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Genesis and Exodus of the Bhutanese Refugees Tika Osti Speech at the Kent Community Dinner on August 21, 2010 Bhutan, a mountainous country, is the second smallest country in Asia, with an area of 47000 sq km. It is located on the southeast slopes of the Himalayas between China to the north and east, and India to the west and south. It is beautifully decorated by the plains, the hills, and the Himalayas. Most of the land is covered with green forest, gorgeous waterfalls, springs, rivers, huge rocks and the charming snow-capped mountains in the north. Several varieties of flowers and rare species of animals are also found in abundance in Bhutan. There were several petty kingdoms in Bhutan before its unification into modern day Bhutan by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Shabrung Ngawang Namgyal was a powerful Tibetan monk who was ousted by his rival faction in a power struggle to succeed a throne at Ralung in Tibet. As a consequence, he fled to Bhutan in 1616 A.D. along with his followers. He defeated his invading Tibetan enemies and subdued the petty kings and proclaimed himself as the ruler of Bhutan. He named the country Druk-Yul, meaning the land of the thunder dragon. He established the Drukpa Kagyupa sect of Buddhism which is now regarded as the state religion of Bhutan. The other dominant form of Buddhism practiced mainly in Eastern Bhutan is the Ningmapa, the old school of Buddhism. After Shadrung Ngawang Namgyal’s death, infighting broke out among the chieftains and none who succeeded his throne had a natural death. This tragic trend continued for more than 200 years. In 1885, Ugyen Wangchuk was able to consolidate his power and cultivate closer ties with the British in India. In 1907, he was unanimously crowned as the first hereditary king of Bhutan. In the 103 years since the introduction of monarchy in Bhutan, five kings have ruled the country including the present king Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk who was enthroned in 2008. The national language is Dzongkha. Other major languages spoken in Bhutan are Sharchop-kha, Nepali, and English. Ethnic groups include Drukpas including the Sharchops – 50%, ethnic Nepalese or Lhotshamps – 35%, and others – 15%. There are records indicating the ethnic Nepalese settled in Bhutan as far back as 1624 A. D. by Shadrung Ngawang Namgyal himself. Later in the mid-nineteenth century more ethnic Nepalese settled in the virgin lands in southern Bhutan and opened those areas for cultivation. Soon after, the south became the main supplier of food in Bhutan. In the 1950’s, the monarchy began to perceive the southern Bhutanese people – who were gaining in productivity and numbers – as a threat to political order in Bhutan. The monarchy began a gradual suppression, discrimination, and exploitation of its citizens in the South. This suppression led to a huge uprising in the South which was quickly crushed by the monarchy by killing dissident leaders like Mahashur Chhetri and others by throwing them into a fast-flowing river after putting them in a leather bag and tying a heavy stone at one end of the bag. Beginning in the mid 1980’s the dictator king started promulgating different Acts like Driglam Namja (i.e. the Code of Etiquettes) under which the customs, traditions, and cultures of the ruling Drukpas were enforced upon the population in the South. The king also enacted the discriminatory citizenship Act which required every person in the South to produce documentary evidence of legal residence in 1958. Anyone not able to produce such evidence made that person non-national or an illegal immigrant. The census conducted in the South in 1988 created several thousands of such non-nationals or illegal immigrants. The public held a peaceful demonstration to protest against these discriminatory policies of the government. The result of demonstration was disheartening and tragic. The participants were labeled as anti-nationals and/or terrorists, and many were brutally killed, decapitated, put into jail and inhumanly tortured. The king declared military rule in the South, and the ill-trained, ill-advised military and the militias randomly raided and looted the villages, harassed people, arrested boys and men and put them into jails, and gang-raped girls and women. All the schools in the South were closed and turned them into army barracks, citizenship cards were confiscated, government employees were terminated from work, private properties were seized, and the houses were burnt and demolished. The so-called government of Bhutan then introduced No Objection Certificate (NOC) which was required for any activities in Bhutan like employment, education, business, and traveling. Ethnic Nepalese were not given NOC by the government. Under this dictatorial rule of the monarchy, several thousands of the innocent Bhutanese citizens were forcefully evicted from the country beginning in the late 1980s. Within a very short interval of time, the lives of these Bhutanese were ruined and their hopes and dreams were shattered. These ousted Bhutanese tried to seek asylum in India but were denied and they were, instead, transported to eastern Nepal. These people established the first Bhutanese