Lampedusa, Italy - Actress Angelina Jolie has thanked residents of the tiny island of Lampedusa for welcoming in the estimated 20 000 migrants who arrived there after fleeing unrest in Tunisia and Libya in recent months.
Jolie - in her capacity as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees - travelled to Lampedusa on Sunday to mark World Refugee Day.
She visited a migrant holding centre and then participated in a ceremony at Lampedusa's memorial for migrants lost at sea.
United Nations refugee chief Antonio Guterres also was on hand to urge Europe to continue keeping its doors open.
He said the debate raging in Europe about immigration “doesn't correspond to the reality”, given that the number of African migrants who have arrived in Europe is tiny compared to the numbers who have gone elsewhere. - Sapa-AP