Angelina Jolie Arrives In Haiti, Warns Against Immediate Adoption Of Orphans
Posted on Wed Feb 10th, 2010 6:21am PDT By X17 Staff
UNHCRAngelina Jolie arrived in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince yesterday where she visited earthquake survivors and met aid workers from local and international organizations.
The UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador said she was there to "listen and learn" while she visited medical centers, the UN mission, and met with children. She also visited a cash-for-work program run by the UN Development Program in the Carrefour district of the capital. Jolie said the program was enabling Haitians to earn and income while their country rebuilds: "To give people the ability to work towards their own future is so important at this time. It helps to restore their hope and respects their dignity."
In the Santo area of Port-au-Prince, Jolie visited SOS Children's Villages, a worldwide program to raise children inside their own countries. Since the earthquake, the organization has begun providing additional care for children who have been newly orphaned or who have lost contact with their parents as a result of the catastrophe. SOS is working to reunite children with their family members and will continue to care for those without any caregivers.
Jolie applauded their work, while stressing:
- " ... new adoptions should definitely not be encouraged as an immediate response to the emergency. Haiti had many trafficking problems before the earthquake and now must keep a very close watch on the children. I would encourage as much support as possible to groups like SOS and UNICEF providing care for children in country."
More, after the jump ...
Jolie also visited a tented hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres in the commune of Delmas. "I was struck by the strength and spirit of the Haitian people. Children as young as nine months old were coping with amputations with extraordinary resilience. I even met a little 10-year-old boy who had recently had his leg amputated, who was giggling to himself about a silly book as he sat on the floor," Jolie said."These doctors are extraordinary," she said. "For all the patients that had to have amputations there are also a high number of limbs and lives that the doctors have managed to save."
"It will take years to rebuild Haiti," Jolie said, after seeing the devastation from the January 12 earthquake. "Every day, the UN, governments, NGOs and local organizations are providing more people with protection, food, water, shelter and health care, yet the needs are still enormous and the displacement could last a decade.
"Providing adequate shelter to the displaced is of paramount importance, especially as the upcoming rainy season threatens to add to the devastation. Everyone is bracing themselves for a second wave of tragedy."
Before arriving in Haiti, Jolie spent a day in the Dominican Republic, where she visited Haitian earthquake victims in the local public hospital and in nearby shelters. "I was heartened to see the care being provided by Dominican doctors and nurses and to witness the generosity of local society, which is caring for discharged patients and their families in their recovery," she said.
