ISA si Angelina Jolie sa mga celebrity na pinakahuling nagsalita laban sa kontrobersiyal na executive order ni US President Donald Trump, na nagsususpinde ng mga visa mula sa pitong Muslim-majority country at pansamantalang pagpapatigil ng refugee resettlement program ng United States.
“Refugees are men, women and children caught in the fury of war, or the cross hairs of persecution,” saad ng Oscar winner sa kanyang op-ed piece sa New York Times. “Far from being terrorists, they are often the victims of terrorism themselves.”
Simula 2001 hanggang 2012, naging kinatawan si Jolie ng United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) bilang Goodwill Ambassador, at tumulong sa mga Syrian refugee.
Kung pansamantalang ban lang ang atas ng pangulo sa anim na bansa, wala namang katiyakan kung kailan matatapos ang pagsuspinde sa pagpasok ng mga Syrian refugee.
“I’m proud of our country’s history of giving shelter to the most vulnerable people. Americans have shed blood to defend the idea that human rights transcend culture, geography, ethnicity and religion,” dagdag ni Jolie. “The decision to suspend the resettlement of refugees to the United States and deny entry to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries has been met with shock by our friends around the world precisely because of this record.
“The global refugee crisis and the threat from terrorism make it entirely justifiable that we consider how best to secure our borders. Every government must balance the needs of its citizens with its international responsibilities.
But our response must be measured and should be based on facts, not fear.”
Personal ang isyung ito para kay Jolie lalo na’t halos lahat ng mga anak niya hindi sa US isinilang.
“As the mother of six children, who were all born in foreign lands and are proud American citizens, I very much want our country to be safe for them, and all our nation’s children,” aniya. “But 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.”
Bago pinirmahan ang executive order noong Biyernes, ipinaliwanag ni Trump ang kanyang desisyon, “I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people.”
“It is simply not true that our borders are overrun or that refugees are admitted to the United States without close scrutiny,” ani Jolie. “Refugees are in fact subject to the highest level of screening of any category of traveler to the United States. This includes months of interviews, and security checks carried out by the F.B.I., the National Counterterrorism Center, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.” (ET Online)