Angelina Jolie persuasive speech
Speech
The persuasive speech of Angelina Jolie
First of all, I'd just like to stay home and I am to be on this panel with everybody and I thank you for all your words and this is a happy day. This is a happy day because it is not often enough that these children are represented in this town, and this is a great opportunity for all of us to speak about them. There's a great book by Arthur Hilton called the price of indifference. It's a book about refugees and humanitarian action, but it also discusses the price of our inaction. And I believe that there is no better way to phrase why we are here today than that, to discuss the price of our indifference and the consequences of our inaction. And I am no policy expert as you all know, and I will not be pretending to be one here today. I am here simply to ask you to think about orphan children, not as a burden, but as a great opportunity.
Their education and their well-being is an investment in our future. When I first became involved in this issue, I learned about orphans. I remember being told that the one thing that they all share is a very hard beginning to their lives. They've known hunger and loneliness and death, and they have had to fight very, very hard to survive. But when they are given a chance, they grow strong. And they grow stronger than most. And I think the lost boys of Sudan are a great example. They have fought through unbelievable challenges. And then with the help of many different organizations, they excelled, and today they are strong. And they represent a great hope for the future of Sudan. In my travels, I have seen two very, very different scenarios for these children. Some beat the odds and despite being orphaned, they're extended families are able to take them in.
Governments or NGOs do reach out to them. They provide basic healthcare education. There's communities protect them, and they protect them from those who seek to exploit them. And somehow they make it. And in their survival, they embody the best of what our world can achieve. But there is another scenario, and it is much darker, and it is more common. And I'm talking about the 5 year old girl who has made to beg for the adult who trafficker across Cambodia. The 12 year old boy in northern Uganda, who's captured and trained as a soldier and forced to kill an 8 year old girl who's so hungry that she trades sex for food. These scenarios are more and more common. The growing number of orphans are growing number of abandoned youth. Susceptible to slavery, recruitment into terrorist activities, child trafficking, prostitution, we shape our future by the way we raise our children. And orphan children are the world's children. And our government has the power to choose which of these paths these children are going to take. And today we have a chance to help guide them.
These programs can make a difference between these two scenarios, and they are not complicated. They require focus and funding and a real commitment. And we are all very committed here today. We know the price of our indifference. We know what could happen to all of these children. We know the consequences of our inaction. So I hope I hope you are inspired. We K and everybody who spoken today to learn more to get involved, I'm so lucky that I have the opportunity to know many of these children. And I can tell you that there is there is no greater joy, and they are amazing, amazing young people. And I'm very excited for them that you are all here to cover this. So thank you.