During a visit to the Oure-Cassoni camp in eastern Chad, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie listens to refugee women from the Darfur region in Sudan. CLICK HERE to find out why Angelina Jolie is visiting this camp!

Angelina Jolie visits camp in Chad to assess situation for Darfur refugees
By Matthew Conway in Bahai, Chad

BAHAI, Chad, February 27 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Tuesday completed a two-day mission to a refugee camp in eastern Chad which enabled her to assess how the security situation has deteriorated for Sudanese refugees since her last visit to Chad three years ago.

Jolie, who visited both Chad and neighbouring Sudan’s Darfur region with UNHCR in 2004, said she was struck by the sense of hope she encountered at the Oure-Cassoni camp near this town and by the widespread desire for peace-keepers to be deployed in Chad.

She also reflected on the hardship and suffering she had seen at the camp, which is located less than five kilometres from the border with Sudan. “It’s always hard to see decent people, families, living in such difficult conditions,” she said. “What is most upsetting is how long it is taking the international community to answer this crisis,” Jolie added.

The award-winning actress had to travel through a sandstorm on Monday to reach the Oure-Cassoni camp, which with a refugee population of more than 26,000 is the northernmost of 12 UNHCR-run camps in eastern Chad housing more than 230,000 refugees from Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

She was greeted at one of the camp’s many primary schools by singing children as the desert wind whipped against the plastic sheeting serving as the structure’s roof and walls. The encroaching sands and storms make their hard life even tougher, with many of the tents and mud-brick houses partially or completely buried. Wood for cooking and heat is scarce in the region, and competition for the resource causes friction between the refugee and local populations.

Refugee women are sometimes sexually and physically abused while out collecting the precious scraps of firewood beyond the protection of police provided by the Chadian government to help ensure refugee security.

At the school, Jolie listened to children’s tales of daily life, their concerns and their hopes of one day returning to their homes in Darfur. The room was filled with laughter as she and the children took turns drawing for each other. She later visited mentally ill refugees.

On Tuesday, Jolie visited a man-made reservoir that feeds the camp with water, but which is now almost empty following disappointing rains last year. Its shrinking reserves are a matter of concern for the refugees and UNHCR.

She then sat down with a group of women and discussed their desire for access to income-generating activities as well as their longing to return home. But the women, who were preparing celebrations for International Women’s Day on March 8, said it was still not safe enough across the border and many of the refugees she spoke to supported calls for a peace-keeping force in Chad.

In a report last week to the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed sending a multi-dimensional peace-keeping mission to Chad to protect civilians and deter cross-border attacks.

The refugees Jolie talked to also drew comfort from recent radio reports saying that the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) had told the Security Council it had credible evidence of grave crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.

“Today, many refugees seemed to have a new sense of hope, and they want to see those guilty brought to trial . . . In order to feel safe enough to return home, these people said they would need to know that the men who attacked them had been stripped of their weapons,” Jolie said. “This is a very important day for international justice. The decisions of the ICC could make a big difference in the lives of these women and their children.”

Jolie had high praise for the UNHCR staff and NGO workers that she met in the camp. “Years into this situation, now finding themselves coming under attack, humanitarian workers’ spirits are unbroken,” she said.

There are more than 230,000 refugees from Sudan in eastern Chad, while some 46,000 refugees from the Central African Republic have found shelter in southern Chad. In addition to these refugees, close to 120,000 Chadians are displaced in the eastern region of their own country.

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Jake Gyllenhaal works his boyish charm as he drops by MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL) on Tuesday afternoon to chat up his later thriller movie, Zodiac.

What he is doing to his arms, or trying to be, is beyond me. Superhero Jake?

Jake, 26, was interviewed by MTV VJ Damien Fahey at the MTV Times Square Studios on in New York City.

Zodiac opens in theaters this Friday and also co-stars Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr. and Chloe Sevigny.

What can we expect to see from the bald beauty, who is currently going through postpartum depression? A new website!

Britney Spears is soon to be re-launching her official website BritneySpears.com. Watch out for her new space, where who knows what will turn up.

I’m personally hoping for a real photo of son Jayden James, and not just one of his foot. Thanks!

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere, 17, signs autographs at NY Comic Con in NYC’s Jacob Javits Center with mom Lesley in the background.

