Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Interview With Angelina Jolie
Aired June 20, 2003 - 15:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Actress Angelina Jolie is in the Washington spotlight in her role as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.
Yesterday she was on Capitol Hill, urging the Senate to pass legislation on the handling of children who arrive in the U.S. alone. And today she's helping mark World Refugee Day. Angelina Jolie here in our Washington bureau.
So nice to see you again.
ANGELINA JOLIE, U.N. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: Nice to see you again.
WOODRUFF: It was just about exactly a year ago that we talked about the refugee issue. You were very passionate then about this, I remember. It's still a passion for you?
JOLIE: Oh, very much so. Every time I've tried to speak, I end up crying. But it's just that I've met these people, some of these millions of people and spoke to so many of the families and children personally.
And they're survivors, and today is really a celebration of all that they've survived and all that they've come through. And all they are still trying to go through every day and stay alive. And we need to support them and remember them. And never, ever forget.
WOODRUFF: The numbers are huge. They're bigger than, I think, anybody can believe, something like 20 million or more than that refugees.
JOLIE: Yes, about...
WOODRUFF: More than that?
JOLIE: After about 20 million, there are about 35 million people uprooted.
WOODRUFF: From their home countries, from their own -- the place where they were born, the place they would ordinarily live.
JOLIE: War and persecution, yes.
WOODRUFF: And what is it that the world community should be doing, and particularly the United States? What's the obligation of a country like the United States to these people? JOLIE: Well, the United States is founded on refugees. So we have an obligation -- in a country that has so much has an obligation to help those who have nothing.
And we can educate ourselves about what's happening in the world. We can go on web sites. There's a U.N. Refugees.org web site. There's so many different things you can access, different human rights laws. You can learn about what's happening in the Congo, you can do so much, and just to sit down and decide to do it is the most important.
WOODRUFF: Is enough being done by governments right now? And is that the main focus of what you're looking at here?
JOLIE: Governments are doing a lot, but I do think they could always do more. And when there are big things in the news, when there is war, when there's the Iraqi war, when there's Afghanistan, we tend to forget all the other civil wars going on around the world.
And we need to remember that just weeks ago, there were thousands of people massacred in the Congo and probably today right now. And there are how many -- how many thousands of people die a day of hunger. Just to not forget them.
WOODRUFF: And yesterday your focus was on these children, coming into the United States alone, tens of thousands of them. What about these children? What happens to them?
JOLIE: These children are -- many of the young girls have been raped, have been -- many of the young boys, forced to child soldiers. There's so many different horrible things going on in the world. Most of these kids, though, have simply just witnessed their parents or their siblings killed in front of them.
They've faced unbelievable odds and they've somehow crossed into this country. And they're -- they're not given, as it is now, they're not given legal counsel. And they don't speak the language.
So these are, like, 8-year-old children that don't speak the language, are not going to be given a lawyer, they have to represent themselves in court to try to make a plea for why they need protection in this country, and some of them make it through. And many of them don't because they can't.
WOODRUFF: It's a terribly sad situation. And yet, I mean, would you argue that the U.S. should open its doors to anyone and everyone who comes in?
JOLIE: No, of course not. I think we have to be careful, you know, always.
But these are not people that are, you know, these are not just -- these are not illegal immigrants. These are not people that are coming -- these are refugees. These are people that it's been decided that they are running from a well-founded fear of persecution and war, and they will be killed, chances are, if they do not, if they are not protected. So it's a very different situation.
So but no, of course not. We have to be very careful.
WOODRUFF: So you're arguing for legal protection for them at the very least?
JOLIE: Especially, of course, the children. I mean, my God. If my son, something happened to me and my son went somewhere, I would assume that somebody would help him get what he needed. And he should be represented in court if he had to go to court and ask for some help for a place to live or someplace to be free. And yes.
WOODRUFF: Tell us again what the web site is for those who want more information.
JOLIE: UNRefugees.org.
WOODRUFF: And they can go there and find...
JOLIE: They can go there, and you can pretty much look up anything. You can look up, you know, refugees, you look up human rights, you look up the U.N. There's so much information.
WOODRUFF: Actor Angelina Jolie, goodwill ambassador for U.N. High Commission for Refugees, it's very good to see you again.
JOLIE: Thank you very much.
WOODRUFF: Thanks for coming by.
JOLIE: Thanks for having me.
