Bhutan News Service |
- Refugees from Bhutan face generation gap
- Samtse schools remain shut down
- OBCA Convention: Looking back and forth
| Refugees from Bhutan face generation gap Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:07 PM PDT “Look how happy we used to be,” says Harka Jung Subba, pointing to a family photograph hanging on the wall of his hut. It shows him, his wife and their six sons and daughters when the family still lived in Bhutan, more than 20 years ago. In 1990 they were forced to flee because of persecution of ethnic Nepalis. Harka thought they would be away only long enough for things to settle down again. But Harka and more than 100,000 other Bhutanese refugees have been living in refugee camps in Nepal ever since. His son, Ram Kumar, seen in the family photo as a boy, moved to the US last year with his wife and his own two children as part of a UN resettlement programme. Fearful that his father would not give his consent to let him go (the UNHCR requires all members of a household to attend the verification interview), Ram, now 33, left with his mother’s blessing, while Harka was in India lobbying politicians and rights activists to pressure Bhutan’s government for repatriation. “My son, who grew up in my arms, left without saying goodbye. I am sure I will never see him again,” Harka says. His other sons are now also pushing him to let them leave the camp. For the younger generations, who have lived in the camps all their lives, reliant on handouts as they are forbidden by law to work, the resettlement programme is their only way out. But the older refugees have no desire to move away from their community to a foreign country with an alien culture and a language they will never learn. Harka, 68, admits he is fighting a losing battle against his grown-up sons. So far resettlement has been the only solution offered. In 2006, following 15 rounds of failed bilateral negotiations between the Bhutanese and Nepali governments, Washington offered an alternative: moving to America. Within a year more than 25,000 refugees had applied for resettlement in the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. A further 15,000 are expected to be resettled by the end of this year, while 50,000 more have registered. Harka was one of the first 100 refugees to arrive in Damak, one of the six settlements in Jhapa district in south-eastern Nepal. He says they had a good life in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, where he was a government official and owned a large farm. But in 1989, threatened by the prosperous Hindu Nepali-speaking minority, the government imposed a policy of Bhutanisation. Under the policy “one nation, one people”, only Buddhism, Bhutan’s main religion, could be practiced, while a Bhutanese dress code, culture and language was enforced. Many of the ethnic Nepalese had their land confiscated and were stripped of their citizenship. Harka says he protested against the arrest of some key Bhutanese democratic leaders. Afterwards he was threatened by government officials, including members of the army. He fled. The army seized his house. Harka and his family lived in Tsirang district, in south Bhutan, a fertile area, in the foothills of the Himalayas, lush and green. Farmers grow rice, maize and millet, while major cash crops include oranges, mandarins and cardamom. Now Harka’s home is a two-room hut. With mud floor, bamboo walls and roof, it can barely fit two beds so the family take it in turns to sleep on the floor. The camp has no electricity and the sanitation system is poor. There isn’t enough water and Harka says they have no access to newspapers or television. In the dry summer temperatures can reach 45C, with accidental fires, while in the monsoon low-lying Damak is vulnerable to flash floods. In the winter the walls do little to keep out the cold and fog. Harka and fellow refugees, such as Maniraj Lama, 60, long to return to their old lives. “We have waited this long and we still can wait to go home,” Maniraj says. But Sandeep Bhattarai, 23, doesn’t remember Bhutan. His father refuses to give him permission to leave. “I still have the ability to start something new,” he says. “I don’t want to grow up as an old refugee and suffer like my parents. I have to think of myself and my younger sisters.” Sandeep works as a volunteer in a school in the camp for a small allowance. He says most of his friends are now school graduates or have finished college and are pursuing further studies. Sandeep explains that the rules about not working are not strictly adhered to; however, high unemployment means there are very few jobs and even if they get a job, they get paid less than a Nepali would. Jiten Subba, a Bhutanese journalist in exile in Nepal, says the resettlement helped to reduce the violence, crimes and insecurity among the frustrated youth as many started to concentrate on improving their skills. But for every success story that filters back from resettled refugees, there are stories of hardship and isolation. Another Bhutanese journalist, Thakur Prasad Mishra, 24, grew up in the refugee camps in Nepal and moved to New York as part of the resettlement programme in July last year. He explains that most of the older refugees who have resettled suffer from depression. “The elderly mostly stay inside their apartments as they have no idea how to use the public transport. They even require someone to guide them to visit a nearby hospital.” Mishra does believe that life is still better in a