The Bhutanese refugees in Nepal have already witnessed resettlement of over 58,000 fellow-countrymen by December 15. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is processing another 35,000 of camp residents, who were forcefully evicted from Bhutan in late 80s and early 90s, for their relations in the west.
- Children display a banner demanding repatriation in Beldangi-II camp
Mostly, younger generations are eager to accept the resettlement package, taking it as a temporary solution of their long-standing problem. For them, settlement in developed countries like the United States and Australia among others will reward them with better education and enhance economic conditions.
“Life in the camp has limited my dream for good education and improved standard of living,” explains one Jagu Kafle. His five-member family is waiting for departure date for resettlement in Canada, having completed all the procedures.
While in the camp, Kafle was unable to join for his higher studies after completing his camp schooling, free but limited up to the tenth grade.
However, several uneducated ones like his fathers, who were mostly farmers in Bhutan, are not really happy to leave Nepal. For them, the camps are the best place to demand dignified repatriation.
“I must join my three children to Canada since they have already decided to get resettled,” his father narrates.
- Indra Bahadur Subba
Indra Bahadur Subba, who walked from a nearby camp to Beldangi-II to attend 104th National Day Celebration on December 17, narrated his agony as a refugee in fort of his juniors. “Life as a refugee is bitter in every sense. I have seen all the five kings of my country. I am a genuine Bhutan and still have a dream to die in my own soil,” tells 108-year-old Subba, a registered refugee from Beldangi-I camp.
The then British emperor to India had helped to institutionalize the Bhutanese monarchy in 1907 when Subba was just four.
There are several youths who accuse senior citizens of the community of standing against the third country resettlement programme. When all family members fail to furnish a single say regarding resettlement, some households have even invited serious disputes.
“Certainly, elderly members in the refugee camps know pain and suffering they were made to undergo while in Bhutan, and still desire to return,” says Shekhar Rizal.
But, he also pointed out that some parents have simply been opposing the resettlement even after sending their younger ones for western countries secretly.
“I know a few of them. They claim their family is against the resettlement, without letting other know that their children have already been relocated,” clarifies he.
Meanwhile, exiled surgeon Dr Bhampa Rai, who now chairs the Bhutanese Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee, expressed that not only elderly citizens but also all refugee have long desire to return to their own hometowns.
“I know youths are accusing their parents. But, if doors for repatriation open, even those who are ready to fly for America or other countries, will cancel their process and return to Bhutan,” he states.
- Harka Jung Subba
A member of the Senior Citizens’ Group Harka Jung Subba, 69, is of the opinion that many parents were forcefully resettled, as they were helpless in convincing their children.
“It was a hard decision for them to opt resettlement. The process has fragmented their desire to return home with dignity and honour,” claims Subba, who is sternly against the resettlement, but has allowed his children to relocate in the United States of America.
For Chandra Bahadur Giri, a former soldier of the Royal Bhutan Army, there is no choice for Bhutan to accept its citizens back home.
“I have my citizenship card and weapon license issued by the Royal Government of Bhutan. No foreigners can avail these documents,” states Giri, producing his documents in front of camera.
“Resettlement will never be my choice. I am a Bhutanese and have right to return home.”
According to the UNHCR’s Country Representative in Nepal, Stephane Jaquemet, the population in camps will come down to below 15,000 by mid-2015, and probably the remaining refugees will be those who are against the resettlement at present, unregistered as refugees or denied of relocation due to various reasons.
The ongoing resettlement will terminate before or latest by 2015, downscaling the UNHCR’s longtime investment for the Bhutanese refugees, whose population prior to the resettlement was around 110,000.
“I am sure that Bhutan is not going to easily accept us back home. However, we must not lose our hopes in any circumstances,” adds Subba.
