Angelina Jolie’s journal documents her journeys as a volunteer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The diary offers a glimpse into Angelina’s innermost thoughts and emotions as she navigates through the challenging circumstances of working with refugees and in places that have been scarred by war.
Angelina Jolie, as a special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has shared her personal reflections on her encounters with people in various parts of the world. Often written on flights or local buses amidst harsh weather conditions, she writes down the stories of those she meets who have touched her in a special way. Despite being an American movie star, Angelina has made it a point to meet with impoverished and marginalized individuals in countries such as Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Ecuador, many of whom do not have citizenship. Her commitment to volunteering and helping those in need is a testament to the spirit of kindness and empathy.
In July 2005, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie flew to Ethiopia to adopt their second child, Zahara. Angelina later revealed that her passion for volunteering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees began after she was shocked by the living conditions of people, similar to herself, around the world. She discovered that one-sixth of the world’s population survives on less than a dollar per day, over 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and more than 100 million children do not attend school. These shocking facts inspired her to write diary pages about her compassion for those in need.
In September 2006, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt co-founded the Jolie/Pitt Foundation with a donation of $2 million to aid orphans in developing countries and families affected by AIDS. Over the years, they expanded their philanthropy to support various projects around the world, including in New Orleans, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Haiti. Despite being aware of the world’s problems, Angelina expressed her concerns about how over 800 million people go to bed hungry every night, which is difficult to answer. Instead of just asking questions, Angelina takes action by reaching out to refugees and poor people affected by war with a heart of sharing and sympathy. Her approach is to work together, eat together, live together, and understand the circumstances of people in many regions. Although Angelina admits that she is not a writer, she wrote about her experiences in her diary as a glimpse into a world that she was just beginning to understand but could never fully explain in words.
While in Cambodia, Angelina documented her experiences in a diary. She shared a shocking moment when she wrote about stopping at a school located next to a minefield. This raised questions about whether the school was built next to the minefield or if the mines were deliberately placed next to the school. The truth was revealed in the school’s records; the government had constructed the school before the area was cleared of mines, and during a check by HALO, five land mines were found close to the children’s path to school. To add to the problem, the teachers had gone unpaid for four months while teaching 240 children.
Actress Angelina Jolie recently embarked on a journey to remote areas of Cambodia where cars could not reach and people only traveled by bicycles. She even traveled by boat to Battambang and braved the rain to meet with impoverished families who were hungry and cold as they studied their notebooks. Despite the various locations and situations, the one common thread among refugees is the suffering caused by hatred. For volunteers like Angelina, she provides more than just material aid. She also brings love and opens her heart to share and document her experiences so that more people can learn about these communities.
