Angelina meets Afghan & Myanmarese refugees in Delhi

Press Trust of India: 4 Novermber, 2006

New Delhi: Giving papparazi the slip, Hollywood diva Angelina Jolie on Saturday spent some time with Sikh Afghan and Myanmarese refugees in the capital.

Accompanied by her five-year-old son Maddox, Jolie arrived in the capital just past noon and drove to the refugee camps run by the Khalsa Diwan Welfare Society and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Clad in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, Jolie, the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and her son listened to Sikh children playing religious music at the Welfare Society run by Afghan refugees of the Sikh faith.

She chatted with the students among some 9,500 Afghan Sikh refugees under the direct care of UNHCR and was appreciative of their passion for learning English and computer skills.

The Hollywood star, in India for shooting a film 'A Mighty Heart' on the life of slain Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl, also visited a woman refugee from Myanmar in her one-room home where she lives with her three children.

The woman, one of the 1,750 refugees from Myanmar, told Jolie that they fled after her husband was arrested by the military government in Myanmar, a press statement issued by UNHCR said.

"I am grateful to the refugee families who spent time with me today and shared their stories. They are remarkable, courageous people, it quoted Jolie as saying.

Jolie, on a two-day visit here, will be meeting Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma on Sunday.

Jolie will be accompanied by UN officials at the meeting with Sharma and the discussions are expected to centre around issues relating to refugees and children.