BHUTAN: Forgotten
People of Shangri-la
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 [Ed.
Note: In the last issue of Human Rights SOLIDARITY we
published an article on Bhutanese refugee issue. In
October 1999, Sanjeewa Liyanage from AHRC was able to
visit a refugee camp in Jhapa district in Nepal. This
article is an account of that visit illustrated by
numerous pictures.]
It was a beautiful evening in the month
of October this year in Katmandu valley in Nepal. The
weather was pleasantly cool, sun shining and snow-covered
Himalayas was picturesque scene.
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That evening I boarded to a 50-minute domestic
flight from Katmandu to Biratnagar. Biratnagar is one of the
important cities of Nepal where a lot of industries are.
When I arrived in Biratnagar, the sun was
setting painting the sky golden. Weather was warmer than
Katmandu. Two NGO workers from People's Forum met me for Human
Rights (PFHR) at the airport. It was dusk when we started our
60km-journey by land to the town named Damak in Jhapa district
where most the Bhutanese refugees are camped. We passed so many
bridges on the way to Damak, which indicated many streams and
rivers. When we arrived in Damak it was about 8:00 p.m. Damak was
a very rural town with very basic facilities. There I also met
Ratan Gazmere of Association of Human Rights Activists (AHURA)
Bhutan.
Background
to Bhutanese Refugees The
story is of a tiny land-locked kingdom, Bhutan in the
foothills of Himalayas. Nestling between Tibet and India,
Bhutan is commonly portrayed as Shangri-la,but behind the
enchanting image of a land lost in time, lurks a more
disturbing reality of victimization, forced eviction, and
depopulation.
Until 1985 there was no animosity
recorded in Bhutan despite its ethnic diversity and
Bhutan was indeed called the Land of Peaceful Dragon.
Crisis began when the government passed a new Citizenship
Act, which was discriminatory. The subsequent census
exercise in the kingdom in 1988 which was carried out
only in the Nepali speaking southern districts revoked
their right to nationality in a large number who
otherwise had lived in harmony as bona-fide Bhutanese
citizens for generations. As a result thousands of
southern Bhutanese people (Lhotshampas) lost home, land
and livelihood within a short period of time.
Distress among Southern Bhutanese
further grew in 1989 when they were forced to adopt
culture and etiquette characteristic of Northern
Bhutanese under threat of punishment. Nepali, the
language of the Southern Bhutanese was dropped from the
school curriculum.
The southern Bhutanese petitioned the
king through their representative, T.N.Rizal to seek a
review of the government policies and the manner in which
the census was carried out, but all in vain. Following a
series arrest and imprisonment of human rights activists
including T.N.Rizal in September and October 1990, the
southern Bhutanese organised peaceful public
demonstrations in all the southern districts of the
country demanding political reforms and respect for human
rights. The result was awfully tragic. It ended in
ruthless government atrocities and forced evictions of
the southern Bhutanese.
Now there are well over 100,000
Bhutanese people who have been forced into exile as
refugees in Nepal and India. This figure is equal to
one-sixth of the total population of Bhutan. Over 90,000
of these refugees are living in UNHCR supervised camps in
Jhapa and Morong districts of eastern Nepal since 1991.
Approximately 30,000 others are living outside the camps
in Nepal and India.
(Source: AHURA Bhutan)
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Picture 1:
Bhutanese refugees gathered at PFHR office in Damak
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Next morning I visited
PFHR office where there were refugees from all 7 camps in
Damak area. There were people from all generations,
children to great grand parents. They all had their
stories to tell. They were waiting for someone to visit
them. They were waiting to tell their stories. Their aim?
To find some redress from anyone who visit them. The
ultimate aim was to return to their own lands in Bhutan.
They were all holding their identity documents
when I wanted to take a picture of them. This scene was
very common whenever I wanted to take a picture. Most
adults were holding their identity documents. These
documents are important evidence to prove that they are
citizens of Bhutan and have been living there for years.
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Citizenship Act
and How It All Happened The
citizenship issue is the key issue affecting their fate.
Bhutanese government does not recognise them as Bhutanese
citizens. Who are they? They are Lohtchampas or southern
Bhutanese among them most are of Nepali origin. They are
people without a state, mothers without a state, fathers
without a state, grandfathers without a state,
grandmothers without a state and children without a
state. Terminology used to describe them is
"stateless people." But actually, they are
landless people who have lost their lands in Bhutan. Most
of them are farmers. Their livelihood is very much
attached to their land. In fact land is like their life.
They lived in their lands, cultivated them for
generations and made decent living out of it. But a piece
of paper made them disown their lands. That was the
Bhutanese Citizenship Act of 1985. Also the same paper
made Bhutan disown over 120,000 people.
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Picture 2 and 3: Refugees
holding his Bhutanese identity document
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Bhutanese authorities just did not disown them,
they subjected them to atrocious treatment. They were subjected
to atrocious treatment such as arbitrary arrests, torture and
detentions without trial, village raids and widespread inhuman
and degrading treatment of the southern Bhutanese, including gang
rape; the closure of almost all schools in southern Bhutan; the
restriction of health services; a ban on the movement of
essential commodities and people; confiscation of citizenship
cards and termination of employment; burning and demolition of
houses. Such treatment systematically made life for Lohtchampas
unbearable and finally drove them out of their lands and their
country - Bhutan.
Refugee
Exodus and Setting up of Camps in Southern Nepal
Bhutanese fleeing Bhutan in early 1991 first
arrived in Assam and West Bengal in India. They set up
makeshift camps and hoped for the situation to normalize.
Instead, as the situation in Bhutan worsened and the
refugees were not permitted to set up permanent camps in
India. From August 1991, the influx of refugees increased
at the rate of 1,000 a month. The flow of refugees leaped
in February 1992 to a massive 10,000 per month. The
period from February to March 1992 saw the refugee
population rise to 48,000.
Conditions at Maidhar in late 1991 were
grim, but the refugee leaders quickly organised
themselves and sought help from the local community.
Local Nepalese responded with donations of rice, bamboo,
money and wood. However, with thousands to feed and
shelter it was becoming impossible to manage. Many died
and hundreds suffered from malnutrition and diseases.
Urgent appeals for help resulted in
assistance from Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and in
adhoc humanitarian relief from UNHCR at the end of 1991.
Following formal requests from the Nepalese government,
UNHCR began regular assistance to the Bhutanese refugees
at the beginning of 1992.UNHCR now channels its
assistance through its implementing partners.
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There are 7 refugee Bhutanese refugee camps
located in Jhapa and Morang Distict of Eastern Nepal. Refugee
camp population as of June 1999 as follows:

