DHAKA: Pope Francis had an emotional meeting with Muslim refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh yesterday and used the word Rohingya to describe them for the first time on his Asian trip, calling for them to be respected.
He also urged the world not to ignore refugees, persecuted minorities, the poor and vulnerable.
The encounter took place at an inter-religious peace meeting on his first full day in Bangladesh, to where 625000 Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have fled from an army crackdown.
Refugees have said scores of Rohingya villages have been burnt to the ground, people killed and women raped. Myanmar’s military has denied accusations of “ethnic cleansing” by the USand UN.
The pope had earlier in the week visited Myanmar, where he met its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and senior general Min Aung Hlaing. But there he avoided using the word Rohinngya, a term the authorities reject. Many people in Myanmar regard the largely stateless Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
At the Bangladesh meeting, however, he said: “The presence of God today is also called Rohingya.”
Addressing about 5000 people at the gathering on the grounds of the Roman Catholic archbishop’s residence, Francis said: “How much our world needs this heart to beat strongly, to counter the virus of political corruption, destructive religious ideologies and the temptation to turn a blind eye to the needs of the poor, refugees, persecuted minorities and those who are most vulnerable.”
Aid workers brought 16 Rohingya refugees from camps in Cox’s Bazar, about 430km south-east of Dhaka on the border with Myanmar, to join other Muslims as well as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and charity workers.
The pope looked sombre as each member of the group, which included 12 men and four women, including two young girls, told him their stories through interpreters. Francis looked pained as he listened.
“In the name of all those who persecute you, who have persecuted you, those who have hurt you, above all for the indifference of the world, I ask for forgiveness, forgiveness,.” Francis said in improvised comments.