WOODRUFF: Good luck to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 20, 2003 - 15:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Actress Angelina Jolie is in the Washington spotlight in her role as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commission for Refugees.
Yesterday she was on Capitol Hill, urging the Senate to pass legislation on the handling of children who arrive in the U.S. alone. And today she's helping mark World Refugee Day. Angelina Jolie here in our Washington bureau.
So nice to see you again.
ANGELINA JOLIE, U.N. GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: Nice to see you again.
WOODRUFF: It was just about exactly a year ago that we talked about the refugee issue. You were very passionate then about this, I remember. It's still a passion for you?
JOLIE: Oh, very much so. Every time I've tried to speak, I end up crying. But it's just that I've met these people, some of these millions of people and spoke to so many of the families and children personally.
And they're survivors, and today is really a celebration of all that they've survived and all that they've come through. And all they are still trying to go through every day and stay alive. And we need to support them and remember them. And never, ever forget.
WOODRUFF: The numbers are huge. They're bigger than, I think, anybody can believe, something like 20 million or more than that refugees.
JOLIE: Yes, about...
WOODRUFF: More than that?
JOLIE: After about 20 million, there are about 35 million people uprooted.
WOODRUFF: From their home countries, from their own -- the place where they were born, the place they would ordinarily live.
JOLIE: War and persecution, yes.
WOODRUFF: And what is it that the world community should be doing, and particularly the United States? What's the obligation of a country like the United States to these people? JOLIE: Well, the United States is founded on refugees. So we have an obligation -- in a country that has so much has an obligation to help those who have nothing.
And we can educate ourselves about what's happening in the world. We can go on web sites. There's a U.N. Refugees.org web site. There's so many different things you can access, different human rights laws. You can learn about what's happening in the Congo, you can do so much, and just to sit down and decide to do it is the most important.
WOODRUFF: Is enough being done by governments right now? And is that the main focus of what you're looking at here?
JOLIE: Governments are doing a lot, but I do think they could always do more. And when there are big things in the news, when there is war, when there's the Iraqi war, when there's Afghanistan, we tend to forget all the other civil wars going on around the world.
And we need to remember that just weeks ago, there were thousands of people massacred in the Congo and probably today right now. And there are how many -- how many thousands of people die a day of hunger. Just to not forget them.
WOODRUFF: And yesterday your focus was on these children, coming into the United States alone, tens of thousands of them. What about these children? What happens to them?
JOLIE: These children are -- many of the young girls have been raped, have been -- many of the young boys, forced to child soldiers. There's so many different horrible things going on in the world. Most of these kids, though, have simply just witnessed their parents or their siblings killed in front of them.
They've faced unbelievable odds and they've somehow crossed into this country. And they're -- they're not given, as it is now, they're not given legal counsel. And they don't speak the language.
So these are, like, 8-year-old children that don't speak the language, are not going to be given a lawyer, they have to represent themselves in court to try to make a plea for why they need protection in this country, and some of them make it through. And many of them don't because they can't.
WOODRUFF: It's a terribly sad situation. And yet, I mean, would you argue that the U.S. should open its doors to anyone and everyone who comes in?
JOLIE: No, of course not. I think we have to be careful, you know, always.
But these are not people that are, you know, these are not just -- these are not illegal immigrants. These are not people that are coming -- these are refugees. These are people that it's been decided that they are running from a well-founded fear of persecution and war, and they will be killed, chances are, if they do not, if they are not protected. So it's a very different situation.
So but no, of course not. We have to be very careful.
WOODRUFF: So you're arguing for legal protection for them at the very least?
JOLIE: Especially, of course, the children. I mean, my God. If my son, something happened to me and my son went somewhere, I would assume that somebody would help him get what he needed. And he should be represented in court if he had to go to court and ask for some help for a place to live or someplace to be free. And yes.
WOODRUFF: Tell us again what the web site is for those who want more information.
JOLIE: UNRefugees.org.
WOODRUFF: And they can go there and find...
JOLIE: They can go there, and you can pretty much look up anything. You can look up, you know, refugees, you look up human rights, you look up the U.N. There's so much information.
WOODRUFF: Actor Angelina Jolie, goodwill ambassador for U.N. High Commission for Refugees, it's very good to see you again.
JOLIE: Thank you very much.
WOODRUFF: Thanks for coming by.
JOLIE: Thanks for having me.
WOODRUFF: Good luck to you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
