The Bhutanese Community In Nebraska elected its new executives amidst a general election on March 8 electing Bhim Gurung as its new leader.
The newly elected executive board of the Bhutanese Community of Nebraska Picture courtesy: Karna Gurung
The newly elected Gurung’s team included Suraj Rai as secretary, Bikash Biswa as press and publicity secretary, Amir Gurung as cultural secretary, Purna Rai as Treasurer, Jit Subba as youth coordinator, Tul Rai as community management committee head, and Prem Magar as education, literature and art secretary, Karna Gurung informed BNS from Nebraska.
According to Karna, the election also nominated the board of trustee, which is expected to render supports to the newly elected executive board.
Shocking acts of violence against women often make headlines in mainstream media inside the country. The Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) that the parliament of Bhutan passed last February could not make much impact. Observers are of the opinion that the act is as good as a paper tiger.
Two days after the International Women’s day, national newspaper reports: “Gelephu dungkhag court sentenced a 41-year-old man to nine years imprisonment for raping a 17 year old.” A police officer in Gelephu who allegedly raped his maid is sentenced to two year. In Gasa, a 24 year old allegedly raped 55-year-old woman. In Punakha a monk was accused of impregnating a 14-year-old. In Tsirang, a 21-year-old man was detained by police for having affairs with 13-year-old schoolgirl. Yet in Thimphu police detained a 38-year-old security guard for alleged rape of an eight-year old girl. In December last year, a 13-year-old girl suspected of repeated rape by her father was rescued by RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture, Empower Women), an NGO for Women in Bhutan.
A recent study on the ‘situation of violence against women in Bhutan’ by the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC) states that about two in 100 women, aged 15 to 49 years, are likely to be sexually abused before the age of 15.
Bhutanese Women engage themselves in a discussion on the occasion of the International Women Day in Bhutan (Picture: Author)
“Girls below the age of 15 are at some risk of sexual violence, but significantly below the level of risk compared to women aged 15 and above,” study states.
The study also states that four in 100 women are likely to have their first sexual encounter before 15 years, of which more than half are likely to be coerced or forced. It was also found that about three in ten women are likely to have their first marriage before the legal age of 18.
Most of the cases happen within the closed door and most of the perpetrators are someone known to the victim, the cases do not get reported, says a counsellor at the RENEW.
National Statistics Bureau’s Bhutan Multiple Survey 2010 highlighted about 70 percent of women said that they deserved beating if they neglected their children, argued with their partners, refused sex or spoiled meals.
“This kind of level of domestic violence tolerance only suggests that there is not yet widespread understanding of the link between women and personal security,” the UN resident coordinator in Bhutan, Christina Carlson said.
The acceptance of violence was highest in Paro at 90 percent and least in Thimphu at about 50 percent.
Annually, March 8 is observed as a day to raise awareness on the plight of women on the face of discrimination, oppression, abuse, violence and injustice. It is a day when the world asserts attention to the widening gaps underlying the path of progress for women equity. The international women’s day is observed to recognise women’s achievements without regard to divisions; whether nationality, ethnic, cultural, economic or political in nature
The Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Sangay Choden Wangchuck, the Goodwill Ambassador of UNFPA and President of RENEW, joined the people of Haa to celebrate the International Women’s Day on March. Over 2000 people including teachers, students, civil servants and locals gathered to observe the day. At the gathering Her Majesty vouched her interminable support to empower women from abuse and violence transgressions.
She said, “In almost all the countries, disparities among men and women is still a predominant issue affecting any country’s development. Observing such a day gives us an opportunity to celebrate the progress made for women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality.”
UN Women Office of India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka representative, Dr Rebecca Reichmann Tavares, during the program, said countries with more gender equality have better economic growth. Companies with more women leaders perform better. Peace agreements that include women are more durable. Parliaments with more women enact more legislation on key social issues such as health, education, anti-discrimination and child support. The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all.
