BRANGELINA

Forget about anything written “about” her. Today, there’s an Opinion article in the Washington Post written by her. It’s called “Justice for Darfur” and she talks about the current UNHCR trip she is on. Angelina is stuck at a refugee camp on the border. For her safety, she’s not allowed to enter Darfur.

Full Article – here

Excerpts:

Sticking to this side of the Sudanese border is supposed to keep me safe. By every measure—killings, rapes, the burning and looting of villages—the violence in Darfur has increased since my last visit, in 2004. The death toll has passed 200,000; in four years of fighting, Janjaweed militia members have driven 2.5 million people from their homes, including the 26,000 refugees crowded into Oure Cassoni.

... Until the killers and their sponsors are prosecuted and punished, violence will continue on a massive scale. Ending it may well require military action. But accountability can also come from international tribunals, measuring the perpetrators against international standards of justice.

... As the prosecutions unfold, I hope the international community will intervene, right away, to protect the people of Darfur and prevent further violence. The refugees don’t need more resolutions or statements of concern. They need follow-through on past promises of action.

There has been a groundswell of public support for action. People may disagree on how to intervene—airstrikes, sending troops, sanctions, divestment—but we all should agree that the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to justice.

In my five years with UNHCR, I have visited more than 20 refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Congo, Kosovo and elsewhere. I have met families uprooted by conflict and lobbied governments to help them. Years later, I have found myself at the same camps, hearing the same stories and seeing the same lack of clean water, medicine, security and hope.