One More Bit About Jolie's Journals

Finished Angelina Jolie's Notes from Travels this weekend while visiting my parents in New Mexico and really haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

In particular, when she visits Tuul Sleng, the Genocide Museum in Cambodia, and sees photos of mothers being killed as they hold their babies on their laps.

And how no matter where she goes, when she asks children what they want the most, it is education.

Why is a good education such an elusive commodity in this world?

I was so engrossed by her accounts of the refugee conditions in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador, I downloaded her journals from her trips to Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Jordan and Russia from the USA for UNHCR web site. Although they need some serious copyediting, I found them equally compelling, particularly her entries about Russia where I was suprised to hear how bad the situation is there in some areas.

I'm not saying that Angelina Jolie is the political pundit of our times, but I do appreciate the accessibility of her writing in what are very complex topics and her depiction of many people whose lives rarely reach the radar of everyday Americans.

I will be interested to see how The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa will compare.