Actress donates aid to refugees
2002-09-13 17:27
Geneva - Film star Angelina Jolie has donated $100 000 to provide food for Western Sahara refugees, United Nations aid agencies said on Friday.
The American actress, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, gave the money to UNHCR and the
World Food Programme to help support some 155 000 refugees living in camps in southeastern Algeria.
"I was distressed when this desperate situation was brought to my attention. I hope to encourage other people to make themselves
aware of this crisis facing the Western Saharan refugees and do
what they can to help," Jolie said in a statement.
WFP said last month it would be forced in October to slash the
food it provides each refugee to the equivalent of 231 calories a
day unless it receives new donations. The standard UN refugee
ration totals 2 100 calories daily.
WFP said it needed donations of 8 336 metric tons of food, or $3.7 million, to support the refugees for
four months.
The refugees have been living in camps since Morocco annexed the mineral-rich Western Sahara in 1975. They are almost entirely
dependent on aid for survival.
Fighting between Moroccan forces and Polisario Front rebels
ended in 1991 with a UN-negotiated ceasefire that called for a
referendum on whether Western Sahara would become independent or
part of Morocco. But UN efforts over the past 11 years to
organise the referendum have been frustrated by disputes over who
is eligible to vote. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA