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June 20th is World Refugee Day where organizations such as the UNHCR attempt to raise awareness of the plight of millions of refugees all around the world. As their goodwill ambassador, Angelina Jolie recorded a PSA.
This topic is very close to my heart. Those of you who have been reading PittWatch for awhile may recall that last year in July I took part in an international Blogathon where I used my personal blog to post every half hour for 24 hours straight. I managed to raise several thousands of dollars which were donated directly to the UNHCR to help those in need, buying netting and medicine to protect against Malaria, providing food for a family for a year, or helping build shelter. A large part of that money came from PittWatch readers and I was incredibly grateful.
Unfortunately, the Blogathon is not happening this year, the organizers are taking a year off because of other obligations and a need to re-organize. However, because June 20th is World Refugee Day, I urge you to think like Angelina Jolie and try to help the refugees. Right now the UNHCR is focusing strongly on Myanmar (Burma) after the cyclone devastated so much of the area. You don’t need to donate a huge amount of money – even five dollars will help. For instance, it only takes $80 to provide 20 wool blankets to help protect people from the cold, so if 16 people give $5 that covers the blankets. Many of us think nothing of spending $5 on a lunch down the street from the office or a fancy coffee, so let’s put it to good use that one day instead. And if you can’t afford to send money, you can still help by spreading the word. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc about World Refugee Day.
Angelina does so much good for the UNHCR, both with money and her time. As her fans, we can help too! Please let us know what you do!
(Thanks to everyone who let me know about the video)
Technorati Tags: angelina jolie, angelina jolie video, unhcr, world refugee day
Dear Sherry: On behalf of yourseld and ngie, I just made my donation to UNHCR.org. Thank you for reminding me.
Sincerely,
TGFA
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I made my small contribution. We live on social security so can’t give big bucks but I think our small contributions add up for this cause. Yaay Brangelina, you rule.
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thank you very much for the link ligaya
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Thanks Sherry and Ligaya.
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Ligaya,
I have thought about the wars that go on in the world for quite along time and have gone down many thoughtful roads. I have explored the history of wars in the world (there is a pattern), to better understand what is happening today. I then turned my mind to how we can solve this problem of man kind. I have come to one conclusion, everyone needs to be educated, but how do you educate different people with different cultures. I came up with one answer, make sure they can read, write, and teach them Math as it is an universal language with no restrictions in language or culture. Once people are educated they can not be manipulated by others with hidden agenda’s. This is my opinion, and in no way should this opinion influence others except to stimulate others into doing there own research and forming there own opinions.
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kim: i exactly study this question at the university (i love History cause it help us to understand what happens now in the world) and i have to say that your opinion is correct: you should be an historian or a political expert!!!!
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though I agree that education is a powerful tool, it (unfortunately) does not always stop the “manipulation”. Take a look at Hitler’s agenda and how he was able to persuade people, very educated people at that. I am not sure what the answer is, but education alone does not seem to be the best deterrant of wars and horrible agendas.
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please girls continue to speak about this subject (education-manipulation): it’s really interesting for me: i want to become an expert in historic propaganda (it includes an element of education…) and i found those questions are really important in the world today!!!
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mélodie, take a look at Stanley Milgram’s research. Here’s a quick overview. Fascinating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment
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noam chomsky has had a lot to say about propaganda, especially in the media … just a thought.
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Compared with the topic, Wanted may seem frivolous. OTOH, it’s part of the 1/3 of the salary donated by Angelina.
Two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Variety & Hollywood Reporter URLs under mod – just go to their websites.
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It’s true that education can be a two-edged sword. Some people have managed to use to brainwash others to do deplorable things. That being said, however, I still believe that education, health, and poverty are among the most important issues to be addressed if we are to minimize wars. Sadly, I think wars can never be eradicated, but if people are educated, healthy, and need not to worry about where their next food will be coming from, they are probably going to be able to make better decisions and not be manipulated easily.
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This is a companion PSA to Angelina’s. It’s by Luol Deng, NBA player & former refugee. He was given the Humanitarian Award this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgS1GZu6v2Q
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On June 17, an exhibit dubbed “Experience Darfur,” opened on Trafalgar Square, in London. The square was turned into a mock refugee camp for a day to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oypq_Et01Ao&NR=1
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Londoners are given the chance to see the world through the eyes of refugees. CNN’s Sasha Herriman reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ywUKYwoTCI&feature=user
Darfur refugees speak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5DElzUlnAY&watch_response
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http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/485bd6a92.html
Millions mark World Refugee Day with theme of “Protection”
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, meanwhile, said that while June 20 was designated World Refugee Day, it would go unnoticed by the majority of the world. “Even those for whom the day is for, they have no access to newspapers to read the announcements, they have no televisions to see PSAs [public service announcement] on their behalf. Many are running for their lives on this day or dying on this day,” she said in a short message.
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Angelina visited these refugees 2x within the space of a few months –
The report also pointed to a lack of specialized health care for women leading to a high number of premature labor, miscarriages and infant deaths in the mainly Shiite southern provinces of Maysan, Wassit and Qadasiyah.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080620/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_refugees
Report: Women and children refugees suffer in Iraq
BAGHDAD – Women and children have been hit especially hard in Iraq’s refugee crisis, often forced to beg and in some cases turn to prostitution to provide for their families because so many men have been killed, a report said Friday. A biannual regional survey by the International Organization for Migration paints a bleak picture of Iraq’s estimated 2.8 million internally displaced people, or IDPs. They often face eviction threats and insufficient access to food, clean water and health care despite recent security gains, the report said.
But women and children who have been forced to flee their homes are particularly vulnerable because the men in the family have often been killed or abandoned them in a conservative Islamic society that generally doesn’t value women in the workplace. Women make up about half of the displaced population, surpassing the number of men in some provinces, including Baghdad. But they face difficulties finding employment and often are isolated because of their gender, it said.
Displaced children, meanwhile, have suffered from malnutrition and skin diseases due to a lack of clean water and sanitation, the report said. They also frequently lack access to education because they must work or beg on the streets instead of going to school.
Monitors in the provinces of Baghdad and Diyala “have observed large numbers of families with both widows and orphans, both of whom have many difficulties finding jobs, obtaining food, or receiving aid from local authorities and humanitarian organizations,” according to the Geneva-based organization. Observers in the Anbar province town of Qaim near the Syrian border also reported children begging in the streets while women collected garbage to resell for recycling, the report added.
Widows traditionally have been cared for by their late husband’s family in Iraq, but relatives have been overwhelmed because so many people have been killed in recent years. “It is estimated that hundreds of IDP women in the Kurdistan region are subject to sexual abuse and domestic violence,” the report said. “Many of these are forced into prostitution, sometimes by their own loved ones.” It also said many displaced children in the area are unable to go to school because they don’t speak Kurdish and are not able to transfer their documents from their place of origin.
Monitors observed a significant increase in the number of displaced children working in the streets selling cigarettes and tissues at traffic lights or offering to polish shoes. Displaced women in Kirkuk, the capital of Tamim province, have been forced into prostitution, often by relatives, the report said, adding that others were forced to marry much older men from the host community.
The report also pointed to a lack of specialized health care for women leading to a high number of premature labor, miscarriages and infant deaths in the mainly Shiite southern provinces of Maysan, Wassit and Qadasiyah.
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