Australian actress Cate Blanchett, goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), called for increased support for countries hosting people forcibly displaced from their homes in order to avoid a "forgotten crisis." In an interview with Reuters, Blanchett highlighted that "countries with low to middle incomes host 74 percent of refugees, and it is not the wealthiest countries in the world that bear this responsibility."
She noted that "it’s easy to forget the existence of these prolonged crises in Yemen and many areas of Africa and Syria," asserting that "the ultimate goal is peace, but while we wait to achieve it, humanitarian aid is extremely vital, as governments must find solutions to these problems and create safe pathways for people."
According to the UNHCR, there is a record-high number of 103 million people displaced worldwide due to violence, conflict, persecution, and human rights violations. The two-time Oscar-winning star traveled to Jordan last week, which hosts about 661,800 Syrian refugees, marking her return to a country she first visited seven years ago for humanitarian purposes. Blanchett met again with families in Amman and visited the Zaatari refugee camp, established shortly after the Syrian conflict began in 2011, where approximately 80,000 people currently live.
