“Who Are We If Not Useful to Others?”

Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie ♥♥♥♥♥ is a passionate advocate for human rights. Her compassion was awakened while filming the movie “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in Cambodia. After seeing the devastating effects of war and poverty first hand, she contacted the United Nations to find out how she could help.

“I approached UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) because I believe in what the United Nations is attempting to do… and I support the United Nations. I read about the different chapters, and UNHCR was the most appealing because I believe refugees are the most vulnerable people in the world. They are affected by everything.”

In 2001, after visiting refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Pakistan (where she donated one million dollars for refugees from the war in Afghanistan), Jolie became a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR.

Since then she has traveled to war ravaged countries such as Haiti, Kosovo, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Sudan, visiting refugees and calling attention to their plight. Jolie usually keeps a journal during these humanitarian missions, recording inspirational conversations with UN aid workers, the horrifying experiences of refugees, and her own often emotional response to the refugee camps. In 2003, she published some of these journals as a book, Notes from My Travels, donating all of the book’s proceeds to the UNHCR.

Generosity of this sort is not unusual for Jolie. She donates a third of her multi-million dollar income to charity. Despite her busy acting schedule and frequent trips to refugee camps, Jolie devotes her time, energy and money to progressive projects around the world. When she says, “My personal view is, ‘Give everything you’ve got to everything that’s necessary,’” it’s not mere idle talk.

In 2005 alone, she:

• pledged to support a clinic for HIV positive orphans in Ethiopia;
• pledged US$500,000 for legal aid to children seeking asylum in the USA;
• pledged US$5,000,000 to create a wildlife sanctuary in Battambang, Cambodia;
• arranged for a US$500,000 donation to a school in Haiti;
• made a documentary film with economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, promoting sustainable development in Kenya;
• visited earthquake victims and Afghan refugees in Pakistan;
• worked with Chancellor Gordon Brown of the UK and Senator Hillary Clinton of the USA to promote universal free education around the world.

Jolie is also the mother of three young children. One is recently born to her and actor Brad Pitt ♥♥♥♥♥; the other two are adopted: son Maddox from a Cambodian orphanage in 2001, and daughter Zahara from an Ethiopian orphanage for children of AIDS victims in 2005. At the time of the adoption, Jolie didn’t know whether Zahara was HIV positive, but it was hardly a consideration. The child needed a mother’s love, which was all that mattered; Jolie was ready and willing to raise an HIV+ child if it came to that. (As it turned out, Zahara was thankfully free of HIV.) Since Zahara became a part of Jolie’s family, adoption rates for Ethiopian children in the USA have increased tremendously, with hundreds of babies being welcomed into loving homes in the past year.

Angelina Jolie’s compassionate way of life clearly resonates with the general public. Of her humanitarian work, she has said, “The most rewarding aspect are the letters I receive from young people from around the world who want to tell me they are joining the fight to help others, and that they will educate themselves and do what they can. They give me more hope for our future.”

Jolie uses her influence as a celebrity to improve the lives of people all around the world. Refugees, disaster victims and families struggling against poverty have all experienced her unconditional love. Though she might reasonably feel proud of her generosity, Jolie is actually quite humble. In writings and interviews she consistently emphasizes the ways in which she has benefited from her encounters with her less fortunate brothers and sisters around the world. She understands that by helping others we are really helping ourselves.

When asked how her work for the UNHCR has changed her life, she said, “It has given me a life filled with purpose. Who are we if we are not useful to others?”

Thanks to Angelina Jolie’s influence, more people are asking themselves this question every day. Gentle reader, have you been useful to others today?

 

References:
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=3db3f99b5
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=3bb2f8be16
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1120954&page=2
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/26/sitroom.01.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1120954&page=2
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3584021.stm

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