Jolie And Brad Christmas With Refugees

SAN JOSE (AFP) - Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have made a lightning trip to Costa Rica to spend Christmas Day with Colombian refugees living in that Central American country.

The paparazzi magnets wanted a low-profile visit with no news media, so reporters were notified only after they had left the country, said Josef Merkx, the representative of the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR.

Jolie, a UNHCR goodwill ambassador since 2001, and her partner Pitt arrived in San Jose around mid-day Monday. They stopped by several small businesses setup by refugees with help from a UNHCR microcredit program, then met with refugee families and handed out Christmas gifts.

They also saw a group of young refugees perform a dance routine.

"We are automatically associated with bad things -- crime, delinquency, drug trafficking -- but people never think of us as victims of the conflict," said one of the performers, speaking to Jolie and Pitt after the performance, according to a UNHCR statement in English on Tuesday.

"They never think, maybe this person, this refugee, had to leave everything behind to come here."

Jolie said there was a need for greater tolerance and solidarity toward refugees around the world.

"It's been sad for me to hear so many negative stories that show confusion between refugees, who are the victims of the conflict, and some criminal elements," she said.

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