Eastern nations face mounting criticism for their apathy toward the refugees.
Equally important is her warning against political, social, economic and security implications the massive influx of current refugee flow, not just from Syria but also from Afghanistan and Africa, can have for the European nations, if they fail to come up with solutions.
Of all the suggestions she has made, the most critical is perhaps the need to find a solution to the conflict in Syria. “We cannot donate our way out of the crisis, we cannot solve it simply by taking in refugees, we have to find a diplomatic route to end the conflict.”
