Wednesday, June 20th was World Refugee Day. It happened to fall in the middle of Donald Trump’s man-made refugee and human-rights crisis, where migrant refugee families were being forcibly separated and put into cages here in America. There are refugee crises around the world, and every year, it feels like conditions get worse and worse for refugees. Angelina Jolie is currently the special envoy for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. She’s held a position – first goodwill ambassador, now special envoy – with the UNHCR since 2001. She always marks World Refugee Day in some public way, whether it’s through an op-ed or a visit to a refugee camp or some UNHCR-organized event. This year, she traveled to Iraq ahead of World Refugee Day and she wrote a column for The Economist. You can read the piece here.

Angelina Jolie has spoken out against the the negative treatment of refugees on World Refugee Day. The activist and actress, 43, who serves as a Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, wrote a powerful op-ed for The Economist where she condemns any nation fighting back against helping the millions of refugees around the world. In it, she appears to be taking aim at President Donald Trump’s administration and their new “zero-tolerance policy” that is separating children from their parents at the U.S. border to Mexico.

“It is not surprising that there is deep public concern: not because people are heartless, but because this is not a sustainable situation,” she writes. “But the answer is not countries adopting harsh unilateral measures that target refugees, and run counter to our values and our responsibilities. That will only inflame the problem.”

“A refugee is a man, woman or child at their most vulnerable: forced from their home, living without the protection of their state, and in many cases without the bare means of survival. It is the human condition that tests our belief that all human beings have equal rights and deserve protection.”

After outlining all the ways nations across the world can help the severely underfunded efforts, Jolie addressed how the public can help by fighting back against apathy and getting involved in the cause.

“We live in divisive times. But history also shows our ability to unite, overcome a global crisis, and renew our sense of purpose and community with other nations,” she writes. “That is the greatest strength of an open society. We should not leave the debate to those who would exploit public anxiety for political advantage. We are being tested today and our response will be the measure of our humanity.”

[From People]

This is Angelina’s version of subtweeting. She never calls out any politician by name, because she doesn’t see that as her job. She sees her job as raising awareness and reminding people what’s happening, reminding them of what they can do, and reminding them that refugees are people too. But yes, of course she was talking about Trump. She was also talking about Trump – without saying his name – last year when she spoke about demagogues who spread fear and hate and racial animosity. She’s known what Donald Trump is this whole time.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid.