COX'S
BAZAR: U.N. refugee agency special envoy Angelina Jolie on Tuesday (Feb 5)
visited camps in Bangladesh for Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and
condemned the world's failure to prevent a crisis that saw 730,000 people
driven from their homes.
The
Hollywood actor addressed a crowd of refugees on a hilltop in Kutapalong camp,
the world’s largest refugee settlement, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district.
She
said was "humbled and proud to stand with you today".
Read
also: Statement by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in Kutupalong refugee
settlement, Bangladesh: https://lnkd.in/gVsUhYy
"You
have every right not to be stateless and the way you have been treated shames
us all," said Jolie, adding the crisis was the result of decades of
discrimination that had gone unaddressed.
"What
is most tragic about this situation is that we cannot say we had no
warning."
Jolie's
visit came as the United Nations said it was preparing to launch a new appeal
for US$920 million to support the refugees, who fled a brutal military crackdown
in neighbouring Rakhine state in Myanmar in response to militant attacks in
August 2017.
U.N.
investigators have accused Myanmar’s army of carrying out mass killings and
rapes with "genocidal intent" during the massive offensive that laid
waste to hundreds of Rohingya villages in the western Rakhine state.
Myanmar
denies the charge and says its offensive was a legitimate response to an
insurgent threat and has pledged to welcome the refugees back.
But the
United Nations says conditions are not yet right for return. The Rohingya say
they want guarantees over their safety and to be recognised as citizens before
returning.
Jolie
said she had met stateless Rohingya who described being "treated like cattle"
in Myanmar.
"I
met a woman yesterday, a survivor of rape in Myanmar, and she told me 'you
would have to shoot me where I stand before I would go back to Myanmar',"
Jolie said.
"I
urge the Myanmar authorities to show the genuine commitment needed to end the
cycle of violence, displacement, and improve conditions for all communities in
Rakhine state, including the Rohingya."
Myanmar
government spokesman Zaw Htay did not pick up a call seeking comment.
Jolie
flew to Bangladesh this week to "assess the humanitarian needs of the
Rohingya refugees and some of the more critical challenges facing Bangladesh as
a host country", the UNHCR said in a statement.
She
will meet Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul
Momen in the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday, the refugee agency said.
Several
refugees who gathered to watch Jolie speak said they knew only that she was a
“high official”.
But
22-year-old Mohammed Shakir, who fled his home in Rakhine after the 2017
violence, said he respected her for her humanitarian work.
“When I
saw her, I was very excited because she has special words for our Rohingya,” he
said.
Source:
Reuters