DHAKA (UCAN): Caritas Internationalis secretary general, Aloysius John, has lauded the people of Bangladesh for their generosity in supporting Rohingya refugees.
“My visit to Bangladesh was first of all to witness the solidarity of the confederation in Caritas Bangladesh and to the people of Bangladesh for their generosity in receiving the displaced people from Myanmar—the Rohingya,” he said during a press briefing at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium on February 24 during his five-day visit to the country.
He lamented that “our world is undergoing a major disaster today. Millions of people are being put on the wrong road with no point of return because of selfishness, because of wrong decisions and because of violence. So, they are put on the wrong road, in exile. I met some of them.”
John noted that he was visiting “to come and express to these people that people in other parts of the world are also thinking about them” and “to express to Bangladesh our gratitude on behalf of Caritas Internationalis.”
He said another purpose of his visit was to be with Caritas Bangladesh on its 50th anniversary celebration.
“I have known Caritas Bangladesh since 1992. What I see that since its inception Caritas Bangladesh has been on the front line supporting, presenting and receiving the poor and giving them the best of the international solidarity,” he said.
John also hailed it as “the instrument of dialogue” in the country.
“Yesterday I met with the director of the NGO Affairs Bureau, Mr. Tariqul Islam. I will tell you that I was really surprised with his openness, his appreciation of Caritas and the good collaboration of Caritas with the NGO Affairs Bureau,” John said.
Caritas has been in Bangladesh for 50 years, working in the struggle against poverty and to help the people live in dignity, he added.
My visit to Bangladesh was first of all to witness the solidarity of the confederation in Caritas Bangladesh and to the people of Bangladesh for their generosity in receiving the displaced people from Myanmar—the Rohingya
Aloysius John
John was accompanied by Caritas Asia president, Benedict Alo D’Rozario, Caritas Bangladesh executive director, Sebastian Rozario, and Caritas Bangladesh director (programmes), James Gomes.
D’Rozario said the Church has been involved in support and advocacy for Rohingya migrants and displaced people worldwide.
“During his visit to Bangladesh in 2017, Holy Father Pope Francis made a special call and expressed special sympathy for Rohingya refugees. He urged the international community to come forward to help them and to solve the problem,” he said.
“Caritas Internationalis, as an observer of the United Nations, has been working with the UNHCR, IOM [International Organisation for Migration] and other organisations and assisting people who are migrants and forcibly displaced. We have this advocacy programme worldwide, so the voice of the voiceless can be raised and public opinions can be mobilized to solve these problems,” he added.
The 63-year-old John is Indian by birth and is now a French citizen.
He has worked for Caritas in various capacities since 1983. He was elected secretary general of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic charities, in 2019 with Luis Cardinal Antonio Tagle as president, on a four-year mandate.
John arrived in Bangladesh on February 21 and visited the Central Language Martyrs’ Monument in capital Dhaka to pay homage to the Bangla language martyrs of 1952 on International Mother Language Day.
On February 22, he visited two Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. He spoke with refugees and inspected a range of Caritas initiatives such as the Multipurpose Children and Adolescent Centre, shelter construction and water and sanitation hygiene [WaSH] in the camps.
On February 23, he met with K.M. Tariqul Islam, director general of the state-run NGO Affairs Bureau in Dhaka.
He also met with Catholic leaders including Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario, Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Dhaka, and apostolic nuncio, Archbishop George Kocherry.
