POGGIOLI: Both Myanmar and Bangladesh are burdened by extreme poverty and ranked in the top 10 of climate change risk, and Pope Francis is likely to focus on economic and environmental justice.
GABRIEL AMAL COSTA: Nowadays, we see that fanaticism is occurring. Father Gabriel Amal Costa, born in Bangladesh, says decades of ethnic and religious harmony are jeopardized by increasing Muslim fundamentalism. But Catholic schools and hospitals serve all Bangladeshis, and Catholic charities are at the forefront assisting Rohingya refugees. POGGIOLI: After Myanmar, Pope Francis will visit Bangladesh, where Christians are less than 1 percent of the country's population of 160 million. Father Cervellera is convinced Aung San Suu Kyi does not wield sufficient power, and one of the pope's aims is to show his support for her in Myanmar's transition to democracy.ĬERVELLERA: We read this problem of Rohingya as an attempt by the army in Myanmar to stop the work of Aung San Suu Kyi and to destroy her image of the human rights defender in front of the world. The former long-detained dissident Nobel Peace Prize winner and now de facto prime minister is under intense criticism from human rights activists across the world for not denouncing the brutal military crackdown on the Rohingya. POGGIOLI: In Myanmar, the pope will meet State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. And some power - in this case military power - they don't want to reconcile the situation. POGGIOLI: Father Bernado Cervellera, head of the Catholic news agency Asia News, says the Rohingya are stateless, scorned by the Buddhist majority who consider them illegal migrants from Bangladesh.ĬERVELLERA: The problem is not a fight between Buddhists and Muslims, but it is a fight between a society who want to be reconciled. What is important is to use words to define the problem. In fact, local church leaders had advised him not to utter their name, fearing reprisals by Buddhist fundamentalists.īERNARDO CERVELLERA: No need to use the word. But days before his departure, Francis' video message to Myanmar made no mention of the Rohingya. POGGIOLI: Since August, an estimated 600,000 Rohingya had fled Myanmar military attacks into neighboring Bangladesh. They are suffering for years, tortured and killed simply for their Muslim faith. POPE POPE FRANCIS: (Through interpreter) Our Rohingya brothers and sisters wander from one place to another because they are not wanted. In February, he singled out those being driven from Myanmar.
SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE: Pope Francis often speaks forcefully on behalf of migrants across the world who are exploited or expelled. As NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, the pope will face a difficult balancing act in both places. Bangladesh is mostly Muslim, Myanmar predominantly Buddhist, and its military's brutal attacks on a Muslim minority called the Rohingya have led to accusations of ethnic cleansing. Pope Francis leaves Sunday for a weeklong trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh.