Bhutanese facing resettlement ‘hassle’

By.Chetan Adhikari.

The third country resettlement programme has become more of a hassle than convenience for a large number of Bhutanese refugees at Beldangi Camp in the district. Frequent delays in their resettlement process have taken its toll on those vying for resettlement.

For instance, Lok Bahadur Bhattarai, his wife and four children were all set with their bags packed to fly to Canada 13 months ago. However, due to unspecified reasons they failed to live their dream. It is the fourth time their resettlement date has been postponed. Each time they sell their belongings to prepare for their resettlement and give their shanty to others, they are compelled to start afresh.

The Bhattarai couple remains ignorant as to why the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) postponed their resettlement repeatedly. However, despite frequent delays in the resettlement programme, they are still clinging on to it with a glimmer of hope.Likewise, Tilak Bahadur Bhattrai of Shanty Number 39 at the camp in Beldangi-3, who applied for resettlement four years ago, was called for interviews many times. However, for the past one year he has neither been called for an interview nor has his process gained momentum. In a letter addressed to the camp manager’s office, Tilak has stated that the UNHCR did not contact him after his confession about his stint in the Bhutanese armed forces and his friends’ visits to the camp. His three daughters have resettled in the US while the family has been living in the camp with a young daughter.

Likewise, a family has been facing problems for the past five years due to inaccuracies in dates recorded by the UNHCR’s interviewer and one recorded by the Nepal government official regarding the time they were driven away by the Bhutanese government. The UNHCR

US resettles 75,000 Bhutanese refugees from Camps.

Of the nearly 89,000 Bhutanese refugees resettled in the third countries so far, the United States of America (USA) alone has resettled 75,000 Bhutanese refugees as of Tuesday. 

According to the US embassy in Kathmandu, the 75,000th refugee from Bhutan departed from Nepal for the USA on Tuesday. 

Forty-four-year-old Tilak Chand Ghimire left Nepal with his wife, 12-year-old daughter and 75-year-old parents to start a new life in Akron, Ohio