The invisible face of Bhutan

New Delhi: On September 21, 2022, a few dozen Nepalis-Bhutanese got collected at Dag Hammarskjold Park in New York to bring the attention of the United Nations and the world leaders assembled at the UN headquarters to their plight.

The protestors, carrying banners of peace and justice, organised a silent protest hoping to draw the attention of the World leaders collected at the UN headquarters in New York demanding a better future, reconciliation and a visit to their motherland.

According to the Sampan news, around 110,000 Bhutanese were given refuge in the USA and around 15,000 in eight western countries when they were forced to leave Bhutan and live in Nepal refugee camps in the early 1990s.

They showed concern for the family members who were considered Stateless living in Nepal and Bhutan with bleak futures and not allowed to meet their loved ones living in other counties.

In a letter to Ambassador Doma Tshering, Bhutan Ambassador at UN in New York, the members and partners of Peace Initiative Bhutan suggested that "they are concerned about issues affecting the Lhotshampa community in Bhutan and the diaspora.

"We are worried about the pain and suffering caused by the family separation. Several Bhutanese still live in refugee camps in Nepal, and some political prisoners face life sentences."

In Bhutan, around 50 to 100 Nepali-Bhutanese are in detention centres. Many detainees are punished with a life sentence. Some of the families of the detainees were allowed intermittently to meet their families.

In 1989, Bhutan implemented a 1985 Nationality Law, conducted a national census and revoked the citizenship of the Nepali-origin community Lhotshampa living in the south of Bhutan.

About 100,000 Bhutanese from the Lhotshampa community fled Bhutan in 1990 after several dozens were arrested by the Bhutan authorities or forced to leave the country. They tried to first settle in India. They then entered Nepal, where they were given refuge along Nepal's eastern border with India.

Suraj Buathoki, the founder of the Peace Initiative Bhutan, said, "The resettled Bhutanese and their families back in Bhutan are undergoing an unending cycle of human suffering as their families have been separated for decades."

Many elders died without meeting their children or revisiting Bhutan, where they were born. Suraj said that many resettled Bhutanese are longing to visit their motherland at least once before their death.

Suraj and his colleagues offered an olive branch to bring peace. It said, "We are honest and sincere in our call for dialogue and committed to transforming our conflicting society into a peaceful and cohesive society by bridging the gap."

Peace Initiative Bhutan believes that it can resolve these problems through the process of "peacebuilding and reconciliation". Suraj Budathoki and other founder members of the Peace Initiative Bhutan believe that "we can resolve these issues through strategies that have worked in building peace elsewhere. This is an opportunity for Bhutan to show its commitment to the happiness of its people."

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that the resettled Bhutanese in the United States have the highest suicide rate nationally.

The commonly cited reasons are family separation, PTSD, and trauma due to torture and continued suffering during more than two decades in refugee camps in Nepal.

Keeping in view the separation and mental condition of the older generation, they appeal to allow the separated families to meet and bring happiness to their lives.

"The past should not stain our present and future. We believe to our core that we can and must end animosity. We must embrace each other and work on healing the wounds rather than deepening them", added Suraj.

At the outset, Peace Initiative Bhutan desires the ruling Bhutan government to start a peacebuilding process by establishing:
1. Open a line of communication and set up an in-person meeting in early 2023.
2. Establish a tripartite council with the members from the government of Bhutan, Peace Initiative Bhutan, and international peacebuilders or subject matter experts to foster mutual trust and understanding.

In 2009, the United States Refugee Resettlement Program helped around two hundred thousand Bhutan refugees living in Nepal camps to relocate to the United States and some eight western countries. But as of 2021, approximately.

6,300 Bhutanese refugees still are living in two refugee camps in Nepal.

Peace Initiative Bhutan now seeks help from the UN to help diasporic Bhutanese obtain a status allowing them to return "home" to Bhutan. The government currently denies visas to the Nepalis-Bhutanese diaspora.

In addition, there is no approximate data on how many Nepali-Bhutanese are living in Bhutan because the government of Bhutan does not allow the collection of such data. The minority group international states that 250,000 ethnic Nepalis are living in Bhutan. Few Bhutan refugees live in India but are not registered with UNHCR.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and some other international organisations earlier used to bring an annual report on the internal condition. However, the process has not been witnessed for the last few years. However, the US State Department brings out country reports yearly. The US Department of State and Kathmandu post reports that around 6500 refugees live in Nepal camps.