One of Hollywood’s most well-known actress, director, mother and philanthropist has a new job.
Angelina Jolie is now a contributing writer for TIME Magazine. TIME’s editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal made the announcement last week on Wednesday. Her articles will appear monthly across the global platform of the magazine. According to the publication, Jolie will cover a variety of topics in her articles, including displacement, conflict, and human rights.
Her first already published piece is titled “Angelina Jolie: What We Owe Refugees.” In the piece, she writes about how “distinction between refugees and migrants has been blurred and politicized.”
“Some leaders deliberately use the terms refugee and migrant interchangeably, using hostile rhetoric that whips up fear against all outsides,” Jolie writes. “Everyone deserves dignity and fair treatment, but we need to be clear about the distinction. Under international law, it is not an option to assist refugees, it is an obligation. It is perfectly possible to ensure strong border control and fair humane immigration policies while meeting our responsibility to help refugees.”
Then, Jolie goes on to explain how the number of forcibly displaced people has risen from 40 to 70 million during the 18 years that she’s been a part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Hence, she’s calling for action.
“As we mark World Refugee Day on June 20, it is an illusion to think that any country can retreat behind its border and simply hope the problem will go away,” she writes. “We need leadership and effective diplomacy. We need to focus on long-term peace based on justice, rights and accountability to enable refugees to return home. This is not a soft approach. It is the harder course of action, but it is the only one that will make a difference. The distance between us and the refugees of the past is shorter than we think.”
The Oscar winner can definitely speak to these topics. She has served as Special Envoy for the UNHCR since 2012. She also represented UNHCR as a Goodwill Ambassador for nearly 11 years. Jolie has carried out 60 field missions and written for TIME before. Additionally, back in April 2019, she wrote a piece about women’s role in promoting peace in Afghanistan. We should all strive to be more like her.
This Hollywood actress has traveled to several countries as a representative to speak to refugees and lawmakers. She’s noted for her humanitarian efforts, for which she received a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Jolie was also made an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. Georg and received other honors.
To read Jolie’s entire article, click here.
Feature image via Cancillería del Ecuador Flickr
