UNHCR dismisses reports Jolie, Pitt to adopt a Syrian refugee in Turkey

Sevil Erkuş - sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.tr ANKARA

REUTERS Photo

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) dismissed media reports suggesting Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are planning to expand their family by adopting a two-year-old Syrian boy named Moussa from a refugee camp in Turkey.

“There has been no attempt” from the couple to adopt a Syrian child from a refugee camp in Turkey, an official from the UNHCR office in Turkey told Hürriyet Daily News.

“There is no truth to these reports,” the official said, over the Hollywood Gossip story that claimed the couple, who are already parents to six children, wanted to adopt two-year-old Moussa, who is living in a refugee camp in Turkey.

Jolie, a special envoy for the UNHCR, is continuing her efforts to defend the rights of all children suffering from the Syrian crisis, and she is focused on this mission at the moment, said the official.

A charity worker reportedly said the 39-year-old actress had been moved to tears when she met the little boy as part of her role as United Nations Ambassador for refugees and displaced people.

 “Angelina [Jolie] heard about him from a translator and she was obviously upset, but Moussa was just beaming from ear to ear and when he saw she was wiping tears from her eyes he toddled up to her and gave her a hug and it was a very emotional moment and everyone was suddenly laughing and smiling,” the Hollywood Gossip quoted the charity worker as saying.

“She kissed him on the top of his head and then they were basically inseparable for the rest of the visit,” the worker said.