new country than in the refugee camp, but he warns that elderly people with no children are better off staying behind. The UNHCR says it continues to advocate for voluntary repatriation to Bhutan. But for now that road seems to be a dead end. Harka sums up the feelings of many of the older refugees when he says emphatically: “I would rather hang myself and die here in the camp than follow my children to a new country.” This is not a throwaway line. Suicide rates are high in the camp as many refugees suffer from depression. Maniraj Lama’s wife hanged herself one day while he went out for a walk. It has made him more determined than ever to get back to Bhutan. In the meantime, Harka worries that more young people will leave, abandoning their elders. “The rift between the old and young generation is worsening,” he says. “There is bad blood between the old parents and their children.” The photograph on his wall reminds him of what he has to lose as well as what he has already lost. Source: Guardian Weekly, UK |
| Samtse schools remain shut down Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:05 AM PDT June 23: Schools in Samtse district which remained closed following an emergency order from district administration since June 15 still wait to reopen. The administration issued an order to shut down all school in the district to control spread of H1N1 virus causing human influenza. The order was issued when nine students of Taba Dramtoe Community Primary School were confirmed of the viral attack. Some students of Dorokha Middle Secondary School and Chengmari Lower Secondary School also showed the viral symptoms. Though schools have been closed, the situation is not yet epidemic, said district health office. “There is nothing to be panic about and all the preventive measures have been put in place.” As per the order, school activities will resume from the next week. |
| OBCA Convention: Looking back and forth Posted: 22 Jun 2010 08:52 PM PDT Though not prescheduled, I headed to Atlanta to blog live about the first nation convention of the Organization of Bhutanese Communities in America (OBCA) from June 18-19. A never practiced trend, Bhutan News Service (BNS) finally reported the event live, though it was from mobile due to lack of internet connection in the convention venue.  Participants in the first day convention. Photo/Author As hundreds of Diasporic eyes were closely monitoring and observing the event, in whatsoever ways, I thought, for sure, it was the responsibility of media person to disseminate information. As the live blogging was from mobile, we failed to update about the event in detail. Here is a short report-like analysis piece. Details Ground voices for "unity" and a "single platform," which so ever be formed, was repeatedly reflected. This was quite an attention seeking opinion from public, though it is yet to be seen how newly elected emerging young leaders interpret it and transform it into practice.  BNS Correspondent Abi Subedi using mobile to upadate news live. Photo/Author According to their By-Laws, the objectives of OBCA are; - To establish and maintain its own Community Centers in the states where Bhutanese reside. Setbacks Talking briefly with the BNS representative in the convention venue, the Alaskan team complained that despite their repeated requests, the organizers didn't spare them some minutes to listen to their feelings. Though it was difficult to verify such progress immediately, the newly elected chairs were seen busy discussing with Alaskan team—the outcome of which was later reported to be good.  Alaskan team in the convention hall. Photo/Author At some point, the second day convention is worth mentioning and more significant as it was a day for election. The second day sessions, said to begin from 6.30 am on June 19, actually began only at 9.45 am. Our old-tradition of not being very punctual to time was clearly reflected. A clear majority of the organizing committee members, who stepped in and out of the convention hall, were seen having involved in campaigning for leadership of their "choice". Interestingly, the unpunctuality in managing time appropriately had led the organizers to see only around 55, almost half of the population seen on first day, participants during the time of election, which was through consensus basis. It was reportedly learnt that the OBCA had scheduled to present cultural shows after the election. However, as the organizers were late to wrap-up their program, more than half-filled floor of the hall with the capacity of 500 was rocked with cultural shows at a time when around 55 people were busy holding election in another hall, nearly-attached to one another. Achievements  Kumar Gurung (front from right followed by Yam Kharel in white shirt being greeted by BM Rai and Bhakti Sharma. Photo/Author According to organizer of the event, representatives from at least 17 different States from within the USA took active participation. Though some of the representatives were present on the event as observer, the way those many states showed their "mandated" participation is one of the greatest achievements the convention made. Participant's collective decision to go for "consensus basis" election is yet another attainment. Yet, this is not all about what has been the demand of time. More than a clear majority of Bhutanese are voicing for a single platform, united move, and stronger intactness of the community. The challenge |
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