By:Tu-Uygen Trans.
A group of Bhutanese refugees who once sheltered in Nepal say they plan to essentially adopt a village damaged by two earthquakes in that country.The group wants to provide "lasting relief" that would rebuild homes and provide help with health care costs, not just buy emergency supplies, said Kul Basnet, a leader in the Bhutanese community in Fargo.
They're looking for a village in need in the Sindhupalchowk District, a mountainous hard-to-reach area northeast of the capital Kathmandu. More than a thousand people were reportedly killed there and many homes destroyed after the April 25 earthquake. Another quake followed on Tuesday.
The effort is centered on the Namaste Grocery store, one of two Bhutanese grocery stores in Fargo, and the Bhutanese Buddha Society of North Dakota, a Fargo-based nonprofit group. Basnet is an owner of the store as well as a translator with Lutheran Social Services.
He said he and his friends wanted to help Nepal because Nepal had helped them, and they hoping others in the Fargo area will join the cause.
Bhutanese refugees are victims of Bhutan's ethnic cleansing policy against its Nepali minority, they say. Many still live in refugee camps in eastern Nepal.
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