The Chief of Mission for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India and the Maldives, Yasuko Shimizu, on Friday underscored the challenges that the refugees face in foreign countries and said the body was trying to bring all the stakeholders together to build support systems.
Football tournament
Ms. Yasuko was speaking at the awards ceremony of a friendly football tournament, as part of the World Refugee Day programme, organised at Quli Qutb Shah Stadium, in which two Rohingya refugee teams participated.
“Today, there are 25.4 million refugees and on a global level, the UNHCR has been trying to create a support system for refugees and communities hosting them. Because of their large numbers, the authorities and the UNHCR alone cannot support them,” Ms. Yasuko said.
The Chief of Mission said she worked in the Rakhine state and pointed out that the Rohingyas leaving home was a struggle.
“It means a lot to me to see both the Rohingyas and the members of local communities together here,” she said.
India, she said, has a history of accepting and supporting refugees. At the moment, there are more than 2.5 lakh refugees in the country.
Ms. Yasuko said Hyderabad has a commendable spirit of working with refugees and this model should be followed in other places as well.
The captain of the Rohingya football team, Abdullah, spoke of their passion for football. “I can prove to you that if we have a professional coach like other teams, we can reach greater heights,” he said.
The event was organised by COVA, Save the Children and Telangana Football Association.
