Angelina Jolie: “All together, we are stronger”

Angelina Jolie, as well as in the cinema

It has been a long time since cinema was not enough to fill life with Angelina Jolie, Hollywood star and director, turned 47 on June 4th, who devotes most of her time to activism in favor of civil rights, an extraordinary personality who seems to have chosen a humanitarian priesthood that takes her relentlessly in war zones. Angelina Jolie intrigues, fascinates, maybe confuses, but no one can doubt the sincerity and consistency of her commitment as a woman on the field who inspects refugee camps, she intervenes in Davos or appeals to international institutions.

An agitator of consciences, she is also an ambassador of Guerlain, which made her the godmother of Women for Bees, a cutting-edge program on female agricultural entrepreneurship, which trains and supports beekeepers around the world. At the center is biodiversity, of course, but above all the autonomy of women in disadvantaged regions: beehives have been installed in Cambodia, her favorite country, where she partly resides, home to the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundationwhich also works for preserve the environment and improve the living conditions of rural communities.

The Women for Bees program is aimed at women, typically the first economic victims of global vicissitudes and upheavals.
A question of inequality, an eternal problem. In general, as soon as a conflict breaks out somewhere, they are the first to suffer. In many parts of the world, women have neither the support nor the freedoms they should enjoy. There is a clear need to put this problem on the table, but there is also, perhaps, a more delicate way to remedy it, introducing them to those mechanisms that are the basis of Women for Bees, whose implementation can, cascade, benefit all their communities. For example – and I see it in poor countries – teaching them commercial or exchange skills will make them more autonomous, helping them to create their own networks. Women are fragile, but paradoxically they are also a source of extraordinary strength. You see, at the start of the pandemic, 70 percent of caregivers were women… 70 percent! This is reality, and it’s a beautiful thing: when women have access to knowledge, tools and opportunities, what do they do? They help others.

How would you describe the word sisterhood?
Women who support other women, respect each other, emancipate themselves. Women who help themselves. All together, we are stronger.

The commitment in Cambodia

Cambodia is his country of the heart. What is the female condition over there?
I have been working in Cambodia for about twenty years and our foundation reaches around 20,000 people, guaranteeing them access to clinics and schools. Furthermore, we fight against deforestation. I say “we” because, if it is true that I am the creator of the program, today it is managed locally. It is the population that does the job successfully. Young or old women, forest workers, work side by side with men of good will. It is imperative not only to help women, but also to strengthen the bond with men. To improve collaboration, we need to unite.

Do you think guys need to be educated differently for women to be better able to fulfill themselves?
I am an advocate of the “all together” principle. There is an increasing need for young people to be aware of issues related to equality in countries or cultures that have gaps in this regard. It is absurd that even today, in some areas of the world, women are cruelly deprived of education and freedom. But the question of education arises beyond any geographical or cultural connotation, it arises in all communities and families, in your home as well as in mine. For example, I have three boys and three girls, and every day I discover new aspects in each of them. The idea is that everyone finds their place regardless of gender and that it is fulfilled fairly without hindering the freedom of the other.

He lives part of the year in Cambodia, having acquired his nationality. How did this choice come about?
None of my six children were born in the United States. My twins were born in France, my daughter is Ethiopian, my sons are Vietnamese and Cambodian, while Shiloh was born in Namibia. My heart is linked to different countries, and in particular to those of birth and descent of my children. But I must say that Cambodia was the first country with which I established such a strong bond. I lived there and really got to know its people. It was there too that I became aware of the refugee problem. In my childhood there was little talk of displaced populations and I don’t remember that history lessons left much space for this theme. When I first visited Cambodia in 2000, I knew nothing about the country and was struck by the extent of my gaps. It was a profound awareness of understanding what really happened during the conflict and then going to meet the refugees. You see, the place where I had my house built was a Khmer Rouge stronghold. A bunker remained and the ground was littered with mines. All of this was very far from what I was taught in my youth in America, experiencing it was both an update and a questioning of things for me. I love the people of Cambodia with all my heart. It was my son Maddox, my firstborn, who made me a mother. And I said it all.

His political commitment is accompanied by a very strong bond with nature. What do you get from it?
In the midst of nature I feel at peace. I feel wild and very human at the same time. I often have to see how everything that does not derive from nature is what leads us astray.

Angelina Jolie and ecology

How did your ecological awareness arise?
I did not grow up in a particularly ecological environment, although my mother was aware of some problems: she often cited endangered virgin forests, for example, a topic that is still relevant, alas. My ecological conscience really solidified during my first trips to Cambodia. In the beginning, I was mainly thinking about human needs, which for me meant schools and hospitals. As I said, I bought land, cleared it and built my headquarters there. Of course, it was nice to mine and build schools, but that also involved cutting down trees and removing the tigers from their natural environment. It was at that moment that I realized that we had to think differently, in a more global way. Understand that any action can have a devastating effect on the environment. So act accordingly. Trying to reconcile all communities, poachers and foresters, those who protect the forest and those who build hospitals. Pedagogical interventions require constant adjustments, but I am convinced that nature and humans can function well if they are in tune.

Are you raising your children with this idea in mind?
I think the new generations are much more aware and attentive than we were at the same age. Obviously, it is easy to worry about the future when you see the inadequacy of the laws or the slowness of politicians in making things change. For my part, I do my best to educate young people with a global perspective, including the environment. On this topic I am also co-author of a book (Know Your Rights and Claim Them. A Guide for Youth – Know your rights and claim them. A guide for young people, ed) which deals with the rights of children and young people. As for my children, I preferred not to repeat over and over because it is important to think about the environment. I let them come up with an idea for themselves as they grew up, immersing them in different environments, encouraging them to make friends with people from different cultures, in short to live and experience as many emotions and experiences as possible. I believe that understanding, respect and openness to others have become almost natural concepts for them.

What are the daily ecological gestures in the family?
You see, my main concern is with human rights and refugee rights. I do not claim to be an example of perfection in the field of home ecology, although I am committed to improving. Before, for example, I flew a lot on airplanes and I liked it. Thats enough. I only make targeted flights, that is, necessary and useful, for good reasons.

How can we define it? Environmentalist? Humanist?
Humanist, of course, but above all internationalist. I believe that the whole world must come together in the name of greater respect and mutual support.

© Richard Gianorio / madame.lefigaro.fr / 2022

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