The fourth largest social media platform just added it’s latest celeb account as Angelina Jolie joins Instagram in an effort to raise awareness about the dire situation in Afghanistan. Angelina’s humanitarian work includes her esteemd role as a special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency. With the exception of her new Instagram account, the notoriously private actress and mother of six has no public social media profiles.
Angelina has since posted twice on her account. Her first post is a letter purportedly written to her by a young Afghani girl. She captions, “This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights. I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban. This was twenty years ago. It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country. To spend so much time and money, to have blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand. Watching for decades how Afghan refugees – some of the most capable people in the world – are treated like a burden is also sickening. Knowing that if they had the tools and respect, how much they would do for themselves. And meeting so many women and girls who not only wanted an education, but fought for it. Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you’ll join me.”
Her second post focuses on displaced people. She writes, “I started working with displaced people because I believe passionately in human rights. Not out of charity, but out of a deep respect for them and their families, and all they continue to overcome, despite so much persecution, inequality and injustice. Today, one percet of the world’s population – 82.4 million people – is displaced. That’s nearly twice as many as a decade before. Some crises, like the war in Afghanistan, have lasted for decades. Others, like the conflict in Ethiopia, are more recent. They all have in common the violence and denial of rights that leave innocent families with no choice but to flee. At which point will we be concerned enough to address the environmental devastation, conflict and human rights abuses that fuel these crises? I’m always continuing to learn – if you’d like to join me, please visit the UN @refugees account.”
Anglina Jolie joins Instagram and her new platform lends her voice to help those without a voice. Thank you, Angelina.
