- Beginning in 1990, over 100,000 Bhutanese citizens of Nepalese origin were expelled from Bhutan after the government stripped them of citizenship and civil rights.
- This population is considered ‘stateless’, as no country recognizes them as its citizens.
- Nearly 107,000 Bhutanese refugees have lived the last 17 years in seven UN refugee camps in southeast Nepal.
- The US has agreed to accept 60,000 Bhutanese refugees for resettlement. Others may be accepted into Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.
Old Hopes and New Dreams: Bhutanese Refugees Ponder the Challenge of Resettlement
JRS education programs have provided the Bhutanese with valuble skills and hope for a better future.
"We have waited to go home for so long. Why doesn't the United Nations force Bhutan to respect the rights of our people? Why do you talk of resettlement before repatriation? Why shouldn't we have both choices open to us?" – Manoj
"We have been told that if we go to the United States we will be separated from our children, and that husbands and wives will be settled in different places. Some believe we will never see our friends and families again. Could these things be true?" – Bibash
"If I accept resettlement, can I ever return to Bhutan? Will I cease to be Bhutanese? I cannot give up my beloved country!" – Lakendra
"We have been doing well so far, enjoying the different taste of life. It seems overwhelming, with lots of changes; in every corner we turn and see something new. But I feel it is an accomplishment...after so much suffering and struggle in Nepal." – Kalpana, a resettled refugee
In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Bhutanese refugees who have been exiled in camps in eastern Nepal for seventeen years have been offered the chance of a new life through resettlement. These refugees were expelled from Bhutan in 1992 in a move intended to rid Bhutan of an ethnic minority whom the government viewed as a threat to national unity.
A Note from the National Director
Dear Friends of JRS/USA:
After years of exile in Nepal, this year’s offer of resettlement to the United States has been greeted by the Bhutanese with both joy at the opportunity that it represents and fear of the challenges entailed in building a new life in a strange land. In an effort to respond to the refugees’ concerns, JRS East Asia recently invited our staff to visit Nepal for a series of open meetings with the Bhutanese community where we listened to their concerns and discussed the choice before them.
In this issue of The Refugee Voice we bring you a sampling of the questions the refugees posed to us during these meetings that summarizes their hopes and fears about resettlement. We also offer several recommendations to those working with this community in Nepal and the United States that we hope will make the resettlement decision easier and smooth the refugees' transition to their new life. While the transition from the simple and austere living conditions of the camps to life in modern America may be a challenging one, we feel that the virtues of self reliance, hard work and dedication to education that characterize this community will, with a little help, ultimately lead to their successful and welcome integration.
Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J.