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Top Hollywood celebrity Angelina Jolie surprises Pakistan by arriving today in Karachi to support communities hit by devastating floods.
TV footage showed Angelina arriving at Karachi International Airport today. Mr and Mrs Smith actress visited Dadu in Sindh where deaths from calamity rose to 1500.
According to IRC, an international aid group, the Oscar award winner actress is in Pakistan to support communities affected by the devastating floods. Ms Jolie is visiting to witness and gain understanding of the situation, and to hear from people affected directly about their needs, and about steps to prevent such suffering in the future. She will appeal to the international community for supporting Pakistan’s effort in the rehabilitation of those affected by the floods.
Ms Jolie is well known for her humanitarian efforts and she previously visited victims of the 2010 floods in Pakistan, and the 2005 earthquake, will visit the IRC’s emergency response operations and local organizations assisting displaced people including Afghan refugees.
According to IRC, Ms Jolie will highlight the need for urgent support for the Pakistani people and long-term solutions to address the multiplying crises of climate change, human displacement and protracted insecurity we are witnessing globally. Ms Jolie will see firsthand how countries like Pakistan are paying the greatest cost for a crisis they did not cause. The IRC hopes her visit will shed light on this issue and prompt the international community – particularly states contributing the most to carbon emissions – to act and provide urgent support to countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.
Shabnam Baloch, Pakistan Country Director at the IRC said:
“The climate crisis is destroying lives and futures in Pakistan, with severe consequences especially for women and children. The resulting economic loss from these floods wills likely lead to food insecurity and an increase in violence against women and girls. We need immediate support to reach people in urgent need, and long term investments to stop climate change from destroying our collective futures. With more rains expected in the coming months, we hope Angelina Jolie’s visit will help the world wake up and take action.”
The visit comes as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is in New York for the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly. In his speech, Sharif will highlight the damages caused by climate-change induced floods in the impoverished country.
