Jolie aid plea after visiting flood victims

Angelina Jolie met flood victims in Pakistan yesterday and appealed to the world for aid to help the country recover.

The flow of money has stalled in recent days, and officials expressed hope the two-day visit by the actress – who serves as a “goodwill ambassador” for the UN’s refugee agency – will convince foreign countries and individuals to open their wallets.

The 35-year-old humanitarian said she met many people whose lives have been devastated by the floods.

They included mothers who lost their children and an elderly Pakistani couple who feared they would never be able to rebuild the home they lost.

“I am very moved by them and I hope that I am able to, today and tomorrow, be able to do something to help bring attention to the situation for all of the people in need in Pakistan,” she said after visiting a refugee camp.

She toured the area wearing a long black robe and a black headscarf adorned with a thin red stripe.

It is the kind of conservative clothing worn by many Muslim women in Pakistan.

The floods began in the north-west at the end of July after extremely heavy monsoon rains and slowly surged south along the Indus River.

It swallowed up hundreds of villages and towns and killed more than 1,700 people.

Another 17 million have been affected by the floods, and many will need emergency assistance to survive.

Ajay Chhibber, a UN assistant secretary general, said he hoped Jolie’s visit will have “a very big impact” on the donation of aid money and will keep people focused on the crisis.

“We need more ... well-known figures who can keep the spotlight and focus because people tend to forget internationally,” he said.