By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“He has great love and has shown his concern and solidarity with the Rohingya. Pope Francis is very close to us. He loves us and he prays for us.”

In a detailed interview with Vatican News Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze, OMI, of Dhaka, Bangladesh, expressed this view when discussing the reality of the people of Bangladesh and in particular the catastrophic floods ravaging his country, shortly before the Holy Father’s Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania, scheduled to take place from 2 to 13 September 2024.

The Archbishop spoke about the dramatic destruction, the needs of the people and the relief efforts on the ground, recalling how the Pope had personally expressed his closeness to the predominantly Muslim country during his Apostolic Journey there and to Myanmar in 2017.

Archbishop D’Cruze particularly acknowledged the immense ongoing challenges facing the Rohingya people, which Pope Francis identified during a meeting with Rohingya refugees in Dhaka and continues to highlight in various appeals. He spoke about how to help this suffering minority in the impoverished country that seems to bear its hardship alone.

Q: Archbishop D’Cruze, the floods in Bangladesh are making international headlines. Millions of people are stranded and there is terrible devastation. What is the situation?

Archbishop D’Cruze: At the moment, we are suffering from terrible floods in our small country of 170 million people, which is very poor and predominantly Muslim. Out of 64 districts, 14 are under water, most of them in the east, north-east and south of Bangladesh.

About 1.2 million people live in flooded houses. Among them are 200,000 children. Other people are elderly and in very precarious situations. In addition, five million people were affected by this flood and many became homeless. Three hundred thousand people sought refuge in 3,527 emergency shelters.

To date, I have been informed that 27 people have died. We cannot yet estimate the extent of the damage, but thousands of houses have been damaged. Fields and vegetable crops have been completely destroyed. Fish have escaped from ponds. Poultry farms have been completely washed away.

Q: What do you think people’s needs are? And are there elements that give you hope?

Many have already started their relief work. Many non-governmental organizations, including Caritas Bangladesh, are active, but coordination is not yet good. Many people are suffering from hunger and thirst. Some places have not yet been reached by anyone.

The students who revolted against the previous government are currently collecting good medicines. To date, they have collected a voluntary donation of about 600,000 euros. The United Nations relief efforts are ongoing. Caritas, World Vision, the charitable activities of Mother Teresa, HEED Bangladesh and many other non-governmental organizations are also active.

Caritas has given shelter to 5,000 people and food to 18,000 people. They would like to do more but they need a lot of money. They want and need $1.5 million to do the work as a kind of solidarity with the suffering people. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh is also raising money and we hope to give some kind of symbolic donation of $25,000 to the Chief Advisor.

Q: It is being described as the epicenter of one of the country’s worst floods in living memory, and our prayers are with you. What does the Pope’s upcoming trip back to Asia mean for you and your people, even after the Pope visited Bangladesh in 2017?

In 2017, Pope Francis visited Myanmar and Bangladesh. His visit brought him very close to Bangladesh and especially to its small Christian minority. He witnessed the suffering of the Rohingya who fled Myanmar, where this group was being persecuted by the military.

We have about 1.2 million Rohingya and the Pope has been taking care of these Rohingyas and helping them in various ways. He has great love for them and has shown his concern and solidarity with them. Pope Francis is very close to us. He loves us and prays for us.

Q: The international community is warning that Bangladesh cannot bear the burden of the large influx of Rohingya and is calling on others to help. Would you like to make an appeal to the Rohingya in your country?

Our Caritas Bangladesh regularly helps the Rohingya, including through several projects specifically for them. The Bangladesh government has called on various countries and even the United Nations to find a solution to this problem, because Bangladesh itself is a poor country. 40 percent of the people are poor and at least 30 percent have never been to school.

We have many problems. Poverty, classes, heavy rain, sometimes drought… It is very difficult for the government to bear this great responsibility. And now we have a caretaker government. They still have not been able to come to terms with the new situation after the revolt and the uprising of the students against the government. Now the situation is very precarious. The students are still on the streets and have many demands. They are also demonstrating their power.

We have also had problems with schools recently. They demanded the forced resignation of some teachers. Some raised their voices against our school uniforms for girls. They demanded that girls in our schools be required to wear the veil, the hijab, the Islamic dress. But we have very good, decent clothes.

We do not and do not want to make any distinction between students based on religion, culture or any other group. We want them to be treated equally as students of the same school. So there are these kinds of problems. Then there are class problems and also problems with the Rohingya. It will be very, very difficult for the interim government to deal with all these problems and our economic situation will definitely deteriorate very soon.

Q: Do you think other countries need to help you?

I am very sure that the United Nations and then the United States of America, Great Britain and the European Union will get involved because they know the situation and because all these countries have expressed their support for the transitional government led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add that I didn’t ask?

My only request is, “Please help our Caritas Bangladesh.” It is a well-known NGO in Bangladesh that works for everyone, irrespective of caste and creed, and especially for the poor. The staff, officials and field workers are very patient and sincere.

You can make a big contribution right now, as most people are hungry and need food, medicine, rehabilitation and medical care to start a new life. After all, they are mostly poor people.