Meet the Dhakal Family
Meet the Dhakal Family
The Dhakal family are just a few of the thousands displaced by conflict between Nepal and Bhutan. After decades of residing in a Nepali refugee camp, Surjay, Tulasa, Bishal and Bibhu reached the United States two months ago. As they sit around their furnished living room, they recall vivid memories of life in the camps before they fled to the United States.
A Brief History
The conflict between Nepal and Bhutan dates back to the late 1800s when Nepali residents began immigrating to southern Bhutan in search of work. This group of immigrants became known as Lhotsampas (“People of the South”) and remained generally peaceful and separated from the Druk Buddhist majority who lived in the northern part of the country.
In 1958 a law was passed in Bhutan that allowed those who had immigrated from Nepal to gain Bhutanese citizenship but this group generally maintained their Nepali language, culture and religion even with this change in citizenship. Unfortunately, in the 1980s the ruling majority began to fear the influence and growth of the Lhotsampa population in the south and pushed for greater integration and assimilation of the Lhotsampa into the Druk culture, dress and religious traditions. This push by the leaders lead to conflict, and occasionally violence, between the two groups and ultimately resulted an announcement that any Lhotsampas who could not prove that they were residents of Bhutan before 1958 had to leave.
Families who had long established lives and families in Bhutan were forced from their homes to a land they may never really have been familiar with. A greater problem arose when Nepal would not recognize that those who were being expelled from Bhutan could now become citizens of Nepal. This group of refugees was then forced to live in refugee camps until they could find a permanent home elsewhere, as neither Bhutan nor Nepal would claim them as citizens.
Life in the Camps
In Nepal, seven refugee camps exist to house Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, and they are all located on the Eastern half of the country. The camps are supported by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Red Cross; these organizations provide assistance with food, education and healthcare, but only deliver enough to maintain refugees’ most basic needs.
Goldhap refugee camp, one of the smallest camps in Nepal, was the first place the Dhakal family was sent after the conflict arose that displaced their entire population. Later they were relocated to Beldangi, a camp with a slightly larger population, but with the same lack of infrastructure and resources.
Surjay describes the refugee camps in Nepal as desolate places where food and water were scarce. He also mentions that there was no electricity or fuel, meaning incredibly cold nights could only be combated by an extra set of blankets. And boredom was rampant. No job opportunities existed in the camp- except for teaching, but there was an incredibly limited amount of opportunities for even that. Surjay volunteered as a camp administrator, and Tulasa volunteered for the woman’s forum, both helping facilitate camp operations.
Each family received food every two weeks which consisted of salt, sugar, lentils, rice and vegetable oil. They were required to stand in line to receive a jug of water which was distributed twice daily. They also received coal for making fires and cooking food, but one of the complications that arose out of the distribution of coal was house fires. The use of flammable straw to build roofs of houses coupled with the close proximity of homes has caused an unfortunate surge in these house fires. Surjay recalled a time when his family found themselves homeless after their house burnt down during a large fire that tore through the whole camp; most of the camp lost everything they owned that day.
Arrival to the United States
After arriving to the United States, Surjay’s amazement was unmistakable. He describes the difference between Nepal and the United States as night and day. Everything was a surprise. Having access to heat and air conditioning for the first time in decades was enough to astonish his family and him. However, they still have a number of roadblocks to overcome before becoming fully integrated into the United States. At this point, they still need to finish their mandatory English language and employment classes before beginning to look for work. Without a family car, transportation has been problematic and they either walk or rely on the bus system to get where they need to go. As they continue in the process towards self sufficiency, the family worries about this lack of reliable transportation and the issues it will bring as they move forward in their lives in the US.