Angelina Jolie calls for leadership and humanity as millions flee Venezuela

With over 4 million Venezuelans now living in exile, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie appealed for more leadership, more humanity and more support to countries bearing the brunt of the crisis.

“This is a life and death situation for millions of Venezuelans,” Jolie told journalists at a press conference. “It is not possible to put a value on the support that Colombia and Peru and Ecuador are giving to the people of Venezuela, because it is the core of what it is to be human.”

In the world today, she added, “we need that humanity more than ever, and rational thinking from people who are unafraid to take responsibility and show leadership.”

Jolie’s stop in Maicao capped a two-day trip to Colombia, a country she has longed to visit since 2002 when she met refugees in neighboring Ecuador who had fled decades of conflict in Colombia. She returned to Ecuador in 2010, and again in 2012, to meet with Colombian refugees. This was her 65th mission overall with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, since 2001.

Jolie spoke to journalists less than ten kilometres from the border, at a centre that is hosting Venezuelans for stays of up to 30 days. Known as the Integrated Assistance Centre, it currently provides 350 highly vulnerable people with shelter and food as well as legal assistance, activities for children, medical assessments and psychosocial support.

The centre was opened in March by UNHCR and the Colombian government, but plans to expand its capacity to 1,400 people have stalled due to a 79 per cent funding shortfall that has slowed the humanitarian response throughout the entire region, putting millions at risk.

Original source: UNHCR
Published on 08 June 2019