Heroes hunk Milo Ventimiglia makes a guest appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday evening.

Milo, 29, gives some background on being fourth generation: “My father’s family is Sicilian. My mom is English, Irish, Scottish, French, Cherokee, and Black Foot Indian. I’m American!”

Milo even shares about his first paying job in Hollywood — a stint on the Fresh Prince of Bel-air alongside Will Smith! Does anybody happen to have that clip of Milo on Fresh Prince? Please share!

Watch the video of Milo Ventimiglia on Jimmy Kimmel Live! below!

Former O.C. star Mischa Barton goes for clean and simple in classic white and black on Tuesday morning. Mischa, 21, arrived for the Christian Dior Ready-to-Wear fashion show at Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, France.

Mischa co-stars with Hayden Christensen in Virgin Territory, scheduled for an Aug. 24 release.

Virgin Territory is a romantic-comedy film based upon Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, which tells the story of young Florentines in the countryside telling one another stories about love and adventure as they wait for the plague to end in the city.

Virgin Territory also co-stars Christopher Egan (Vanished) and Rupert Friend (Keira Knightey’s boyfriend).

Scarlett Johanasson skipped out of the Osacrs for good reason. She was on a 10-day stint through India and Sri Lanka, raising awareness about global poverty with international agency Oxfam!

Above is Scarlett, 22, visiting the children of the Oxfam-funded Dalit school in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. How cute are they!

Said Scarlett, who is currently in India: “I met a young girl, Gudiya, at a school for Dalit children, a community considered to be the lowest class. She was an amazing, bright young girl, full of ambition and attending the fifth grade. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said ‘a government official’. Every morning she rises at three a.m. to study and then complete the household chores before walking for half an hour to school. I asked her how she felt she would be able to raise her family and also hold a government position. She responded confidently, ‘I can manage.’ Her self-pride and drive to succeed was an obvious outcome from her schooling.”

CLICK HERE to find out what Scarlett had to say about Sri Lankan Tsunami survivor Bandawathi Maitipe and her son Asela Abeytunga.

Go, go, Team Scarlett!

Said Scarlett of Sri Lankan Tsunami survivor Bandawathi Maitipe and her son Asela Abeytunga: “The devastation both directly and indirectly as a result of the tsunami is overwhelming. A mother who had received aid money to finance her small business and was living with her 25 year-old-son had lost both her husband and younger son as well as their home and tailoring shop, the only source of income. After two years, they are still waiting to be housed, after a long struggle with a landlord from whom they’ve had rented the house for the past fifty years. Afterwards, I went to visit a rural fishing community which Oxfam had fully irrigated, allowing people to live safely in a government development. After hearing such a devastating case that morning, seeing this village thrive gave me a sense of hope and progress. It was an incredible opportunity to see the grass roots approach being taken by non-governmental organizations, such as Oxfam, towards reconstructing the lives of this devastated country.”

The PECtacular Matthew McConaughey struts his stuff while surfing at Surfers Paradise in Australia on Tuesday morning.

Matthew, 37, supposedly nabbed a role in a film called Surfer Dude (how appropriate). Filming is slated to begin early May 2007.

And just announced today, Jon Shestack Prods. has inked a two-year first-look deal with New Line Cinema, with The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past starring Matthew McConaughey.

Matthew will portray a bachelor who goes to his younger brother’s wedding and gets visited by the ghosts of his past girlfriends. The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is set for a Christmas 2008 release.

A larger than life-size image Brad Pitt in his boxers was unveiled at the Robert Wilson “Voom Portraits” exhibit at the ACE Gallery in Los Angeles on Friday. It’s hilarious to see Brad’s body being gawked at by all those gallery goers!

(The main image above is actually Brad Pitt’s picture at a spring fashion preview and performance presented by Vogue at Phillips de Pury & Company last month in New York City.)

In Jolie news, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Angelina touched down in Africa yesterday to monitor and raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Angie will be visiting refugee camps about two miles from the border of Sudan for the next few days.

This is Angie’s first trip there since 2004.

Sidenote: You can check out pictures of baby Shiloh and Zahara in a stroller with grandma Jane Pitt. Baby Shiloh turns 9 months today.