Angelina Jolie reaches Yemen to help refugees

Amid the ongoing civil war in Yemen, Hollywood star Angelina Jolie recently visited the country in the Middle East to provide aid to the refugees there.

Taking to Instagram, Jolie, who has spent almost two decades working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, informed her followers that she has “arrived in the capital city of Aden” and also spoke about the struggles being faced by the displaced families, People reported. “I’ve landed in Aden, to meet displaced families and refugees for UNHCR @refugees and show my support for the people of Yemen,” Jolie wrote in the caption. “I will do my best to communicate from the ground as the days unfold,” she wrote.

She added, “As we continue to watch the horrors unfolding in Ukraine, and call for an immediate end to the conflict and humanitarian access, I’m here in Yemen to support people who also desperately need peace. The situation here is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with one civilian killed or injured every hour in 2022. An economy devastated by war, and over 20 million Yemenis depending on humanitarian assistance to survive.”

Jolie likened the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis to the current devastation in Ukraine, urging compassion for those impacted by both conflicts.

“This week a million people were forced to flee the horrific war in Ukraine. If we learn anything from this shocking situation, it is that we cannot be selective about who deserves support and whose rights we defend. Everyone deserves the same compassion,” she penned. “The lives of civilian victims of conflict everywhere are of equal value. After seven years of war, the people of Yemen also need protection, support, and above all, peace,” she hoped.

For the unversed, Yemen has been convulsed by civil war since 2014. It began with Iran-backed Houthi rebels taking control of the capital Sanaa, and the northern parts of the country.