Picture 4: Administrative
buildings of Bedangi II main camp
Bhutanese Refugee Camp
Population - June 1999
Beldangi I |
16,587
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Beldangi II |
20,726
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Beldangi II Extension |
10,517
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Goldhap |
8,643
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Khudunabari |
12,124
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Sanischare |
18,829
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Timai |
9,191
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Total |
96,617
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Data Source:
Refugee Coordination Unit, His Majesty's Government of Nepal and
AHURA Bhutan
The camp I visited was
the largest camp, which is Beldangi II which accommodate
about 30,000 refugees. There were many people waiting at
the camp supervisor's office to meet us. Among the first
group I met was about 7 former members of the Bhutanese
National Assembly. They discussed their concerned with me
through an interpreter. They all have been expelled from
the National Assembly following the events occurred after
enacting of 1985 Citizenship Act. According to them,
among all 7 camps there are about 18 former national
assembly members. |

Picture 5: Former
Bhutanese National Assembly members (seated) at the
Beldangi II Camp
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Atmosphere
The first impression of the camp was like a very
rural village. People lived in mud huts the huts had
straw roofs. There was not much space between houses.
They were all next to each other. They looked identical.
Each house had its section and house number.
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Picture 6: Typical
refugee house made of straw and mud
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Picture 9: Water
containers lined up near a tap by refugees have to
receive allocated water rations
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There was electricity to
the area. The water was scarce and rationed. People had
to line up to obtain water, which was dispensed at
allocated times. There was not a single telephone among
all 7 camps. Can you imagine that there is not a single
telephone for about 100,000 refugees? The only emergency
access to outside the camp was the Refugee Coordination
Unit radio transmitter, which could only be accessed by
the officials in the camps from Royal Nepal Government. |
There was small clinic to cater for medical
needs of the refugees. Just one clinic operated only for a few
hours for about 20,00 refugees in the Beldangi II main camp. Food
was rationed too. Once a week food was distributed among the
refugees. They included some rice and "green
vegetables." Green vegetables meant unripe bananas and
potatoes. There was some minimum education facilities for
children. However, they lacked many standard educational
materials and books.

Pictures 7 &
8: Distribution of vegetables (unripe bananas and potatoes)
to refugees
One thing struck me during my visit was that
these people have been living there for about 10 years without
doing nothing. They wake up in the morning and have to spend the
day doing nothing. According to many refugees I spoke to this
experience make them feel very frustrated. They all are people
who used to work hard in their fields and make good living. They
only could farm small plots in the refugee camp now. But of
course that does not make them feel the way they used to feel:
sense of self-reliance and satisfaction. According to many they
feel loss of hope and uncertainty about their and their young
generation's future.

