Angelina Jolie visits Syrian refugee camp

(11 Sep 2012) US actor Angelina Jolie, in her role as UN Special Envoy for Refugee Issues, was visibly overcome on Tuesday as she toured a Jordanian refugee camp for Syrians fleeing the country's civil war. Jolie spoke of the "horrific situation" in Syria during a visit on Tuesday to the Zaatari camp in Mafraq, accompanied by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. The Zaatari camp hosts about 30-thousand Syrians displaced by the 18-month conflict. According to Guterres, Jordan has taken in some 200-thousand Syrians - the largest number in the region. "I'm grateful to Jordan and all the border countries for keeping their borders open, for saving these people's lives," Jolie told reporters. "It is a horrific situation and a very, very critical time, so for all the politicians out there, and we are not them, but we hope and pray that they figure something out soon because people are dying, hundreds and hundreds of people are dying every day," she added. Jordan has called for more help to cope with the influx of refugees. "I think that the more the international community realises what Jordan has to bear in terms of the burden while performing its duty of receiving these Syrians who are escaping these harsh realities, I think the more help that will come, the more it will enable Jordan to cope with this reality," Judeh said. Jolie is also scheduled to visit Syrian refuges in Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...