Jolie, UNHCR head visit island swamped by migrants

[June 20, 2011]  LAMPEDUSA, Italy (AP) -- The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which has been overwhelmed in recent months by refugees fleeing Tunisia and Libya, is getting some VIP visitors: U.N. envoy Angelina Jolie and the U.N. refugee chief.

Refugee chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Lampedusa on Sunday a few hours ahead of Jolie, who last week traveled to Turkey's border with Syria to meet some of the thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict there.

Guterres has thanked Lampedusa residents for welcoming the migrants and urged Europe to continue keeping its doors open.

He says the debate raging in Europe about immigration "doesn't correspond to the reality" given that the number of migrants who have actually arrived is tiny compared to the numbers who have gone elsewhere.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.