‘Who is the pope?’ ask Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: The plight of Rohingya refugees is the backdrop to Pope Francis’ landmark visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh this week. But in the vast refugee camps on the border, there is puzzlement, with many asking: “Who is he?”

The head of the Catholic Church has repeatedly spoken out in support of the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority who have fled to Bangladesh in their hundreds of thousands, bringing with them allegations of murders, rapes and arson committed by the Myanmar military.