• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

Guterres, Jolie pledge support for Pakistan "in time of suffering"

News Stories, 25 November 2005

© UNHCR/V.Tan
UN High Commissioner for Refugeees António Guterres was stunned by the level of destruction in Balakot town.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, November 25 (UNHCR) – UNHCR chief António Guterres and Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie today shared their shock at the scale of earthquake destruction in northern Pakistan and pledged support for the country that has generously hosted millions of Afghan refugees for over 25 years.

"The people of Pakistan have expressed solidarity with Afghan refugees for years," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Guterres at a press conference in Islamabad on Friday. "Solidarity is not a one-way thing – it must be two-way. The problems faced by Pakistan are our problem. We have to support them in their moments of suffering."

Goodwill Ambassador Jolie added, "Nobody watching TV at home has any idea what this really looks like. It's just unbelievable. You fly in a helicopter and you see house after house, just rubble, nothing standing."

Both Guterres and Jolie were visibly shaken by the devastation they saw in quake-hit areas yesterday. The High Commissioner travelled to Muzaffarabad, Ghari Habibullah camp and Balakot town, while the Goodwill Ambassador joined an airlift of food and blankets to Batungi village in the remote Allai valley.

"I have no words to express my feelings," said Guterres after seeing Balakot. "It's more than physical damage. It's the loss of human lives – children who were at school when the building collapsed."

"As a woman and mother, it was especially hard to imagine the children and their mothers when the earthquake hit," said Jolie. "I spoke to a boy about my son's age ... he said he was still afraid of the aftershocks. But he was so happy because his sister survived the earthquake and they didn't think she would."

The High Commissioner and Goodwill Ambassador agreed that the Pakistani authorities, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations were working very well together on the ground to help earthquake survivors, but stressed that more aid and support were needed to overcome the huge catastrophe.

The people in Batungi village told Jolie they had received some assistance, but were worried about the coming winter. "Another disaster could happen very soon, if money and aid are not on the ground by then," said Jolie. "There are so many wonderful pledges of money that could come in the next few years, but winter is in the next few weeks."

Guterres was also concerned about how the survivors would cope with winter. "There are some people in the higher altitudes who may not want to leave their homes," he said. "It's really about trying to listen to them. Our top priority now is to create conditions for people to go through winter without any tragedy, after which the Pakistani government and international community can lay down the conditions for reconstruction.

"We have to be very strongly committed to helping these people who are suffering to rebuild," he continued. "Not only the houses, the school, the roads – it's rebuilding the lives of the people that we're committed to. We'll do everything we can and get all our resources and staff dedicated to this huge task."

"It's a basic obligation to help the people of Pakistan after what they've done for refugees," said Jolie.

More than 430,000 Afghan refugees have returned home from Pakistan this year, said Guterres, stressing that international commitment to Afghanistan's development "is absolutely essential for voluntary repatriation to be sustainable."

© UNHCR/J Redden
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie climbs through the wreckage left by the earthquake in Batangi in northern Pakistan.

He also appealed for support for the rehabilitation of refugee-hosting areas in Pakistan after the refugees have left for their homeland.

Pakistan is the second leg of the High Commissioner's visit to the region. He started his mission in Afghanistan, and is scheduled to travel to Iran on Saturday.

By Vivian Tan in Islamabad, Pakistan

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

Barbara Hendricks Fact Sheet

Hendricks' activities for refugees since 1986.

Barbara Hendricks Biography

Read about Hendricks' life and career.

George Dalaras Field Mission

George visits Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Muazzez Ersoy Biography

A Turkish singing delight.

George Dalaras Biography

A star among the pantheon of stars.

Revised Supplementary Appeal for UNHCR's Emergency Assistance to Flood-Affected Populations in Pakistan

August 2010

George Dalaras Fact Sheet

Read about Dalaras's long link with UNHCR.

Muazzez Ersoy Fact Sheet

Learn about Muazzez Ersoy's links with UNHCR.

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors

Angelina and our other loyal ambassadors.

The High Commissioner

António Guterres, who joined UNHCR on June 15, 2005, is the UN refugee agency's 10th High Commissioner.

Angelina Jolie

American actress

Related Internet Links

UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites

Angelina Jolie returns to Iraq, urges support for the displaced

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie returned to Iraq in July 2009 to offer support to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who remain displaced within their own country.

During her day-long visit to Baghdad, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited a makeshift settlement for internally displaced people in north-west Baghdad where she met families displaced from the district of Abu Ghraib, located to the west of Baghdad, and from the western suburbs of the capital.

Despite the difficulties in Iraq, Jolie said this was a moment of opportunity for Iraqis to rebuild their lives. "This is a moment where things seem to be improving on the ground, but Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives."

UNHCR estimates that 1.6 million Iraqis were internally displaced by a wave of sectarian warfare that erupted in February 2006 after the bombing of a mosque in the ancient city of Samarra. Almost 300,000 people have returned to their homes amid a general improvement in the security situation since mid-2008.

Angelina Jolie returns to Iraq, urges support for the displaced

Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa

Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie joined UNHCR chief António Guterres on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they met with boat people who have fled unrest in North Africa.

More than 40,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers, have crossed the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats and descended on the small island since the beginning of the year.

The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador flew to Lampedusa from Malta, which has also been a destination for people fleeing North Africa by boat.

Angelina Jolie meets boat people in Malta, Lampedusa

Angelina Jolie in Bosnia

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie met with forcibly displaced people on April 5, 2010 during her first visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The actress, accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt, called for steps to end the continued suffering of these victims of the Bosnian War after hearing their harrowing tales and seeing their grim living conditions.

Jolie was clearly moved by the spirit - and the ordeal - of the people she met and she pledged to highlight their case. Most of the people she talked to have been living in exile since the end of the 1992-1995 conflict. Jolie visited collective centres in the towns of Gorazde and Rogatica, where the inhabitants lack basic services such as running water.

The actress spent some time with a group of women who were raped or tortured during the war. Their tales left a deep impression on her. She also met a family of refugee returnees who were still waiting to move into their village home near the eastern Bosnian town of Visegrad.

Angelina Jolie in Bosnia

South Sudan: Appeal for Doro CampPlay video

South Sudan: Appeal for Doro Camp

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visits refugees in South Sudan and says international assistance is "absolutely crucial.”
Pakistan: Flood Relief Play video

Pakistan: Flood Relief

Floods in Pakistan have ruined crops and destroyed homes. The rains have ended but displaced people will need help for weeks or months to come.
ExCom: Angelina Jolie Addresses Annual MeetingPlay video

ExCom: Angelina Jolie Addresses Annual Meeting

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, in a speech to UNHCR's governing Executive Committee, appeals for a stepped-up response to the crisis in the Horn of Africa.