If you were like us TGB'ers, you noticed that Angelina Jolie did not grace us with her beauty on the red carpet of the Oscars. It was reported that instead of spending the time all dolled up in Hollywood, instead the Jolie-Pitt family were in Italy with the kids.

Perhaps Angelina was also getting ready for her recent humanitarian trip to Afghanistan. The actress turned goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissions for Refugees, met with refugees returnees in Kabul, many of whom had been exiled. Over 5.5 million refugees have returned to the country since 2002, many from Pakistan and Iran, and now make up 20% of the population.

"It’s clear travelling through the country that what needs to be done is a very focused approach in places of return," Jolie said. "We need to revisit the idea of what return is and the difference between just returning and reintegrating.

"The focus needs to be put now on reintegration, and that means not just putting up shelter but making sure there is water, job opportunities, a school for the children and medical clinics."

She also met up with Khanum Gul in the small room she shares with her husband and eight children. During Jolie's first time to Afghanistan in 2008, she met with Gul, who had just given birth to her eighth child, a son named Samir.

"It was very distressing to see that, because of the poor conditions, Samir seems to be suffering some form of developmental delay due to malnutrition or lack of medical care. He can't walk and is barely surviving in what can only be described as a very cold and damp warehouse," Jolie said.

Gul also supports her ailing mother, and her husband, a day laborer, is having a difficult time finding work.
"This old woman was so upset, because she feels like a burden. She watches her grandchildren go onto the streets every day to wash cars for a dollar a day so the family can eat. Often they earn nothing," Jolie said. "Everyone I have met on this visit has been very clear. The Afghan people don't want to become beggars. They want the opportunity to work for a living with dignity so they can provide for their families."

In addition to her work with the refugees in Kabul, Jolie traveled to Qala, north of Kabul, at met with young girls who will be studying in a new primary school being built in the village, a school the actress is funding.