Jolie calls to make sure 'nobody freezes to death' in Syrian refugee camps

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Published time: September 14, 2012 15:45
Edited time: September 14, 2012 20:00

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is not deaf to the fate of Syrians refugees forced to flee their conflict-torn country. The UN special envoy is concerned surviving the winter could become a real challenge for hundreds of thousands of people.

­"With the violence in the conflict showing no signs of easing up and the numbers (of refugees) growing… it is a very large concern for all of us," Jolie told reporters in Ankara.

The Oscar-winning actress wants to make sure "nobody freezes to death in this very frightening time."

Accompanied by Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the mother of six met leading Turkish officials, including President Abdullah Gul.

The day before she had visited refugee camps along the border listening to the accounts of refugees who have fled Syria where the conflict that began as a peaceful uprising against the Damascus regime has killed up to 27,000 people, activists claim.

"No one wants to live as a refugee. No one wants to live in a camp. All of these people lost their homes and they fled extreme violence, they lost their families. They are very very emotional," Agence France Presse is quoting Jolie as saying.

"They are of course also very traumatised and the Turkish government spoke about doing much to give them psychological assistance. This is also very important," she added.

After visiting Turkish camps last time Jolie described them as "very organised" but noted "it is a large amount of people and it is still at the end of the day a camp."

Turkey has reportedly given shelter to some 80,000 registered refugees in its camps in the southeast bordering Syria. The Ankara government says it can house a maximum of 100,000 refugees, and is calling for safe zones to protect people on Syrian soil.

A handout photo provided on September 13, 2012 by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) shows US film star and UN special envoy Angelina Jolie (2nd L, sitting) meeting on September 13 with Syrian refugee children at a camp outside the southeastern city of Kilis on the Syrian border. (AFP Photo/Jason Tanner)