Is Angelina Jolie finally on Instagram? See her first post

Actress & humanitarian Angelina Jolie has officially joined Instagram and her first post only proves her dedication to global equality. As of now, Jolie has quickly accrued over 8.3 million followers, and the activist gained her first 2 million follows in just under three hours. 

Angelina Jolie officially made her Instagram account over the weekend on August 20th. As expected of the philanthropist, her first post on Instagram shared an emotional letter from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. Jolie’s message emphasizes the crucial distress in Afghanistan as the Taliban gains power.

Angelina Jolie’s first post on Instagram

Three days ago, the actress posted a harrowing letter she received from a young girl in Afghanistan. The letter expresses the young writer’s fear of the Taliban and the impossibility for her and others to return to school or work. The Afghan girl referenced the Taliban’s cruelty in the past and wrote, “we are imprisoned again”.

Angelina Jolie captioned, “This is a letter I was sent from a teenage girl in Afghanistan. Right now, the people of Afghanistan are losing their ability to communicate on social media and to express themselves freely. So I’ve come on Instagram to share their stories and the voices of those across the globe who are fighting for their basic human rights.”

“I was on the border of Afghanistan two weeks before 9/11, where I met Afghan refugees who had fled the Taliban. This was twenty years ago. It is sickening to watch Afghans being displaced yet again out of the fear and uncertainty that has gripped their country,” she continued.

Ways to help

Jolie also described the hard work put into overruling the Taliban in the past. She added, “To spend so much time and money, to have blood shed and lives lost only to come to this, is a failure almost impossible to understand.”

“Watching for decades how Afghan refugees – some of the most capable people in the world – are treated like a burden is also sickening. Knowing that if they had the tools and respect, how much they would do for themselves. And meeting so many women and girls who not only wanted an education, but fought for it,” she wrote.

She concluded the post and wrote, “Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help. And I hope you’ll join me.”

Another call for action

One day after her initial post, Angelina Jolie shared another message on Instagram discussing the critical state of displaced refugees. In her slideshow, she reported numerous facts about the dire situation. For example, she informed that currently 82.4 million people are forcibly displaced. 

She captioned her informative post, “I started working with displaced people because I believe passionately in human rights. Not out of charity, but out of a deep respect for them and their families, and all they continue to overcome, despite so much persecution, inequality and injustice.”

Jolie added, “Today, 1% of the world’s population – 82.4 million people – is displaced. That’s nearly twice as many as a decade before. Some crises, like the war in Afghanistan, have lasted for decades. Others, like the conflict in Ethiopia, are more recent. They all have in common the violence and denial of rights that leave innocent families with no choice but to flee.”

“At which point will we be concerned enough to address the environmental devastation, conflict and human rights abuses that fuel these crises? I’m always continuing to learn – if you’d like to join me, please visit the UN @refugees account,” she concluded.

—

Are you following Angelina Jolie on Instagram? Let us know in the comments below!