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U.S. Actress Donates $1.5 million to Afghan Refugees
GENEVA, Sept 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - U.S. actress Anglina Jolie, recently appointed goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is donating one million dollars to ease the suffering of Afghan refugees, the UNHCR said Thursday, news agencies reported.
The contribution from the Academy Award-winning actress was the first private donation since the UNHCR launched an appeal on Wednesday for donors to provide $252 million to deal with the growing Afghan refugee crisis, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
UNHCR head Ruud Lubbers praised Jolie's sense of "humanitarian responsibility" which she exhibited "despite the trauma of recent events in her country."
Jolie visited Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan in August. At a press conference after the visit, she said, "Pakistan is the worst situation ... and it seems to be worsening. They're living in situations that I don't think anybody in this room could survive in for a few days," AFP reported.
As fear of U.S. military reprisal for the September 11th terrorist attacks grows, Afghans have been fleeing their country in record numbers, with as many as 1.5 million Afghans expected to seek entry into neighboring Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Many millions have already fled due to the strife and famine that have already decimated the country.
Iran has already accommodated more than two million Afghan refugees and closed its border to any new arrivals. If refugees need any assistance, it is being provided on Afghan border territory.
Since the start of the year, more than 200,000 Afghans have also entered Iran illegally fleeing drought, hunger or civil war in their country.
On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Afghanistan's neighbors to comply with international law and open their borders to civilians seeking refuge.
He noted that many factors including two decades of conflict and three years of severe drought have left more than five million people in Afghanistan dependent on foreign aid for survival, AFP reported.
There are an estimated 3.5 million Afghan refugees already living in Iran and Pakistan and at least a million more displaced inside Afghanistan.
The UNHCR hopes to have the first new refugee camp up and running within ten days.
But, the Pakistani government says that for the moment, the border will remain closed.
Launching one of the biggest emergency appeals in its history, UNHCR urged for the donations its need in order to deploy more staff and supplies to the region.
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