Syrian Refugees Research Paper

Actress Turned Advocate
There are 59.5 million displaced refugees today. Of those 59.5 million, 19.5 million Syrian refugees. There are also efforts to end the hardships that the refugees are enduring. One of the persons who have taken an active role in trying to alleviate the suffering is the actress Angelina Jolie. She has spent countless hours fighting for the voices of Syrian refugees to be heard, and also donated significant sums of money to their cause. Compassion is not new for Ms. Jolie, as she became a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) goodwill ambassador in 2001, then a special envoy in 2012. She spends her time touring refugee camps, talking to survivors, and fighting for their rights, such as a stable home or
citizenship in a country, (UN Refugee Chief and Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Visit Displaced Syrians in Jordan). Angelina Jolie uses her wealth and fame to bring attention to the Syrian refugee crisis, and the use of rape as a political tactic.
The Syrian refugee crisis made headlines in 2011, and then articles about the crisis started to dwindle down.
Jolie has made efforts to shine a light on the topic many had forgotten about. While the presence of Syrian refugees in Europe has grabbed the headlines, Ms. Jolie reminded everyone that, “[we]should never forget that for all the focus on the refugee situation in Europe at this time, the greatest pressure is still being felt in the Middle East and North Africa, as it has for each of the last five years,”"(Angelina Jolie: ‘The world has failed Syria’s refugees'). Angelina Jolie visited a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, Za’atri, which was meant to house 2,000 refugees, but instead houses more than 120,000, ("Angelina Jolie Turns Spotlight on Syria CNN"). Many, if not most of these refugees, fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs. During a UN meeting, Jolie notes, “We are failing to save lives in Syria,” ("Angelina Jolie To UN: 'We Are Failing To Save Lives In Syria'"). She further discusses that the refugees have been starved, tortured, and bombed, ("Angelina Jolie To UN: 'We Are Failing To Save Lives In Syria'"). So far, the death toll for Syrian’s is over 200,000, with more to come, for example, mass executions and artillery attacks("How Syrians Are Dying - The New York Times"). Angelina Jolie continues to use her status to show the world the stories of refugees being forced to flee their homes. She urges world leaders to accept the refugees into their
countries, and to donate money to ease their suffering.
Girls in a warzone are bought and sold like livestock, for minimal prices such as $40.
Angelina Jolie explains to the House of Lords, “It is a very effective weapon and they are using it as a centerpoint of their terror and their way of destroying communities, families, and attacking and dehumanising,” ("Angelina Jolie: Islamic State Fighters Using Rape As 'policy'").Jolie spends her time campaigning with William Hague against the use of sexual violence in a war zone. The two are making attempts to add it to foreign policy, but to not be just an “add on.” As a way to show others what is happening, Angelina Jolie visits countries and talks to victims, then shares their stories with the world, as one girl was raped repeatedly, then sold. Jolie states, “Rape is not a women’s issue or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue, and it belongs here, at the top table of international decision making,”("Angelina Jolie Praises G8 Action Against Rape in Conflict - Telegraph"). She urges world leaders to take a stand, and challenge the perpetrators of this violent crime. Jolie wants the world to see the anguish that victims go through, and what they will live with for the rest of their
lives.
All though, critiques of Angelina Jolie say that she only works for the UN and women’s rights for the attention and fame. She has adopted many children from poorer countries, which she makes a point of, and pays expensive adoption fees, while that money could have been used to build yet another refugee camp, ("Angelina Jolie is a Beautiful, Wealthy, Famous, Two-faced Raging Hypocrite - Fleet Street Fox - Mirror Online"). However, these claims do not show the truth. She has spent countless hours and millions of dollars so that the world may hear the voices of these survivors. Jolie uses her high social status to gain traction with the media to bring to light these events. She urges the world to see that the statistics are not just numbers, they are people, ("Angelina Jolie Makes Powerful Plea For Syrian Refugees").