Aida Prljaca, the spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sarajevo, said the couple arrived on Sunday night (after the family’s Easter egg hunt in Italy).
According to The Associated Press, Brad and Angie hope to “spotlight the plight of 117,000 people who have not able to return to their homes, even though the Bosnia war ended 15 years ago.”
Bosnian National radio said the couple went to a refugee centre in the eastern town of Gorazde, where they visited two families who had fled their homes during the conflict and had yet to return, almost 15 years after the end of the war.
"I was surprised when I recognized him. I could not say anything, I was so moved," one mother, whose name was not revealed, said of her meeting with Pitt.
"He came to me and took me in his arms. He was also surprised when I told him that I had recognized him and he was very moved with my personal history. He gave me some money," the unemployed mother of one told the radio.
More than three years of war left 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million refugees and displaced persons. Some 117,000 people are still displaced or unable to return to their homes, according to the UNHCR.
After a day in Bosnia, the couple flew into the coastal town Tivat in Montenegro, airport officials said.
Local media speculated Jolie, a UNHCR good-will ambassador, and Pitt would spend a day in one of Montenegro's luxurious hotels or visit the famed Croatian coastal town ofDubrovnik.
Jolie and Pitt have not been seen in public since Bosnian border police announced that a famous Hollywood couple had arrived late Sunday.
Prljaca said their visit to Bosnia would be discreet, without any contact with media, and that the UNHCR would likely issue a statement later in the day.
Dozens of photographers staked out the luxury Hotel Europe in the centre of the Bosnian capital Sarajevoovernight Sunday, said an AFP photographer.
A local photographer of news portal Visegrad24.info managed to take a photo of the pair, dressed in black, in the eastern Bosnian village of Medjedja, near Visegrad.
The couple flew into Sarajevo from Venice, where Jolie is working alongside Johnny Depp on the film "The Tourist", directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who was behind the critically acclaimed 2007 German film "The Lives of Others".
There was never mentioned in the news that Joli and Pitt were to visit Medjugorje. They were scheduled to go to Dubrovnik but it was canceled due to the media crowed occupation on airport in Dubrovnik.Should they ever consider visiting Medjugorje they are most welcome, just like all of you my dear pilgrims :-)
ReplyDeleteThe whole visit was a big surprise to everybody and especially to a local photographer who recognize the couple while passing by in the car. He made the photos which you can see by following the link I provide in the post. Please note he holds all copyrights and please be kind and act accordingly.