Talking on the domestic violence and women’s right the Chief Justice of Bhutan, Sonam Tobgay, said that women’s well being is pivotal for the advancement of humankind. He said, “Necessity to espouse the equality of man and woman supersede any letter of law, faith and customs.”
“I believe that our common dreams of peace and our anguish over violence committed against women must give impetus to the issue, generate practical solutions and empower the victims. Women are and must be supported as social agents, to build social capital that contributes to strengthening the fabric of our societies.”
Bhutanese women were confined within the house and mainly in the kitchen in the past. Women were never given the opportunity to do what men were doing. But today there are women holding constitutional post, in the parliament and in the civil service. A good signal is that Bhutan last year elected its first women minister.
However, there are still challenges surrounding women. Still today, men and the society as a whole prefer women to be confined within the household chores despite the same education and qualification. When it comes to leadership people think men are better than women and this is the reason why we have a countable number of women holding high post. This was a testimony when majority of women voters in 2013 elections, National Council and National Assembly, elected maximum men to the houses.
In the year 2013 alone, RENEW has provided counselling services to as much as 350 women. And have since its establishment in 2004 serviced more than 1600 clients. Having to render help to “Domestic Violence victims every single day is a concern that will not only cripple our women but will also hamper the long term stability of our nation too, a Renew official said. The need for more efforts to advance women empowerment in Bhutan is imperative. It is on global platforms such as these, that issues impeding women progress can be brought up for discussion, she says.
Bhutan’s first woman minister, who is also Chairperson of NCWC, Dorji Choden said: “Valuing the contributions that women have made in making this world a better place to live in; contributions not only through their work and labour, but also contributions through sufferings borne as a mother, wife, sister and daughter. In recognizing and valuing these contributions, let us all celebrate Womanhood as a Privilege.”
A woman parliamentarian said the Domestic Violence Prevention Bill would greatly help the victims of violence against women and help root out gender-motivated attacks against women and girls. But observers said the Act is a paper tiger. He said there were cases of rape and domestic violence reported almost weekly on the national newspaper and television.
In 2012 alone, the police recorded 231 cases of domestic violence and harassment. In 2010 and 2011, some 3,487 cases of crime were recorded in the country. Of the total, 1,061 cases were committed under the influence of alcohol.
Sonam Yangdon, a civil servant, said that violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights, a public health epidemic and a barrier against solving global challenges such as extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS and conflicts.
Sonam Yangdon said: “Violence against women devastates the lives of millions of women and girls – in peacetime and in conflicts – and knows no national or cultural barriers.
The DVPA will protect and prevent women from debilitating acts of violence against them and promote women’s participation in social, economic and political sectors.”
It is every individual’s responsibility to stand up and take necessary measures to ensure that violent attacks against women and girls are no longer tolerated. The progress and development of our society depends on our ability to affirm and safeguard the human rights of all people, including women and girls, she said.
Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has requested his Bhutanese counterpart, Tshering Tobgay, to resolve the Bhutanese refugee issue by allowing exiled Bhutanese from UN-managed camps in Nepal to return home at the earliest possible.
Koirala raised the issue Monday during his meeting with PM Tobgay in Myanmar, where both the leaders have reached in course of participating the Third Summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Nepalese PM Koirala (left) and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tobgay
PM Koirala reiterated Nepal’s views on early resolution of the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio, reports Nepalese state-owned Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS).
“I have requested him (Bhutanese Prime Minister) to create environment conducive for respectful return of refugees to their homes at a time when most of their offspring had set out to abroad under third country rehabilitation bid and the elderly are still languishing in refugee camp”, Prime Minister Koirala told RSS.
Though the Bhutanese side gave positive response regarding return of refugees to their homes, he made a plea to be serious to give early solution to the problem, PM Koirala added.
Taking Nepal´s request in a positive note, the Bhutanese Prime Minister´s response was “We will see”, premier Koirala went on saying.
