The famous heroine of “Salt” and UNCHR Goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie has been greatly moved by the devastating floods in Pakistan and she has decided to get into action to help the victims and visit Pakistan soon.
Lets join this group to support her efforts to help our country , its a Payback time folks
American movie star Angelina Jolie met flood victims in northwestern Pakistan and appealed to the international community to provide aid needed to help the country recover from its worst natural disaster.
The flow of aid money has stalled in recent days, and officials expressed hope the two-day visit by Jolie – who serves as a "goodwill ambassador" for the U.N.'s refugee agency – will convince foreign countries and individuals to open their wallets.
"I am very moved by them and I hope that I am able to, today and tomorrow, be able to do something to help bring attention to the situation for all of the people in need in Pakistan," Jolie told reporters after visiting a refugee camp in the Jalozai area.
The 35-year-old actress said Tuesday she met with many people whose lives have been devastated by the floods, including mothers who lost their children and an elderly Pakistani couple who feared they would never be able to rebuild the home they lost.
She toured the area wearing a long black robe and a black headscarf adorned with a thin red stripe – the kind of conservative clothing worn by many Muslim women in Pakistan.
The floods began in the northwest at the end of July after extremely heavy monsoon rains and slowly surged south along the Indus River, swallowing up hundreds of villages and towns and killing more than 1,700 people. Another 17 million have been affected by the floods, and many will need emergency assistance to survive.
The United Nations issued an appeal for $460 million in emergency funds on Aug. 11, but only $294 million, or 64 percent, has been received so far, and donations have more or less dried up in recent days.
"We need more ... well-known figures who can keep the spotlight and focus because people tend to forget internationally," said Chhibber, who is also the U.N. development agency's regional director for Asia. He spoke to reporters during a visit to Islamabad.
"I have hardly the words that somebody would do that to somebody's religious book," Jolie told reporters in Islamabad after visiting refugees camps in northwestern Pakistan – one of the areas of the country hit hardest by the floods
The issue has not gotten much attention in Pakistan, where officials and residents have been trying to cope with the devastation caused by floods that first hit the country at the end of July following extremely heavy monsoon rains. The floodwaters have killed more than 1,700 people and have affected over 18 million others.
"I was shocked especially by how high the floodwaters went," said Jolie, who wore a long dress and covered her hair with a black scarf in keeping with local Muslim custom. "In some of the people's houses, it was nine feet (three meters) high."
U.N. officials have expressed hope that Jolie's visit would help spark the fundraising campaign to help Pakistan, which has stalled in recent days. The U.N. issued an appeal for $460 million in emergency funds on Aug. 11, but only $294 million, or 64 percent, has been received so far even though it is one of the worst natural disasters in recent years.
"There's lots of speculation about why this one has not gotten the attention it deserves," Jolie said. "Even all of the wonderful coverage ... is not getting the response that usually it's able to get."
Ajay Chhibber, a U.N. assistant secretary general, said he hopes Jolie's visit will have "a very big impact" on the inflow of aid money and will keep people focused on the crisis.
Angelina Jolie is in Pakistan, where she has met with the Prime Minister in her role as UNHCR ambassador. On Wednesday she spoke with CNN's Sanjay Gupta via satellite about the flood victims and how she deals with the tragedy she sees.
