Angelina Jolie uses own body to shield and protect children from crowd in Greece
Angelina Jolie used herself as a human shield to protect children in Greece. The American A-list star was in the country Wednesday to visit the nearly 4,000 refugees stranded outside Athens.
In the clip obtained by ET Online, the 40-year-old actress, acting as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is seen trying to protect children from getting crushed by a mob of people who gathered to get a glimpse of her.
“It’s not safe for the children,” she tells the crowd in the video. “You need to back up.”
Jolie then keeps the kids close to her to keep them from getting crushed by the grownups. “I’m going to grab her,” she said of one girl, “because if I grab her, she’ll be safe. Come here, honey.”
The mother of six and Brad Pitt’s wife met with volunteers, NGOs and local authorities to offer UNHCR’s support for refugees. She also visited the island of Lesvos to speak with refugee families in Moria registration centre, where 2,800 refugees and asylum seekers are temporarily staying.
“I look forward to UNHCR being able to enhance its support to the Greek authorities in coordinating the humanitarian response, and together with partners, support efforts of the authorities to ensure effective registration as well as access to asylum and relocation, with particular attention to those who are the most vulnerable,” she said in a statement as she was leaving Lesvos.
She thanked the people of Greece, the volunteers and local organisations for their generosity, as well as others who are working for the care of refugees arriving in the country.
“This needs to be matched by an international response equal to the scale of the global refugee crisis, which includes ending the conflict in Syria but must go far beyond that,” she concluded.
Before going to Greece, Jolie went to Lebanon for the fifth anniversary of the Syrian conflict, stressing the need for leadership and coordinated international action to address the causes of the global refugee crisis. She will be participating at a high-level meeting on March 30 in Geneva to discuss legal pathways for Syrian refugees.
