Bosnian rape victims slam ‘ignorant’ Jolie over her directorial debut
By ANITuesday, November 30, 2010
SYDNEY - Bosnian rape victims of 1990s’ inter-ethnic war have blasted Angelina Jolie, who is shooting a movie about Bosnia that has sparked controversy, calling her “ignorant” about the issue.
“Angelina Jolie’s ignorant attitude towards victims says enough about the scenario and gives us the right to continue having doubts about it,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted the Women Victims of War (WVW) association as saying in a letter published overnight.
In the letter to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), for which Jolie is a goodwill ambassador, the association said its members were “deeply concerned” over the movie.
Jolie started filming her directorial debut, a love story between a Muslim woman and a Serb man set against the background of Bosnia’s 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war, in October in Hungary.
According to the synopsis, the movie is a wartime love story between a Serb guard in a prison camp and a Muslim detainee, his former girlfriend.
Jolie said at the time she wanted to meet the associations that had complained about her film to clear up any misunderstandings, but the meeting never took place.
“We have insisted to meet Angelina Jolie since we don’t want to be wrongly presented in the world … Our voices are worthwhile and we should have got much more respect,” the WVW letter said.
“Angelina made a big mistake. We feel that she did not act like a real UNHCR ambassador and we believe that she has no more credibility to remain the ambassador,” it concluded.
WVW head Bakira Hasecic said Jolie invited the victims to meet her in the Hungarian capital but they refused the invitation.
“Crimes were committed here, in Bosnia, and we want to meet her here,” Hasecic told AFP.
“We wanted to talk woman to woman. She should have asked after the victims, come (to Bosnia) before the shooting to hear our voice.”
“As far as we are concerned a love story could not have existed in a camp. Such an interpretation is causing us mental suffering,” she said. (ANI)
