Actress Yuumi Kawai attended the "FAST RETAILING × UNHCR Joint Media Briefing" held in Tokyo on June 18th, where she reflected on her experience visiting a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.
Kawai became interested in Rohingya refugees after narrating the film "LOST LAND" (directed by Akio Fujimoto), which depicts the story of a young Rohingya brother and sister who were persecuted in their home country of Myanmar and became refugees. She accompanied the Uniqlo team on their inspection tour in January of this year.
Kawai said, "I might have the opportunity to go to Myanmar or Bangladesh, but being able to enter the camp itself wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of Uniqlo and UNHCR, so I didn't want to miss this precious opportunity. I strongly felt that I have a voice that can have an influence and communicate beyond acting, so I wanted to share what I saw."
The site visit lasted three days, and he revealed, "You can find all sorts of numbers and information on the internet, but there were so many things you really couldn't understand without seeing them with your own eyes. I was able to see firsthand the reality of how each person lives as an individual, and it made me think about a lot of things."
Kawai said that her interactions with women working in the sewing factories supported by Uniqlo were particularly memorable, and she even visited one of the women's homes. "She said that her life had completely changed since she started working at the sewing center, and I felt that it was very meaningful. She cooks meals every day, does laundry, and lives her life. It's not just about the difficulties; she smiles when something good happens. She told me that she loves dancing, and even though we live in such different environments, I strongly felt that we are all human beings," she recalled.
When the video recording of the inspection program was shown, Kawai was seen diligently taking notes while inspecting the site. When Yasuharu Yanai, a director at Fast Retailing who accompanied him, revealed that "whenever Kawai walked, a huge group of children followed him," Kawai smiled and said, "The children were energetic and well-behaved."
To coincide with "World Refugee Day" on June 20th, designated by the United Nations, Uniqlo will be selling a "World Refugee Day Gift Bag Bouquet" (990 yen) at all UNIQLO FLOWER stores nationwide from June 19th to 30th. The set includes one bunch of blue delphiniums and two bouquets of flowers selected by Ms. Kawai, and 300 yen from each bouquet will be donated through UNHCR to a project supporting the independence of Rohingya refugee women.
