Angelina Jolie Talks About Pax, Maddox Adoption From Two Countries At War

Angelina Jolie admitted that she had no plans to adopt a baby from Vietnam because her first adopted son Maddox was from Cambodia.

In an interview with Vogue, the “Maleficent” star briefly talked about her adopted kids. Jolie adopted Maddox from Cambodia in 2002. Five years later, she adopted Pax from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Pax was already 3 years old at the time.

The two countries were once at war, so Jolie was asked if it was a conscious effort on her part to adopt a child from each Asian country. Brad Pitt’s ex-wife admitted that it was not her original plan to adopt a baby from Vietnam, but she had a change of heart.

“It’s true, I did think about that. I did originally think not to adopt from Vietnam because Mad was Cambodian and the two countries have a complex history,” Jolie said.

Jolie then shared what made her change her mind. According to the actress, she was reading a book on human rights and found herself staring at an image of a Vietnamese fighter that was held captive by Americans. That picture moved her and made her decide to include a Vietnamese in her family.

“I thought of my own country and our involvement in south-east Asia. I thought of focusing on a future where we were all family,” she added.

“I am very blessed to have been allowed to be their mom. I am grateful every day.”

Jolie has three adopted kids. Aside from Maddox and Pax, she has an adopted daughter, Zahara.

The “Eternal” actress confessed that she couldn’t talk about pregnancy to her adopted children, but she shared with them the journey she had in finding them and how she felt the first time she looked at their eyes.

Just recently, Jolie spoke about the system in the United States concerning the people of color. She mentioned racism and discrimination in America and admitted that while she found it somewhat advantageous for her, she doubted if it would protect her daughter, Zahara.

“A system that protects me but might not protect my daughter – or any other man, woman or child in our country based on skin colour – is intolerable,” Jolie said.

“We need to progress beyond sympathy and good intentions to laws and policies that actually address structural racism and impunity.”