the bhutanese refugees -- tour of a refugee camp

d a b a l i

t h e   b h u t a n e s e   r e f u g e e s

t o u r   o f   a   r e f u g e e   c a m p

To get to the refugee camps, one has to drive on winding dirt roads through mustard fields or forested land for at least half an hour. The forest clears out all of sudden and distinct rows of huts with blue and white tarpaulin roofs appear in the clearing. It seems as if you have come upon a civilization long hidden from the rest of the world.

A sign board at the entrance reads: "Bhutan is our homeland. We had been there for generations. We had land and house to live. We were productive farmers, self-reliant and peace loving people. We want to go back to our home early. It is plead to our well wishers to send us back with dignity, safety, security and assurance of our human rights. So the money you are spending on us can be saved for future calamities or spared to other destitute in the world. - Bhutanese Refugees"

As you walk into the camps, you begin to see an array of people engaged in various activities. The camp which had seemed silent from a distance, now seems to have come alive. While parents keep busy with household chores, children play in little alleys between the row of huts and firewood piles.

Food and daily necessities are distributed through numerous distribution centers. At each distribution center, sacks of food are carefully weighed and allocated to different sectors within the camp. A sector head, elected by the refugees, is charged with further distributing the food to each household. Food is precious, so not even a fistfull of rice is allowed to go to waste. The distribution centers have the hubbub and feel of a sunday produce market, except there is no buying and selling activity.

A health center provided basic heath care. Severe medical cases were referred to hospitals in nearby towns. Two Red Cross ambulances provided daily transportation to the hospitals.
The refugees, in general, did not portray signs of malnutrition and diseases. These problems, which had previously caused up to 14 deaths per day at the camps, had been brought under control.
More pressing problems related to alcoholism and gambling. Most of the adults, especially men, had little to do during the day and spent their time gambling or drinking. When asked if they had thought about finding a job in a neighboring village to generate some income for their families, most of them replied that they did not feel the need to find a job because they were being given enough to eat.

Education had been provided to children from grades 1 through 8. Adult literacy programs had also been initiated, mostly for women because men were generally literate or refused to attend classes.
Relief organizations had recruited a large number of refugees to help in the relief work. To promote the social life at the camps, recreation equipment for board games and volleyball had been made available to the refugees.

Although the camp authority was fully male dominated, most of the manual labor required to maintain its daily functions was provided by women, who carried sacks of food from the distribution points and helped with the transportation of bamboo and tarpaulin for construction of huts.

The role of women in the household and the camp community was strikingly visible.

Little girls no more that 10 years of age were already helping their mothers fetch water, wash clothes and do the dishes.

Some children ran their own businesses.

When the Lhotshampas organized the demonstrations and rallies in Bhutan during September and October of 1990, the Bhutanese Government despatched the army to arrest demonstrators.

The Lhotshampas kept up their protest by discreetly putting up posters in public areas denouncing the laws that were imposed upon them. Numerous people were killed or wounded while trying to put up these posters. Displaying the marks left by the bullet wound, the man pictured on the left related his story to me - "I was being lifted by two friends and was sticking this poster on the wall when suddenly, a soldier appeared out of the corner and fired his gun without warning." Despite the leg wound, he managed to escape with help from friends.

Most of the refugees who had been thrown into prison charged with being an "anti national" were denied a trial and suffered abuse and morbid living conditions in the cells. Mr. Khadananda Homagain (pictured left) displays marks of a cut made by a rifle butt slammed against his forehead by an army personnel while he was in prison. He was released after he agreed to leave Bhutan immediately. He was forcefully made to declare with a smile in front of a video camera that he was leaving Bhutan of his own will. He was also forced to sign some papers that claimed that he had sold his property to a Drukpa. A few weeks later, while in the refugee camp, he found out from recently arrived refugees that his house had been burned down by the army a couple of days after his departure.

Many of the refugees had documents to prove that they were legal citizens of Bhutan (shown on the left).

At most camps, there were dozens of rape victims. One of such victims was the lady in the picture to the left. Her husband had been involved in the demonstrations and when the army had been despatched to arrest the demonstrators, he had fled to the hills. She had been staying with her parents when the army had come to the house, dragged her away and raped her. She got gotten pregnant and after fleeing to Nepal had given birth to a daughter in the refugee camp. Her husband, who had managed to escape to Nepal was living in another refugee camp but refused to visit her due to the illegitimate child.

Although years have passed since the arrival of the refugees at the camps, there is uncertainty about their future. Their sole life-line is the humanitarian aid that flows to them through the relief organizations working under the supervision of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Despite their nebulous future, the refugees seem busily engaged in various household, administrative, as well as recreational activities - as if this was the only way to relieve themselves of their pain and suffering.

A woman recounted her story of loss. Her husband and son had been charged with involvement in "anti-national activities" and arrested by the army. A couple of months after the arrest, she had heard from a neighbor who had been released from jail that her husband had died due to brutal beatings. Her son had been taken away elsewhere. She recalls, "I kept waiting for my son to come home. Some of the people who had been arrested came home and took their families away to Nepal. But my son never came. The army started coming to our house and seeing that there were only women and children, started to molest my daughter-in-law. I was helpless. It was unbearable to see her being abused so I decided to bring her to Nepal." She says that she still does not know what happened to her son and has given up hope for his return. It had been more than a year since her son's arrest.

As you walk through the camp, the refugees take time to greet you and smile at you, or at least stare at you curiously. Some of them sit motionless by their huts lost in deep thought. Others are busy going about their lives. Some are organizing weddin ceremonies while others are settling local disputes. When you ask the refugees what they think about their future, you get a simple and frank answer: "whatever God has intended for us."