Meanwhile, PM Tobgay has twitted just a brief message about his meeting with Koirala.
“Discussed a range of issues with Nepal and Thai delegations during bilateral talks on the sidelines of BIMSTEC. Off to a good start, ‘ he twitted.
On the first day of school, Ram Siwakoti eagerly selected an open seat in the front of the classroom.
“Well, good!,” thought Jacqueline Freni, an English and ESOL teacher at Clarkston High School who recently retired. “I remember thinking, ‘someone seems anxious to get going here.’ As a teacher, you are thrilled to death when you have kids who want to learn.”
This was the fall of 2009, and Ram, a newly arrived refugee, had no time to lose. The teenage boy with a pile of black hair and big brown eyes grew up in a refugee camp in eastern Nepal. Now 17, and already a junior, he had one goal: go to college. Even while studying on dusty floors with old shared books, Ram seized on education as the ticket to a better life.
Ram (left) with his brother Lina (Picture courtesy: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
So here in Clarkston, Ram selected that desk closest to his teacher and sought out her advice. Freni told him he needed to improve his English, sharpen his writing skills and prepare for the SAT.
“He was bound and determined,” said Freni. “And as his teacher, I was going to help him. When you have a student so eager to learn, it’s exciting.”
Freni remembered one day arriving at school with a voice message left for her at 6 a.m. Ram wanted to get her thoughts on a writing question. Almost immediately, Freni became more than a teacher. She was a mentor, a confidante. She used some of her own money to buy English-Nepali dictionaries.
One day, she stayed after school to help him pronounce the word, “ask,” which he was pronouncing “ash.”
Others helped, too.
Dr. Ravi Sharma, a local oncologist who has long reached out to Bhutanese refugees with everything from mentoring to free medical care, also helped organize free SAT-preparation classes. Ram enrolled in the weekend class.
Meanwhile, Ram’s younger brother, Lila, who was 14 when they arrived here, also wanted to go to college.
Ram was just nine months old when his family and 100,000 other people were expelled from their native Bhutan, a monarchy wedged between India and Chinese-ruled Tibet. (Lila was born in the refugee camp).
The Bhutanese refugees are descendants of people who left Nepal during the 1800s in search of better farmland. They settled in what is now southern Bhutan and became known as Lhotshampas, or “People of the South.”
In the 1980s, Bhutan’s king worried that the largely Hindu Lhotshampas population could put the traditional Druk Buddhist culture in the minority. So he barred the speaking of Nepali in schools, required Druk dress and stripped citizenship for many Lhotsampas. Tens of thousands were either expelled or fled the country.
They were forced to live refugee camps in eastern Nepal. They lived in huts with dirt floors and thatched roofs. There was poor medical care, a perpetual shortage of food, and no toilets.
But Ram says the worst of it may have been something else.
“One of the most terrible aspects I think was creating a generation of dreamless and sad people,” he said. “But not everyone was dreamless and sad.”
Ram said he always believed better days are yet to come.
“While living in a refugee camp, we had nothing to cherish on other than a future that was so unknown,” he said. “So I think living in the refugee camp made me yearn for a better future and eventually programmed my mind and brain with that concept what happens today, it is not going to be permanent. Life will always move on.”
In 2011, Ram received a highly competitive Gates Millennium scholarship, which pays for tuition, room-and-board and other college expenses. He also got accepted to Georgia Institute of Technology. He is now a junior at Georgia Tech. Earlier this year, younger brother Lila also won a coveted Gates scholarship. He’s a freshman at Oglethorpe University.
“When we left Nepal, we thought we would be mostly on our own and most of us were scared, but the level of support we received when we came here made our adjustment a lot easier and it surprised us a lot,” said Ram, at his parents’ modest apartment in Clarkston where Ram and his brother spend many weekends.
