Japanese footballer Hasebe visits Rohingya camps

Japanese soccer player Makoto Hasebe, who is also a Unicef goodwill ambassador, has appealed to the global community to support Rohingya children who are growing without education in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps.

“One of the major challenges they face is that they don’t see future [without education],” he told journalists at Japanese ambassador’s residence in Dhaka on Thursday, following his two-day visit to the camps.

The scale of Kutupalong camp and sheer number of refugees surprised him, he said, lauding Bangladesh for providing shelter and humanitarian assistance since the influx, beginning in August 2017.

He also played soccer with children at the camp.

“It’s not only a problem of Bangladesh or Myanmar. It’s a problem of the world and it needs to be solved,” said Hasebe, who currently plays for Germany’s Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hasebe played as Japan’s national team captain from 2010 till 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Hiroyasu Izumi too advocated for education of Rohingya children.