refugee camps by the bank of the Mai River in Nepal in July 1991. Conditions in the refugee camps were wretched: the people had nothing to eat and flash floods would wash away their make-shift shelters. There was no medicine and many people, especially the weak and the old and the children, died of malnutrition, treatable diseases like diarrhea, fever, and jaundice. The refugee leaders sought help from the local community and elsewhere for food. Urgent appeals for help resulted in assistance from the Lutheran World Service (LWS) and ad hoc humanitarian relief from the United Nations for High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) by the end of 1991. As more Bhutanese were evicted from their home country and they entered Nepal more refugee camps were established. The Bhutanese refugees were restricted to living in the dangerously crowded camps. They were prohibited from engaging in income-generating activities. As a result the refugees were entirely dependent on the support of the international community for their survival. The UNHCR provided building materials every two years to construct bamboo huts which were clustered together for lack of space. Many refugees spent their nights under leaking roofs and scorching sun during the hot summer days. Lack of employment opportunities for students who completed their schools was a great concern in the refugee camps. Many young adults felt the frustration and anxiety of not knowing what to do next. At the request of Bhutanese refugees and the UNHCR several bilateral talks were held between the governments of Bhutan and Nepal. However, no progress was made. During the last bilateral talk the Bhutan government agreed to verify refugees in order to determine their identity. Subsequently a Joint Verification Team (JVT) consisting of members from Bhutan and Nepal was formed. On June 2003 the JVT declared the results of the verification. The people verified were grouped into the following four categories: Category 1: Bhutanese forcibly evicted: 2.5% Category 2: Bhutanese who “voluntarily” migrated: 70.5% Category 3: Non Bhutanese: 24.2% Category 4: Bhutanese with criminal records: 2.8% It seem obvious that no sane people – certainly not thousands of them – will suddenly decide overnight, en masse, to “voluntarily” leave their homes and country in order to become refugees. Moreover, the verification was seriously flawed and this result was criticized as a betrayal of trust not only by the Bhutanese refugees but also by international observers worldwide. The verification created more complications rather than providing solutions. This issue was never resolved because of the scuffle that broke out between the Bhutanese refugees and the members of the JVT team representing the Bhutanese team. Realizing that the bilateral talks had become dead-locked the UNHCR proposed the following three options as possible solutions to the problem: •
Repatriation to their home country, Bhutan Because of the intransience of the Bhutan and Nepal governments, the first two options were not available to the refuges: the Bhutanese government didn’t want to take back its citizens at any cost, and the Nepalese government didn’t want to integrate these people into their country. On October 2006 , the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Ellen Sauerbrey, announced that the United States would be willing to resettle up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal. The announcement sparked a considerable amount of debate amongst the refugees. It divided the refugees into two opposing groups; those who were willing to get resettled in a third country versus those who would rather wait indefinite years for repatriation. Most recent reports indicate that the majority of Bhutanese refugees have expressed their interest and willingness for resettlement in a third country as the best alternative for a durable solution. After living in exile in the refugee camps for almost two decades, the first batch of 100 refugees left for Arizona in the United States in March 2008 with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At this point many Bhutanese refugees have mixed feelings about the resettlement process. They are happy and excited in the hope that they are resettling to countries where they can build a better life and a brighter future. On the other hand they are sad and disheartened realizing the fact that they may not see their families and relatives, and their home country, Bhutan, again. Bhutanese refugees are resettling in 8 different countries including the United States, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, Netherland, and Britain. As a part of the third-country resettlement program, some 30,000 Bhutanese have been already resettled in the US, including about 500 who are living in the greater Akron area. The Bhutanese communities spread all over the world are thankful to all those countries, agencies, institutions and local communities for the warm welcome, guidance, cooperation and opportunities they are providing. With such support, acceptance, and assistance the Bhutanese refugees are once again rebuilding their lives in a new country. Thank you for this opportunity. |
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