Sharma said Ram and Lila have lived through dark days in the refugee camp. He said they are both self-motivated and are fortunate to have parents (who both work at poultry plants) who have made education a priority.
“The [Bhutanese] community has a lot of trauma and heartbreak,” said Sharma. “With Ram and Lila, there is this resilience and optimism, and human spirit if you want to call it … Nature has this way of creating people who can come out of all the adversity and then shine through.”
The United States launched a program to resettle tens of thousands of Bhutanese refugees languishing in refugee camps in Nepal. The refugees, almost all ethnic Nepalis from southern Bhutan, are unable to return to Bhutan or settle permanently in Nepal. Metro Atlanta emerged as a top destination, welcoming about 4,800 Bhutanese refugees since early 2008, according to the Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Editor’s note: The story was first appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. BNS has reproduced this with kind permissions from the author and the paper.
When I travel through my memory lane, all I can remember now is all the happiest moments of my childhood. I would hang around with friends, steal chocolates and flowers. Spending the whole day in a playground and in Deuna River with my friends added to my happiness. What I did in those days made my life a worth then. People may take this in other way assuming that refugee life is always a miserable one. My intention through this story is to make others look at the positiveness and strengths that can exist in the refugee life.
I grew up as a refugee boy with my entire family for seventeen years. I can accept the fact that my parents felt very sad being away from their home country. My parents left behind their land and properties. Some family members were also left behind. My parents struggled every minute to keep us alive. They worked in a low wages at least to feed me and my siblings. They gave up everything for us but for me what mattered the most was my friends and play grounds. When I used to be with my friends, we used to spend whole day playing Chukibu, Chungi, Saikutu and etc. in play grounds and courtyards. The hotness or coldness even at its peak would not bother us. The family members were always there to take care of me, indeed, they worried about me but I worried about nothing other than my mother because she was only the one I can sleep with. I was just one year old when I left Bhutan. Honestly, I find it difficult to love Bhutan since I never grew up on its land, never studied at its schools, and was never given an opportunity to return. Neither I could describe its beauty nor I could prove how how fertile the land is.
When I look at my parents’ eyes and listen to their stories, I can easily make out how much they love Bhutan. Their stories and beliefs are rooted with that land. They left behind everything they knew and they possessed. They hold unto these experiences in their minds and hearts. My parents remind me that I was born in Bhutan so the least I can do is trust some of the ways of the land. Some younger generations will say “Bhutan is my mother land” but not much more than that.
While staying in the refugee camp, I had no idea how healthy food I was eating. I had no idea how clean the water that I was drinking was. I did not know when I would get to sleep each night, or what time my school would start, and who would come to pick me up after school. I never had chance to think about these things. Had I ever tried to ponder over those things , I would have thought that my life was the worst one on this earth. Indeed, everything I ate or drink fulfilled my thrust and assisted me to live this life.
Each day at the refugee camp, I would do whatever it took to fulfill my hunger; sometimes I had no choice but to eat damaged and expired food. To fulfill my extreme thirst sometimes I would drink dirty water. Somehow, I never dwelled on these events; instead I would often laugh while in pain, smiling when to uplift those who cried.
Memories of being with my family, hundreds of friends, teachers, and community as a refugee are all the sparking pieces of my life. I still remember the small garden in the courtyard bloomed with flowers of different colors. These experiences are more beautiful to me than the land of Bhutan. I can also understand that my parents and elders do not feel in the same way I do about Bhutan and the refugee life.
Since my childhood, I have been an energetic youth who always felt inspired from the stories from the community. I have always been motivated to work for my community. For some years, I worked in several small groups like Youth Friendly Centre (YFC). I coordinated with major groups and organizations like Camp Management Community (CMC) and UNHCR to help improve quality of life of community members. My heart remains to seek bigger opportunities to help create endless change. Sometimes I feel the change needed is too big. I realize that blaming myself will ultimately lead me towards frustration and this will not be helpful for me or anyone.