Bhutanese Refugees -   Glimpses of Nepal -   Bookmarks -   d a b a l i


	To get to the refugee camps, one has to drive on winding dirt roads through mustard fields or forested land for at least half an hour. The forest clears out all of sudden and distinct rows of huts with blue and white tarpaulin roofs appear in the clearing. It seems as if you have come upon a civilization long hidden from the rest of the world.

	A sign board at the entrance reads: "Bhutan is our homeland. We had been there for generations. We had land and house to live. We were productive farmers, self-reliant and peace loving people. We want to go back to our home early. It is plead to our well wishers to send us back with dignity, safety, security and assurance of our human rights. So the money you are spending on us can be saved for future calamities or spared to other destitute in the world. - Bhutanese Refugees"

	As you walk into the camps, you begin to see an array of people engaged in various activities. The camp which had seemed silent from a distance, now seems to have come alive. While parents keep busy with household chores, children play in little alleys between the row of huts and firewood piles.

	Food and daily necessities are distributed through numerous distribution centers. At each distribution center, sacks of food are carefully weighed and allocated to different sectors within the camp. A sector head, elected by the refugees, is charged with further distributing the food to each household. Food is precious, so not even a fistfull of rice is allowed to go to waste. The distribution centers have the hubbub and feel of a sunday produce market, except there is no buying and selling activity.

	A health center provided basic heath care. Severe medical cases were referred to hospitals in nearby towns. Two Red Cross ambulances provided daily transportation to the hospitals. The refugees, in general, did not portray signs of malnutrition and diseases. These problems, which had previously caused up to 14 deaths per day at the camps, had been brought under control. More pressing problems related to alcoholism and gambling. Most of the adults, especially men, had little to do during the day and spent their time gambling or drinking. When asked if they had thought about finding a job in a neighboring village to generate some income for their families, most of them replied that they did not feel the need to find a job because they were being given enough to eat.



	Education had been provided to children from grades 1 through 8. Adult literacy programs had also been initiated, mostly for women because men were generally literate or refused to attend classes. Relief organizations had recruited a large number of refugees to help in the relief work. To promote the social life at the camps, recreation equipment for board games and volleyball had been made available to the refugees.
	Although the camp authority was fully male dominated, most of the manual labor required to maintain its daily functions was provided by women, who carried sacks of food from the distribution points and helped with the transportation of bamboo and tarpaulin for construction of huts.

	The role of women in the household and the camp community was strikingly visible.

	Little girls no more that 10 years of age were already helping their mothers fetch water, wash clothes and do the dishes.

	Some children ran their own businesses.

	When the Lhotshampas organized the demonstrations and rallies in Bhutan during September and October of 1990, the Bhutanese Government despatched the army to arrest demonstrators. The Lhotshampas kept up their protest by discreetly putting up posters in public areas denouncing the laws that were imposed upon them. Numerous people were killed or wounded while trying to put up these posters. Displaying the marks left by the bullet wound, the man pictured on the left related his story to me - "I was being lifted by two friends and was sticking this poster on the wall when suddenly, a soldier appeared out of the corner and fired his gun without warning." Despite the leg wound, he managed to escape with help from friends.

	Most of the refugees who had been thrown into prison charged with being an "anti national" were denied a trial and suffered abuse and morbid living conditions in the cells. Mr. Khadananda Homagain (pictured left) displays marks of a cut made by a rifle butt slammed against his forehead by an army personnel while he was in prison. He was released after he agreed to leave Bhutan immediately. He was forcefully made to declare with a smile in front of a video camera that he was leaving Bhutan of his own will. He was also forced to sign some papers that claimed that he had sold his property to a Drukpa. A few weeks later, while in the refugee camp, he found out from recently arrived refugees that his house had been burned down by the army a couple of days after his departure.

	Many of the refugees had documents to prove that they were legal citizens of Bhutan (shown on the left).

	At most camps, there were dozens of rape victims. One of such victims was the lady in the picture to the left. Her husband had been involved in the demonstrations and when the army had been despatched to arrest the demonstrators, he had fled to the hills. She had been staying with her parents when the army had come to the house, dragged her away and raped her. She got gotten pregnant and after fleeing to Nepal had given birth to a daughter in the refugee camp. Her husband, who had managed to escape to Nepal was living in another refugee camp but refused to visit her due to the illegitimate child.

	Although years have passed since the arrival of the refugees at the camps, there is uncertainty about their future. Their sole life-line is the humanitarian aid that flows to them through the relief organizations working under the supervision of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Despite their nebulous future, the refugees seem busily engaged in various household, administrative, as well as recreational activities - as if this was the only way to relieve themselves of their pain and suffering.

	A woman recounted her story of loss. Her husband and son had been charged with involvement in "anti-national activities" and arrested by the army. A couple of months after the arrest, she had heard from a neighbor who had been released from jail that her husband had died due to brutal beatings. Her son had been taken away elsewhere. She recalls, "I kept waiting for my son to come home. Some of the people who had been arrested came home and took their families away to Nepal. But my son never came. The army started coming to our house and seeing that there were only women and children, started to molest my daughter-in-law. I was helpless. It was unbearable to see her being abused so I decided to bring her to Nepal." She says that she still does not know what happened to her son and has given up hope for his return. It had been more than a year since her son's arrest.

	As you walk through the camp, the refugees take time to greet you and smile at you, or at least stare at you curiously. Some of them sit motionless by their huts lost in deep thought. Others are busy going about their lives. Some are organizing weddin ceremonies while others are settling local disputes. When you ask the refugees what they think about their future, you get a simple and frank answer: "whatever God has intended for us."