Friday, December 5, 2008

Jolie appeals to support the Afghan refugees


Hollywood actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the UN refugee agency, Angelina Jolie, has appealed for greater support to Afghan refugees returning home to enable to withstand the approaching harsh winter.
She pleaded the cause of returning refugees after a three-day visit to the war-torn country, which was aimed at raising awareness on the issue ahead of an international conference on reintegration of refugees.
During her trip, Jolie visited recent returnees in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where almost 20 per cent of all Afghans who returned to the homeland have settled since 2002.
The returnees, who are living on desolate, desert land in tattered tents and makeshift shelters, told her they could not return to their places of origin due to a lack of land and poor security.
Jolie also visited families in Kabul who had returned from Pakistan in 2003 but have still been unable to go back to their home villages. The families have been squatting in public buildings in Kabul for several years due to the lack of available land in Parwan, their province of origin, according to UNHCR.

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