Bilal Erdoğan, Ozil break fast with Rohingya in Bangladesh, renew global call for aid

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (MNTV) — In the sweltering hills of Ukhiya, where nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Burma live in fragile bamboo shelters, a high-profile delegation arrived on Thursday, the first day of Ramadan, to share an iftar meal and deliver a message: the world must not look away.

German World Cup-winning footballer Mesut Özil and Bilal Erdoğan, son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, spent the day touring refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar before breaking their Ramadan fast with Rohingya families.

Accompanying them and playing a central role in organizing the visit was Imam Malik Mujahid, chair of Burma Task Force and president of the U.S.-based organization Justice for All, who received the delegation and framed the trip as part of a broader campaign to safeguard a lost generation.

The Burma Task Force, a coalition of 38 Muslim organizations, was established in 2012 with its offices housed at Justice for All headquarters in the U.S. “This is about making sure another generation of Rohingya is not lost,” Justice for All said in a statement, urging support for education hubs in the camps.

The 13-member delegation, visiting the refugee camp at the invitation of Justice for All, arrived at Cox’s Bazar Airport around 10:30 a.m. local time on a special flight from Dhaka. They were received by Deputy Commissioner Md. A. Mannan and Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman, according to Bangladeshi officials.

By late morning, Özil and Erdoğan attended a press briefing at the office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner. Bilal Erdoğan described the Rohingya crisis as one of the most protracted humanitarian emergencies in the Muslim world and called for greater international burden-sharing.

At around 1 p.m., local time, the delegation toured Camp 9 in Ukhiya. They inspected the environment, learning centers, healthcare facilities, and ongoing aid operations. Rohingya youths crowded around Özil, many hoping for selfies with the former Arsenal and Real Madrid star. Tight security meant some could only wave from a distance, but the excitement was palpable.

In the evening, the visitors joined refugee families for iftar, sitting on plastic mats and sharing dates and rice dishes as the call to prayer echoed through the camp.

Education at center

Bilal Erdoğan placed particular emphasis on education. He noted that many Rohingya children have been deprived of structured schooling for decades, first in Burma’s Rakhine State, where restrictions on movement and citizenship limited access, and now in exile.

Ensuring access to learning and skills development, he said, is essential if Rohingya refugees are to return to their homeland with dignity and rebuild their communities. He also highlighted the importance of sports programs to support children’s mental and physical well-being in cramped camp conditions.

Justice for All, led by Imam Malik Mujahid, has long advocated for educational initiatives among displaced communities. Mujahid, who welcomed the delegation upon arrival in Bangladesh, underscored that charity alone is not enough. Sustainable education hubs, he argued, are critical to prevent exploitation, child labor, and early marriage.

Burma Task Force is urging Türkiye, which is the only country directly running nine schools in the camps, as well as the rest of the Muslim countries, to take on the responsibility of operating 100 schools each in order to fill the vacuum left by UNICEF. The U.N. body has shut down 6,400 schools due to USAID funding stoppage, forcing 500,000 Rohingya refugee children out of school.

Bangladeshi aid officials say more than half of the Rohingya population in Cox’s Bazar is under 18. While thousands of learning centers operate in the camps, funding shortfalls have repeatedly forced cutbacks. The United Nations has warned that food rations have been reduced in recent years due to declining global donations.

Crisis rooted in Burma

The Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Burma’s Rakhine State, have faced decades of discrimination. The 1982 citizenship law effectively rendered most stateless. A brutal military crackdown in 2017 — marked by killings, sexual violence and village burnings — drove more than 700,000 people across the border into Bangladesh.

International investigators and rights groups have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing, and proceedings at the International Court of Justice are ongoing.

Bangladesh, already densely populated, has borne the brunt of the exodus. Officials in Dhaka have repeatedly called for safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation to Burma, but conditions there remain unstable. Fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic armed groups has intensified in recent months, further dimming prospects for a return.

High-profile visits to Cox’s Bazar are not new. Diplomats, celebrities, and humanitarian leaders have come and gone. Yet the presence of Özil, a globally recognized Muslim athlete, and Bilal Erdoğan, accompanied by a U.S.-based advocacy leader, added a transnational dimension to the message.

For Rohingya families, the visit offered rare visibility. For Bangladesh, it reinforced calls for sustained international engagement. And for Justice for All, it was an opportunity to press donors and governments to prioritize education and youth development.

Local officials said discussions during the visit also addressed healthcare challenges facing Rohingya women and children, including maternal care and trauma counseling.

As dusk settled over Camp 9, children gathered around Özil, some clutching worn footballs. For a few hours, the sprawling camp felt less like a place of confinement and more like a community sharing a meal.

But beyond the symbolism of a shared iftar lies a harder truth. Nearly seven years after the mass exodus, the Rohingya remain in limbo — stateless in Burma, dependent on aid in Bangladesh.

Imam Malik Mujahid said the purpose of the visit was not merely to express solidarity during Ramadan, but to renew a global commitment. Without sustained funding and political will, he warned, the risk is that an entire generation will grow up without the tools to reclaim its future.

For the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, that future remains uncertain. Yet for one evening, as prayers rose into the humid sky, they were reminded that their struggle still resonates far beyond the camps’ dusty paths.