As eager to learn from elders, I was able to understand at least the saddest stories of our parents and terrific situation of our refugee lives-struggle to live. People survived at meagre food supplies, worked at low wages, smiled at bamboo huts, feared devastating floods and uncertain outbreak of fires. Also, confrontation with host communities and spread of diseases like Malaria, Jaundice, HIV/ AIDS added to plights of refugees.
Honestly, I have a lot of love, faith, and respect for my elders who poured their sweat and blood in Bhutan. They were a part of many that made Bhutan a beautiful place.Now they are struggling in a land like Canada to make the future bright for those who are with us today and for generations to come. That is why, I am always connected with their stories, and I always feel sorry to hear their sad stories.
Today I am faced with a challenge. When someone ask me about my nationality I am stuck with the question. Bhutan or Nepal? Bhutan-because I was born there. Nepal-because I speak Nepali and my ancestors were from Nepal. This is very tricky and deep question to be asked. Perhaps, I will have no words when I hold a Canadian citizenship in my hand. But I will probably be smiling because that would be my first amazing experience of being naturalized.
Editor’s note: This story is common to all camp bred younger generation of Bhutanese society. BNS motivates young writers like Rupesh to write more exciting and insightful stories relating history of their ancestors with the achievement they have made even after becoming refugee. This is a courtesy publication.
पूर्वपश्चिम राजमार्ग अन्तर्गत दमकको हिमालय चियावगान अगाडि १६ फागुन अपराह्न डकैती तथा ज्यान मुद्दाका आरोपी एक भूटानी युवक प्रहारीसँगको मुठभेडमा घाइते भएको जिल्ला प्रहरी कार्यालय झापाले जनाएको छ ।
मोरङको शनिश्चरेस्थित शरणार्थी शिविरमा बस्ने यी युवकमाथि दमकमा बैङ्क डकैती, मोरङमा सुनपसल लुटपाट र हत्याको अभियोग लागेको बताइएकोछ ।
चियाबगान अगाडिको चिया पसल नजिक रहेका करिब २९ वर्षीय उनलाई सादा पोषाकमा रहेका प्रहरीले शङ्का लागी बोलाउँदा उनले प्रहरीसँग भएको पिस्तोल खोस्न खोजेको र त्यसक्रममा भएको मुठभेडमा बायाँ कोखामा गोली लागी उनी घाइते भएको प्रहरी उपरीक्षक मुकुन्द आचार्यले बताए ।
घाइते ती युवकलाई दमकस्थित लाइफलाइन अस्पतालमा प्राथमिक उपचारपछि थप उपचारका लागि धरानस्थित बीपी कोइराला स्वास्थ्य विज्ञान प्रतिष्ठान लगिएको छ ।
The Bhutanese Community of North Carolina screened “Chha Ekan Chha”, a recently released Nepali film that has involved top television serials’ artists, in Greensboro, Saturday.
Around 400 Bhutanese and Nepalese watch ‘Chha Ekan Chha’ in Grand 18 Theater in Greensboro, North Carolina (Picture courtesy: Rock for Nepal)
Aimed at entertaining the Greensboro Bhutanese community, the screen also garnered Bhutanese and Nepalese from nearby cities including High Point, Raleigh and Charlotte.
According to lead organizer, Durga Khatri, around 400 spectators joined the movie screening.
“The screening helped our community raised some funds that could be mobilized in emergency,” Khatri told BNS.
The movie, which is said to have managed to recoup the entire investment on the first day itself, is being screened in the United States by Rock for Nepal.
Similar screenings were done in the Bhutanese communities of Virginia and Kentucky, informed Khatri.
Indian joint secretary in-charge of the East Asia division that includes China and Japan is reported to be replacing VP Haran as Indian envoy to Bhutan soon.
However, no details have been officially furnished by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Haran has been serving Indian embassy in Thimphu since July last year.
