WorldLeadersTV: ANGELINA JOLIE with SYRIAN REFUGEES in BEKKA VALLEY, LEBANON (UNHCR)

MaximsNewsNetwork ( http://www.MaximsNews.com ) 12 September 2012: United Nations Refugee Agency: UNHCR: Bekka Valley, Lebanon - On the second day of a joint visit to countries hosting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, the head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) António Guterres and Special Envoy Angelina Jolie today (12 September) heard about the difficulties people face in escaping war-torn Syria and the challenges of finding shelter for them in Lebanon.

Guterres and Jolie visited the Bekaa Valley neighbouring Syria and met some of the 67,000 registered refugees in Lebanon as well as members of host communities.

Jolie met three women who had crossed to Lebanon with their children while their husbands remained in Syria because they feared being killed if they attempted escape. One woman tearfully described a four-hour trek to the border after she had told her children they were going to visit relatives in Lebanon.

Guterres heard from the refugees he met about the risks and terror they faced heading for the border on escape routes, including constant shelling and harsh security checks.

SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR:
"We are trying to find more resources to do better. We also hope that peace will come back and you will regain your normal life. To be a refugee is always a terrible thing."

Jolie met this family who fled when the daughter was shot as she went shopping for her upcoming wedding. Her stomach was pierced, and the shooting went on for twenty minutes, says her fiancé Ababah. She survived, but only just.

SOUND UP (English) Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special Envoy:
"Your sister was shot. She got shot. She is your sister. She got shot was that very scary?"
SOUND UP (Arabic) Young girl survivor:
"Yes."
SOUND UP (English) Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special Envoy:
"She is ok now?"
SOUND UP (Arabic) Young girl survivor:
"Yes."

To show her particular concern for refugee children, Jolie visited the Bar Elias School where UNHCR and Save the Children run remedial classes and provide psychological and social support. Many of the children have missed up to two years of school and are traumatized. Lebanese children also attend the program to promote integration.

Some of the children tell Jolie that their homes have been burnt. Others describe bombings from the air, and leaving everything behind.

SOUND UP (English) Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special Envoy:
"Did you leave all your toys?"

In the older class the children had a present for Jolie.

The joint visit of Jolie Guterres to the region aims to highlight the realities of the Syrian refugees and the need for the international community to support not only the refugees but also the regional governments who have come to their aid.

MaximsNewsNetwork®™ & WorldLeadersTelevision™
News Network for the United Nations and the International Community™
"GIVING POWER & RESONANCE TO THE VOICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY" ™
See: http://www.MaximsNews.com
See: http://www.WorldLeadersTV.com
ASIA100TVNet™ ASIATV100Net™ MAGNUMMAXIM™ TodaysNetworkNews™ WORLDMAGNUM™ GLOBALMAXIM™ TODAYSNETNEWS™ NewsNetworkToday™ NetworkNewsToday™
MaximsNewsEconomics™ MaximsNewsWorld™ MaximsNewsGlobal™ MaximsNewsGreen™ MaximsNewsWater™

Internationally Accredited News Journalists and Members of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA)