Visual Mission: Bhutanese refugees in Nepal

Bhutanese refugees fled to eastern Nepal in 1990 to escape persecution and new citizenship laws that deprived Nepali speakers in southern Bhutan of their rights. As with many refugee populations around the world, the Bhutanese never imagined when they left that 17 years later they would still be in the country of first asylum.

After years of fruitless efforts between the governments of Bhutan and Nepal to negotiate the terms for at least some of the 108,000 refugees to return, the governments of the United States, Canada, and Australia are offering the possibility of third country resettlement for 70,000 people, with the U.S. offering 60,000 of those places. The resettlement offer has divided the refugees --- many would like to accept this offer and finally escape the camps, while others, including militant political leaders, see it as a sell out of the long-standing desire to return to Bhutan with their citizenship rights restored.

On a recent mission to Nepal, Refugees International was able to visit two of the seven camps housing the Bhutanese refugees. The following photographs illustrate some aspects of the camp environment:

Nepal 2007: Food aid from the World Food Program 10/02/2007 One of the more depressing aspects of camp life in long-standing refugee situations is the building feeling of dependence. International donors and aid organizations have done an excellent job over the years ensuring that the basic needs of the refugees are met. Nonetheless, getting food from a warehouse is just not the same as growing it in one’s own field or purchasing it at a local market with one’s wages. Further, the ration is monotonous, and ideally needs to be supplemented with food purchased outside the camps. In this photo, two camp residents are lugging sacks of grain back to their huts.

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Related Countries Nepal Related Issues Protection Resettlement Related Missions Nepal: Mission to Assess Plight of Bhutanese Refugees

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