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Angelina Jolie slams Donald Trump's travel ban

Angelina Jolie slams Donald Trump's travel ban

The actress breaks silence by writing an opinion piece for the New York times
04 Feb, 2017

Actress and human rights advocate Angelina Jolie on Thursday said U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order barring travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries hurts vulnerable refugees and could fuel extremism.

Without directly naming Trump, Jolie, who has served as a special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a New York Times opinion piece that discriminating based on religion was "playing with fire."

The Oscar-winning actress added that as the mother of six children, "all born in foreign lands and ... proud American citizens," she believed in the need for the nation's safety, but said decisions should be "based on facts, not fear."

"I also want to know that refugee children who qualify for asylum will always have a chance to plead their case to a compassionate America. And that we can manage our security without writing off citizens of entire countries — even babies — as unsafe to visit our country by virtue of geography or religion," she wrote.

Trump's executive order bans citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. Refugee admissions were suspended for 120 days while Syrian refugees were barred indefinitely.

The move has not only caused consternation for the nations involved but among other Muslim-majority countries, allies such as Germany and Britain and career State Department officials.

Hollywood's celebrities have also been using their spotlight to slam the president's ban.

Jolie, 41, has received an honorary Oscar for her humanitarian work. Last year, she visited refugee camps in Lebanon and Greece, meeting with families fleeing war in the Middle East.

The actress warned that by "implying Muslims are less worthy of protection, we fuel extremism abroad."

Jolie's op-ed is the first comment she has made publicly since filing for divorce in September from her husband, actor Brad Pitt. The former couple share three adopted children from Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia, and three biological children, who were born in France and Namibia.

Comments

IMTIAZ ALI KHAN Feb 04, 2017 10:16am
Beautiful soul did great work with UN. Thank you.
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afzaal ansari Feb 04, 2017 10:41am
the executive orders of the president is not acceptable by American's public as they perceived that by its implementation, the extremism will be fueled instead of mitigation
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lily Al Feb 04, 2017 11:00am
agree with her opinion
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horseman Feb 04, 2017 11:14am
Hollywood is anyway against Trump. They should pay heed to Matthew Mccoughney's (must have spelt it wrong, apologies) advice to be constructive. For national interests certain hard decisions are taken. See what Europe is seeing by allowing in Syrian, Iraqi & Pakistani refugees, reeling under the rise of far-right parties.
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Mahmood Feb 04, 2017 11:52am
Bravo! This is called 'courage of your conviction '. She has said how millions of Americans had felt since this stupid but an went into effect.
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Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad Feb 04, 2017 01:20pm
Thanks Ms. Jolie for calling a spade, a spade.
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Saif zulfiqar Feb 04, 2017 01:33pm
Why it is taking so long for celebrities to slam Trump travel banned against Muslim countries only?
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Khanm Feb 04, 2017 01:43pm
Angela you have more courage and guts than any so called Islamic countries ...They cannot even say that wrong is wrong ...It is better to scream cos silence is a crime against humanity..
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M. Malik Feb 04, 2017 03:12pm
Bravely spoken, She doesn't mince her words.
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ABE Feb 04, 2017 03:28pm
@Saif zulfiqar - You must have not been watching news online or on cable... Hollywood celebs have been very vocal and forceful about Trump's policies and pronouncements, even before he was elected. Just two weeks earlier, they delivered very strongly worded defiant statements against his government, during the Academy Awards and SAG ceremonies before millions of audience.
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FUZAIL SIDDIQUI Feb 04, 2017 04:40pm
Angelina said decisions should be "based on facts, not fear". I understand that the President's decisions are already based on facts. I mean (alternative) facts OR facts OR alternative facts? Mr. President, HELP! A Muslim or alternative Muslim, getting more confused by the minute.
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mohammed daud Feb 04, 2017 10:53pm
Trump earned humiliation for him, And sheer disappointment for those who pushed him in.
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anony Feb 05, 2017 07:24am
This lady is kind as much as she is beautiful.
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Asif A. Shah Feb 05, 2017 01:59pm
Angelina Jolie! One of my favorites because of her values and because of her work. America is a great country because of people like her.
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Ali Feb 06, 2017 03:58am
I agree with angelina jolie
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