Pictures 10 &
11: Chabilal Daurali who was brave to share his
experience of torture under Bhutanese authorities and
even displayed scars on his back
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Among the refugees in the
camp there are many who have been subjected to torture by
the Bhutanese authorities. There were many women who have
been raped by the Bhutanese authorities - military or
police. They were all in the camps. One of the persons we
managed to talk to was 38-year-old Chabilal Dhaurali. He
was tortured when he was captured by the Bhutanese
authorities. When he described his experience in the
torture chamber his face was full of terror and his eyes
were full of tears. He said that reliving his experience
itself is a torture. But he wanted to describe his
experience for the sake of fellow torture victims. He
even removed his upper garments to show all horrible
marks of torture. |
More than 50% of the refugee
population (about 50,000 persons) includes people of 3
generations. In some cases there were 4 generations of
refugees living in the camps. The grand parents and great
grand parents were a living testimony for their existence
and life in Bhutan. Old folks spend their time reading or
praying. The biggest frustration of the adults was their
uncertain future. They were also very unhappy that they
had nothing to do in the camps than just waiting. They
have now waited for about 10 years. There were a lot of
bilateral talks between Nepali and Bhutanese government
(which is perceived the best way to find a solution by
the Nepali authorities) within last 10 years. So far
these talks have not brought any redress to refugees in
terms of their future. When we ask these people what is
their goal the answer is simple: "we want to return
to our country -- Bhutan, we want to go back to our
homes." |

Picture 12:
Rukmina Baral (57-year-old Mother), Damaru Baral
(41-year-old son) and Monoj Baral (8-year-old grandson of
Rukmina's) relating their story
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The most disturbing scene was the young and
beautiful children. You could see so many messages written in
their faces. They were beautiful and innocent faces. There was
anxiety, despair written on those faces. You could see sincerity
at the same time you could see that they were not happy faces.
They smiled at me out of courtesy and hospitality. The only thing
they could give me was their beautiful smile. Most of these
children were born in the camps. The whole world for them is the
refugee camp they live. They know that their country is Bhutan.
But they have never seen it or felt their feet on its ground. The
big question is that when will these children see their homes
again? Other questions were when will these children see a proper
class room for their studies? What will they be when they grow
up? Where will they belong to?

Pictures 13, 14
& 15: Children without clear future
What was the hope? There were many groups and
individuals who have been working painstakingly for the cause of
Bhutanese refugees. Some of the NGO groups are based in Damak
itself. I was able to meet representative from People's Forum for
Human Rights (PFHR) who generously sacrificed their time and
effort to coordinate the whole visit to Jhapa and Bhutanese
Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee (BRRRC) which focus
on repatriation issue.
I also me AHURA and its coordinator Mr. Ratan
Gazmere who is doing an impressive work for Bhutanese refugees.
AHURA has also compiled documentation on Bhutanese refugees which
is available at their web site at: http://members.tripod.com/ahurabht/
AHURA together with other concerned groups have tried
to put the Bhutanese issue in the international scene and have
made numerous representations at United Nations level. One of the
main objectives of AHURA is to assist refugees to prove their
citizenship issue. Ratan Gazmere believe that finding a solution
to refugee crisis should be on top of all other Bhutanese issues.
There are humanitarian agencies assisting
refugees in the camps among them were The Nepal Red Cross Society
(NRCS) and World Food Programme (WFP) who distribute food and
clothing, Lutheran World Service (LWS) who provide
infra-structure, Caritas Nepal run educational facilities, Save
the Children Fund (SCF) (UK) who assist in health care and health
education and OXFAM-UK who provide community development
activities. But more than material needs, these refugees also
need support and solidarity. Their morale is very low. You could
imagine waiting for 10 years without seeing any sign of hope. If
more people from outside Nepal could just visit these people,
talk to them, listen to them and be with them for a few days,
that will be a great moral encouragement for them. Such
experiences create hope for thousands of people. Moreover, if
more individuals and organisations could help make awareness of
the Bhutanese refugee issue, taking part in activities of groups
campaigning for the cause of refugees like AHURA, such acts would
help the expedite finding a solution to the Bhutanese refugee
crisis.
(Note: Some factual information contained in
this article is taken from materials published by AHURA Bhutan)

Posted on 2000-02-20
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