In 2017 about 740,000 Rohingya were violently forced out of Myanmar. Many fled to neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain a stateless Muslim-majority ethnic group.
Women and children make up a large percentage of the displaced. They have been living in refugee camps like this one in Kutupalong, Bangladesh.
It's a tragic situation Pope Francis has continued to follow closely since his 2017 papal visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh, during which he met 16 Rohingya refugees and advocated for their rights and dignity.
POPE FRANCIS
December 5, 2017
“Let's keep doing good for them, helping them. Let's keep mobilizing ourselves so their rights are recognized. Let's keep our hearts open. Let's not look away. The presence of God today is also called 'Rohingya.'”
More than three years later, the UNHCR, along with the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom, are urging stronger action from the international community and countries in the region, to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced Rohingya return to their homes, and to offer them a clear pathway to citizenship.
CT
