Julie Andrews Discusses Refugee Women, Children and Worldwide Poverty for UNIFEM (1992)

Taped December 11, 1992

Since 1992, Julie Andrews has served as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which assists women and their communities in impoverished countries.
She was joined by Director Sharon Capeling-Alakija (of the Fund) in responding to questions submitted by audience members.

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Julie about her experience traveling to SEA with Operation USA in 1982:
“We entered a straw hut. There were three tiers of bunk beds packed with bodies—205 people. I felt ashamed to be looking in on their misery.
It was about this time that I thought I was going to faint. The pressure of so much humanity jammed into such a small space, the crushing midday heat, the humidity, my stomach troubles. I had an awful vision of slumping into the mud in front of all these sad people.
I sat on a bench and looked at the scene, trying to imprint it on my mind forever, wishing I could communicate it to someone, knowing that I was one of relatively few people in the world to have witnessed it.
We then drove back to the larger Cambodian camp and visited the hospital there. It’s divided into two—one half is managed by Cambodians who prefer to practice their own medicine, the other half is staffed by relief agencies. There is no electricity, and doctors and nurses work by lantern light. Mike says these people, mostly volunteers, burn out pretty fast . . . usually after about three months. They seemed so glad that I was there. The fact that I had come all that way to see for myself was somehow meaningful for them.
I began to realize that I should not be ashamed or shy to look at anyone, to observe how they were living. A smile for them was like a gift; our presence something to remember at the end of a miserable day. Perhaps there was some small hope that we could carry a message back to the world. I began to say “Hello!” and to wave to the children. The response was so enthusiastic it was heartbreaking. [...]
We had a four-hour journey back to the city. On the way home, we talked non-stop. Mike tried to help me find the correct words for all we had seen—to properly represent it to the media. He suggested I stay non-political and deal only with the human dimension. He said to blame no-one, or everyone. I asked him where the buck stopped in terms of the problems in all three countries. He said, “It doesn’t ever stop. It just gets passed around and around.” He said that it’s foolish to believe that the global situation can be solved; the only answer is to do what you can, for whomever you can, whenever and wherever you can, piece by piece, bit by bit. Patch, and help, and do, and make peo“ple aware. Slow, painful work, with all too slow, painful results. [...]
I don’t understand why the world as an international body isn’t able to help more. The common denominator is human misery.
The most important thing I have learned is the simplest of all: people are just people—no matter their politics, their skin color, or where they live. There is no difference in our humanity; only in our circumstances.”

From: Julie Andrews. “Home Work.” iBooks.

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