Angelina Jolie Visits Iraqi Refugee Camp

Taking a brief moment from her daily chores of being an international film and beauty icon, Angelina Jolie lent her face and fame to a refugee camp in Iraq. Jolie made a stop at the Chikouk camp in northern Baghdad, which is home to nearly 12,000 refugees of the Iraq war. Nearly all of the camp's inhabitants are Shiite Muslims from the Abu Ghraib town, which is slightly west of Baghdad.

The sectarian violence that enveloped Abu Ghraib in the months and years following the U.S. invasion led many to flee for their lives. The conditions at the Chikouk camp are generally deplorable, with running water only recently being supplied. There are no sewage facilities and large piles of trash and debris litter the area.

Jolie's visit was organized through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the trip was her third to Iraq since 2001. As you might expect, Jolie called on the UNHCR and other organizations to step up efforts to help those displaced by the war, even as she acknowledged that some progress has been made.

Clearly, much more needs to be done to ensure that those who lost their homes and possessions during the war are given some opportunity to build new lives. Without those opportunities, the same cycle of violence that immediately followed the U.S. invasion will almost certainly continue unabated.