Angelina Jolie arrived at Rohingya camp in Bangladesh

KUTUPALONG, Feb 5, 2019, Dhaka Tribune. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) special envoy and Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie, is visiting the Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhiya of Cox’ Bazar, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

She arrived at the Kutupalong extension 4 camp around 10:30am on Tuesday and visited the education facilities there.

Jolie then visited a healthcare centre, run by Relief International, at Kutupalong 3 Rohingya camp. She spoke with Rohingya women at the camp and listened to their stories of struggle.

She is scheduled to visit a hospital, run by the Hope Foundation, at Kutupalong 4 Rohingya camp and speak with registered Rohingya people living there.

Jolie will also hold a press briefing at Kutupalong Rohingya camp D Block at 3pm.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Md Iqbal Hossain said: “The Hollywood actress is on a two-day tour of Cox’s Bazar, from Dhaka.

“Jolie toured the 21st refugee camp at Chakmarkul camp on Monday. She is visiting Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhiya on Tuesday and will leave Cox’s Bazar for Dhaka on Wednesday morning.”

On the first day of her five-day visit to Bangladesh, the special envoy of the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrived at Cox’s Bazar on a chartered flight around 10:30am on Monday.

After arriving at the 21st refugee camp at Chakmarkul camp, under Whykong union, around 2pm, Jolie spoke to numerous Rohingya men and women; those who fled persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Rohingya leader Rashid Ullah said the special envoy of the UN refugee agency spent a long time with at least 30 women—who were victims of abuse, sexual assault, and torture—and many children from the camp’s D Block, in the afternoon.

For the cause

Jolie, who represented UNHCR as a Goodwill Ambassador from 2001 to 2012, has also met with displaced Rohingyas during prior visits to Myanmar in July 2015 and India in 2006.

She was appointed a special envoy of the refugee agency in April 2012 after years of dedicated service to the cause.

More than 730,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh after violence erupted in Myanmar in August 2017 following attacks and counterattacks between insurgents and security forces.

As a result, Bangladesh is now home to over 1.1 million Rohingyas, including the 400,000 who crossed the border earlier.

Last year, on May 21, Bollywood superstar and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, Priyanka Chopra, also visited the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Previously, in 2017, Angelina Jolie expressed her desire to visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar after learning about the abuse of Rohingya women by Myanmar security forces.

At that time, a Foreign Ministry press release had said that Jolie was planning to visit Bangladesh to meet Rohingya women who are victims of sexual assault and abuse. However, her trip was rescheduled four times for various reasons.

As a UNHCR envoy, Jolie represents the agency and its high commissioner at the diplomatic level, engages with decision-makers on issues of global displacement, and helps to find solutions to the crises.

Due to her work, she has become an influential advocate for refugees and internally displaced people over the years.