UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Miyavi visits Rohingyas

Japanese artist and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Miyavi arrived here on Thursday to meet Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar in search of safety.

Born in 1981, Takamasa Ishihara, better known by his stage name Miyavi, is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actor.  

He arrived Dhaka on Wednesday as part of his first visit to Bangladesh, an official told UNB.

Miyavi, also a philanthropist, was appointed as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in November 2017.

During his visit, Miyavi will visit the main settlement area housing Rohingya refugees – the largest in the world, housing nearly 585,000 refugees. 

Altogether, more than 688,000 refugees have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh since August 25, 2017.

Miyavi will meet refugees and see the assistance that UNHCR, along with it partners, has been providing, working closely in support of the government of Bangladesh.

Miyavi also plans to perform some music for the refugee children.

Miyavi's ongoing promotion of UNHCR’s global work on his social media channels has helped raise awareness of the refugee cause with a much broader audience. 

He has been particularly vocal about the need for refugee children to receive quality education.

“This is my first opportunity to see UNHCR’s work in an ongoing emergency setting and I’m keen to learn more about some of the challenges,” said Miyavi. 

“It is also very important for me to hear directly from the refugees themselves. I want to learn about the difficulties they have faced and how they are trying to rebuild their lives, especially the children.”

UNHCR’s head of emergency operations in Cox’s Bazar, Kevin Allen, said, “We are delighted to host Miyavi. Thanks to his ongoing promotion of UNHCR’s global work, he has helped raise awareness of the refugee cause with a much wider and younger audience.” 

Miyavi undertook his first visit with UNHCR in 2015, travelling to Lebanon. He returned again in 2016, to learn more about refugees' experiences. 

Last year, he went to Thailand, to meet Karen refugees from Myanmar.

MIYAVI has used his talent, voice and platform to help support various UNHCR campaigns, including #WithRefugees and the Nansen Refugee Award, at which he performed in 2017. 

Last month, he participated in an event at the UN Headquarters in New York hosted by the Permanent Mission of Japan, performing live some of his songs inspired by his refugee encounters.

Source: unb