Bhutan and the Japanese auto giant Nissan Motor Co. have decided to partner to supply electric cars to be used as taxis and government vehicles, Friday.
PM Thinley with the Nissan’s President in Thimphu. Also seen is the Nissan’s Leaf car presented to Bhutan. (Picture courtesy: AFP)
The move is hoped to reduce the country’s reliance on imported petroleum products from India.
Nissan has agreed to supply its Leaf electric cars, and even set up dozens of charging stations in Bhutan.
Nissan’s Leaf is one of the world’s best-selling electric cars, and is said to have taken over at least 45 percent of the global electric vehicle market.
The motor company’s president, Carlos Ghosn, presented two Leaf vehicles to Bhutan during the agreement session with the Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s government in Thimphu on Friday.
PM Tobgay expressed his hopes that the Leaf cars would help the country meet a target of zero emissions.
Reminiscence: Petition & Politics takes its reader back to the days of the late 1980s when Bhutan, the Land of the Dragon, was awakening to the sounds of modernity, and her people’s minds were muddled by the comfort of yesterdays and the demands of tomorrows. The present then had given some people the loudest of voice while some were muffled to the point where they could not even hear their own. The author, Hari K. Chhetri, a Foreign Service Officer of the Royal Government of Bhutan at the time finds privilege to the inside churnings of the country’s politics and it is his narrative that we see in this book. It is presented as a memoir that is soaked in a socio-political narrative. The purpose of the book in the words of the author himself is to “to relate [his] experience and put the record straight” (iv). The book begins in the settings of the year 1988 when the Government of Bhutan plans a hasty and unpropitious population census targeting the southern districts and categorizing the people in groups ranging from F1 to F7 with no explanation of where the English letter F comes from. If F1 meant “Genuine Bhutanese”, F7 meant “Non Nationals” which could mean immigrants or illegal settlers. The others in question fell in one of the groups in between. The author gets involved in writing a petition to the King of Bhutan and seeking his Royal intervention in pacifying the tribulations caused by the census. In a twist of fate, it is this petition that propels the trials of thousands of Bhutanese refugees and therefore giving the author a well-founded need to bring the story to its entirety.
The significance of bringing truth to limelight is immediately seen upon opening the first pages of the book. Quotations from Lord Buddha and Lewis Carroll alert the reader’s mind and by the time the preface pages are read, the emphasis on truth is so heightened that the expectation of any reader is raised to the highest. I pounced on the chapters in a hungry search. The author as per his choice of the book’s title spends the majority of the book reminiscing his days as a government diplomat and as a result of which avails the readers access to government records such as the minutes of meetings of Lhengyal Shungtsong (the Council of Ministers or Cabinets) and National Assembly. The author’s presentation of excerpts from meetings of Lhengyal Shungtsog and that too from different years is impressive and he uses these to competently argue his point of why he had to be involved in the petition writing. He also reproduces Kuensel (then the only newspaper in Bhutan) clippings from the late 1980s to validate his narration.
Reminiscence: Petition & Politics by Hari K. Chhetri, Kathmandu, Nepal. Sabi HADA, 2013, 199 pages: 199, Price : Rs.1000/US $20.
