Actor
and
UNICEF
Goodwill
Ambassador
Priyanka
Chopra
sought
to
draw
the
world's
attention
to
the
plight
of
Myanmar's
Rohingya
refugees,
as
she
met
Bangladesh
Prime
Minister
Sheikh
Hasina
and
lauded
the
country
for
its
response
to
the
massive
humanitarian
crisis.
Chopra,
who
arrived
in
Bangladesh
on
Monday
on
a
four-day
visit,
also
visited
and
met
some
of
the
displaced
Rohingyas
of
Myanmar
living
in
the
refugee
camps
in
Cox's
Bazar,
a
town
on
the
southeast
coast
of
the
country.
"The
world
should
learn
from
Bangladesh," aspokesperson
from
the
prime
minister's
office
quoted
Chopra
as
saying
during
her
meeting
with
Hasina.
The
prime
minister's
additional
press
secretary
Nazrul
Islam
said
the
Bollywood
star
particularly
praisedHasina
for
shouldering
the
burden
of
over
a
million
"forcibly
displaced"
ethnic
minority
population
ofMyanmar
during
her
courtesy
visit
at
the
premier's
Gonobhaban
residence
this
afternoon.
Chopra,
35,
who
visited
the
Rohingya
camps
for
the
second
time,
shared
her
comparative
experience
of
interacting
with
the
children
there,
saying
over
the
months
they
overcame
the
trauma
of
violence
they
witnessed
at
their
homeland,
the
official
said.
"Earlier,
when
I
visited
the
Rohingya
camps
I
asked
the
children
to
draw
a
picture
...
they
drew
pictures
of
arms,
gunfire
and
mortar
shell
from
roving
helicopters.
As
I
told
them
to
do
the
same
this
time
they
drew
pictures
of
sun,
animals
and
nature," Chopra
said,
terming
the
change
as
a
"testimony
of
their
inside
healing".
"And
it
was
possible
due
to
your
motherly
shelter
and
security,"
she
told
Hasina.
The
prime
minister's
sister,
Sheikh
Rehana,
and
family
members
were
present
during
the
call
on.
Chopra,
however,
feared
the
Rohingya
children
still
were
exposed
to
a
hazardous
situation
in
their
camps.
On
behalf
of
the
UN's
children
emergency
relief
fund,
she
called
upon
the
international
community
to
extend
all
out
support
for
the
Rohingyas.
The
"Quantico"
star
told
Hasina
that
she
was
concerned
about
the
possibility
of
a
"generation
loss"
of
a
particular
ethnicity
as
a
large
number
of
children
have
no
access
to
education
and
passing
their
days
roaming
around.
"The
children
may
go
astray
and
even
become
extremists
if
they
are
deprived
of
the
opportunity
of
having
education,"
Chopra
feared.
Hasina
told
Chopra
that
her
government
has
given
shelter
to
the
Rohingyas
solely
on
humanitarian
ground
as
people
of
Bangladesh
experienced
the
same
situation
in
1971.
Hasina
also
said
that
her
government
has
been
making
efforts
to
give
the
Rohaingyas
all
support,
but
it
was
not
possible
alone
for
Bangladesh
to
mitigate
their
sufferings
and
UNICEF
and
other
international
agencies
should
come
forward
with
more
support.
According
to
the
UN,
the
humanitarian
crisis
caused
by
escalating
violence
in
Myanmar's
Rakhine
State
has
forced
close
to
seven
lakh
Rohingyas
to
cross
the
border
into
Cox's
Bazar.
Not
only
has
the
pace
of
arrivals
since
August
last
year
till
April
this
year
has
made
this
the
fastest
growing
refugee
crisis
in
the
world,
the
concentration
of
refugees
in
Cox's
Bazar
is
now
amongst
the
densest
in
the
world.
Credits
-
PTI