Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday urged superstar Angelina Jolie to organize a mega event in Hollywood in an effort to mobilize public opinion worldwide highlighting the plight and rights of the Rohingya community.
"I proposed that she organizes a mega event in Hollywood to create public opinion for Rohingyas as she is a major voice in the industry," he told reporters after his meeting with the UNHCR special envoy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Segunbagicha in Dhaka.
The minister gave a reference to her of the George Harrison’s "Concert for Bangladesh" held in New York in 1971 that had created huge public opinion in favour of the Bangladesh War of Liberation.
Bangladesh is now hosting nearly 1.3 million Rohingyas. The majority of them - more than 6,20,000 people - live in just one area: Kutupalong, the largest refugee settlement anywhere in the world today.
The UNHCR special envoy arrived in Dhaka on Monday morning and visited multiple Rohingya camps to assess their needs.
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Momen said Jolie wants safe return of Rohingyas to their place of origin in the Rakhine State.
Jolie on Tuesday urged the Myanmar authorities to show genuine commitment to end the cycle of violence, displacement, and improve the conditions for all communities in the Rakhine State, including Rohingyas.
"While UNHCR is ready to support efforts to improve conditions, there has been very little progress at the grassroots. Rohingyas cannot return to Myanmar at this time," she said at a press briefing at Kutupalong Rohingya camp.
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Until Rohingyas can return, Jolie said, Myanmar has a collective responsibility to ensure that they can live a dignified life here in Bangladesh.
Jolie said Bangladesh is a generous country rich in culture and history, but with limited resources, and it cannot be left to shoulder the responsibility of hosting Rohingyas alone.
"So, I urge the international community to continue to provide the humanitarian aid necessary to meet the needs of the refugees and support the communities generously in hosting them," she said.
Her visit came just before the launch of a new appeal for the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh - the 2019 Joint Response Plan - which seeks to raise around $920 million to continue meeting the basic needs of Rohingyas and the communities hosting them.
Bangladesh has been heavily affected by the influx of more than 7,30,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar since August 2017 and now hosts over a million refugees, said the UN refugee agency.
