Bhutan's forgotten people.By Subina Shrestha.

In the early 1990s, Bhutanese of Nepali origin suddenly found themselves stripped of their citizenship. Bhutan enacted a royal decree of single national identity, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalese to leave. For the next two decades, they lived in refugee camps in eastern Nepal. Almost two decades later, Bhutan remains silent on their repatriation.

Filmmaker Subina Shrestha gives her view

Now the refugee camps are emptying with the majority of people resettled in the west. But some want to stay -- clinging on to the hope of returning home, despite reports that Bhutan’s discriminatory policies have left a percentage of its population grossly unhappy.

Bhutan is known to many as the Last Shangri-la; the country of "Gross National Happiness". But behind the façade of a peaceful nation is a state that forcefully drove out a sixth of its population -- an act which has been described as a systematic "ethnic cleansing".

Sabitra Bishwa is one of more than 100,000 Lhotsampas or Bhutanese of Nepalese origin, who found themselves stateless. In the 1980s, Bhutan introduced the policy of "one nation, one people" and alienated the Lhotsampa culture. This was followed by a revision of citizenship laws. Many Lhotsampas found they did not qualify and in the early 1990s, many were forced to leave, reaching the border with India.

But India's government also rejected them, taking them to the border with Nepal. In the 22 years since, the refugees have been unable to return to Bhutan. Without India's support, the Nepalese government has been unable to influence Bhutan. 

In the first of two special programmes,

90,000 exiled Bhutanese resettled

A major landmark was reached today when the 90,000th exiled Bhutanese departed from Nepal for resettlement, UNHCR said in a statement on Tuesday (20 May).

Eleven-year-old Suman Tamang left Kathmandu for Toronto, Canada, accompanied by his parents and younger brother. When they arrive in Toronto on Wednesday they will meet Suman’s aunt and cousin who were resettled three years ago.

“I was very sad to leave my friends behind in the camp, but I am excited to meet my cousin soon,” said Suman, spending some quiet family time at the IOM transit centre in Kathmandu before leaving for the Tribhuvan International Airport. “I hope we will be able to go to the same school which will be fun.”

The resettlement of refugees from Bhutan began in 2007. To date, over 5,800 exiled Bhutanese have been resettled in several communities across Canada, including Charlottetown, Saint-Jérôme, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver. The other resettlement countries are Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The majority of refugees have been resettled in the United States – over 75,000 people.

The Chairperson of the Core Group of eight resettlement countries, British Ambassador to Nepal, Mr. Andy Sparkes said, “This is another important step towards resolving one of the most protracted refugee situations in Asia. This has been possible due to the strong support of the Government of Nepal and the excellent cooperation between the resettlement countries, UNHCR and IOM. The courage and resilience of the refugees has been a great motivation for us to continue our engagement with this refugee population.”

Of the some 27,000 refugees remaining in the camps, about 21,000 have already expressed an interest in resettlement and are expected to depart in the coming years.

A major exercise is underway in the camps in eastern Nepal in which refugees wishing to be considered for Group Resettlement are required to submit a Declaration of Interest (DOI) form to UNHCR before the deadline of 30 June 2014. After this date, no new DOI forms will be accepted and the Group Resettlement process will only continue for those who have formally submitted the DOI form to UNHCR before the deadline.

Source:Bhutan News Network