However, there are times in the course of narrating the submission of petition to the King that the author’s emotions come to play. His frustration with the Government policies conflicts with the frustration with his fellow petition writers and this bottled-up feeling permeates through the pages threatening to falter his quest for revealing the truth, in turn affecting the reader. While he staunchly retains the use of names of people even while being a harsh critic of that person, there are instances where he hesitates to call certain people by names and instead presents the subjects as mere “he”(pp19 and 41). This inconsistency forces the reader to delve in between lines and review the author’s stated intention. If truth be told about one person, why not for some others? This part of the narration stops the reader and automatically sends her to a psychoanalytical mode with numerous questions streaming across pages. In addition to the sense of slight reservation felt here, the tone of the author shifts back and forth from that of a firm narrator to that of a character in contemplation. For example, page 25 begins powerfully, “Words were weighed; the language was reviewed. It had one single purpose. The petition must fittingly and correctly reflect the seriousness of the issue, and seek reasonable redress from our Sovereign. All of us shared one common concern. That our action was not misunderstood and that our honesty, integrity and loyalty were put beyond question”. This flawless tone captures the climax of entire narration of the book. However the author suddenly loses momentum and goes into what sounds like a Shakespearean monologue. The paragraph immediately following the one quoted above starts with, “To my mind, however, the die had already been cast. I did not think it was a word or group of words that was going to be questioned. As I saw it, it was not going to our thoughts either…They were merely reflecting the facts…It was action…Action carried a motive, hence, was questionable” (25). He ends this paragraph with almost an unclear yet ominous in connotation, “All of us, however, were not on the same wave length. Some saw things more clearly than others”. The assertiveness seen before is lost here. This may perfectly reflect the nature of environment of the time that the author is reliving here, but the abrupt shift in narration disturbs the presentation of the pivotal moment of the petition submission, which to me is the nexus of the book. The question of why this contrasting shift occurs is worthwhile to ponder. A hint of repentance for not being able to stop the plight of fellow citizens and the turmoil of his loved homeland, and therefore a subconscious blame game? Is this the truth then? A book of repentance and apology to his people? And yet the author’s feeling of unsettling disappointment towards his own people lingers on until the end. At one point, he writes, “Unfortunately, even the tragedy of being rendered stateless by a government did not seem to have reinforced in us our commonality and cement us together, typical perhaps of our ethnic characteristics” (181). This statement made me wince. After a brave coming forward with boldness of a true citizen, this mentality comes across as self-pity. I would rather read the inability of “cement[ing] together” as a consequence of living half a lifetime as refugees and as the behavior of a suppressed and traumatized population than blame one’s ethnic characteristics. If not for one’s ethnicity, the Bhutanese refugees would have been long lost in the masses of the world. If not for ethnic characteristics of the descendants of brave ancestors who tamed the mosquito infested tropical hills of Southern Bhutan to lush farmlands, the Bhutanese refugees would not have withstood those agonizing years in the refugee camps.
This book is a must-read for any Bhutanese who was old enough to remember but not understand why the peaceful home of theirs suddenly turned turbulent and subsequently no longer belonged to many of them. It offers the unseen picture of behind-the-scenes of the eventful late 80s and early 90s. For younger Bhutanese, they will have to listen or read stories about Bhutan before you read this book. You will not learn the stories of Wangchuck Dynasty or topography of the country. It is not a book to learn legislative or judicial system of the country in detail except for the fact that the Government can arrest without a warrant and deem thousands illegal without proper trials or representations. Non-Bhutanese will have had to read other books on Bhutan to fully comprehend this book. References to other books on Bhutan by scholars like Michael Hutt, Leo E. Rose and John Claude White have been made, but slightly used. The picture of a dzong at the end is not referenced and has little use to the book. Similarly the map of Bhutan in the beginning is undated and rather raises more questions instead of serving much purpose.
Hari K. Chhetri is one of the very few Bhutanese luminaries who can lend insight to the politics and history of Bhutan. This paperback, I am sure, is just the beginning of many to be expected from him. Even with the limited readership amongst the Bhutanese community coupled with almost non-distribution and marketing support for a massive sale, the book has found a very good middle ground in terms of its pricing. It neither diminishes the value of the author’s erudition nor makes the readers inaccessible to his wealth of knowledge. With his academic background and his experience in serving the Government of the Bhutan at a high ranking official level, his books can be treasured as reference books and could be catalogued as primary sources of information. As much as a need for more books, there is also a greater need for more Bhutanese readers. Our stories need to be kept alive!
(The writer, who resides in Georgia, Atlanta, often regularly writes on various contemporary issues for Bhutan News Service. She can be reached for comments at [email protected])
