Understandably, as these large numbers of people are beginning their new life in these countries, they are facing number of settlement challenges. Some of these challenges are comparatively easy issues that will get resolved during the course of resettlement but there are others without less obvious solutions and people have to learn to find ways of coping. In my personal opinion, new immigrants in these countries have to take especial efforts in making their transition smooth and quicker by taking some initiatives, being proactive and adapting by listening to the settlement agencies, people who have settled earlier and gone through the same process and those who have good knowledge of the settlement process.

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Keshab’s aim lives up as high as sky as he has a strapping dream of becoming a scientist in future. A brilliant student in Science and Mathematics, he perhaps finds a bit odd in the circle of his American friends at the school. “I have learned so many things from my friends and yet I feel I got to learn many things,” says Keshab.

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After living for more than 20 years in a refugee camp in Nepal, Ram Rai is very happy to be settled here. “We had nothing there. I want to thank America for giving us a chance to start a new life,” the 30-year-old man said during a recent interview at Lutheran Social Services of New England, where he is a caseworker. “We are struggling, but hopefully we can pass through this phase and make a contribution to America.” Rai, whose family moved from Nepal to Bhutan four generations ago, was among the ethnic Nepali driven from Bhutan about 20 years ago. The government was bent on having a “one people, one nation policy,” he says.

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Although two of the ministers in the first elected democratic government of Bhutan are of Nepali origin, many people of Nepali origin who still live in Bhutan whisper about the injustices. The stringent rule for jobs, where a no-objection certificate (NOC) is mandatory is one such example. If any member of the family was ever involved in any anti-government (read anti-monarchy) activity, you will not get the NOC. The vague definitions of such activities, left for the interpretation of local authorities at their own discretion, further makes things difficult for people like Shyam Bahadur Darnal. A taxi driver dressed in the traditional ‘national dress’ – Gho or Bakkhu – welcomes me to Bhutan. He introduces himself as Shakti Gurung. A mixed stream of emotions churns inside me with the soothing breeze and altered landscape. Had I not visited the ‘refugee camp’ in Jhapa district of Nepal just a few days ago, I would also have taken the beauty at face value like many tourists in Bhutan.

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Although with no physical vision but with clear mental vision to correct my vision loss and to make a better living, I headed to Australia on January 30, 2009 through resettlement program. I have a Daisy player to read books recorded in CDs. Life has certainly become easy and simple. We receive 1600 dollars every fortnight from the government to earn livelihood and I earn 500 dollars every fortnight from work. The government is stable and the support is not subject to decrease. Every year, as consumer price index increases, the government increases little bit in the benefits. Medical facility is free for all under the provision of Medicare Australia and medication can be purchased at the concession rate. The only difficulty I have here is that I don’t find friends who were of great value to me. Also, I find no efforts taken for voluntary repatriation. If fortune favors, I love to see all the resettled Bhutanese around the world in the near future and go back to Bhutan, probably holding an Australian passport. Although my dream of correcting my eyesight by getting resettled in a third country is shattered but I am glad that it provided me ample opportunities to live a far better life.

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Where could Zangpo be? Though the Bhutanese regime is extremely secretive about its political prisoners, rumours about his presence in a certain jail continue to float around in the camps. According to a refugee, a few months back, a police personnel saw Zangpo in a Bhutanese jail. Another refugee claims that he’s detained in Chemgang, which is notorious as a death camp. But Chemgang, which has the largest number of political prisoners, is frequently visited by ICRC, and new prisoners will be highlighted by the organisation—which seems unlikely in Zangpo’s case. Balaram Paudel, president of Bhutan People’s Party, says that Zangpo might have been taken to Dradulmakhang, an underground army prison—Bhutanese refugee leader Tek Nath Rizal has described this jail as a place “whose very name evoked fear.”

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Harka, 68, admits he is fighting a losing battle against his grown-up sons. So far resettlement has been the only solution offered. In 2006, following 15 rounds of failed bilateral negotiations between the Bhutanese and Nepali governments, Washington offered an alternative: moving to America. Within a year more than 25,000 refugees had applied for resettlement in the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. A further 15,000 are expected to be resettled by the end of this year, while 50,000 more have registered. Harka was one of the first 100 refugees to arrive in Damak, one of the six settlements in Jhapa district in south-eastern Nepal. He says they had a good life in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, where he was a government official and owned a large farm. But in 1989, threatened by the prosperous Hindu Nepali-speaking minority, the government imposed a policy of Bhutanisation. Under the policy "one nation, one people", only Buddhism, Bhutan's main religion, could be practiced, while a Bhutanese dress code, culture and language was enforced.

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Yet again exiled Bhutanese in Diaspora have proven that their struggle for justice continues. For rulers in Bhutan, the Vermont-based recently concluded Gross National Happiness (GNH) conference might have milked out a lesson that their “lies” will henceforth be limited only within Bhutan. We focused on how to resolve the long standing crisis rather than exchange of words over the past grievances; the idea being, regardless of what happened in the past, now it’s about time to start fresh to come to terms. There is a whole generation of Bhutanese who were born in Bhutan, brought up in exile but have become victims of the unfortunate development in Bhutan beginning late 80s. They have no idea about the Southern Bhutan problem. Twenty years have passed and no permanent solution has come into sight. It’s about time to see the crisis with a different approach. Some of the great ideas we came upon discussion were: intellectual circles should begin writing positive messages in the media that reflects no or less anger, building people to people contact with a positive attitude, make an effort to reach out between groups from both the sides and approach to resolve the issue peacefully.

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It is difficult to believe the news of the death of a person who was always there for you in any situation—be it personal, family, social or national. I found it hard to believe (I still do) when I first heard about Madan Tamang’s leaving us forever. It sank in gradually, and left a vacuum that will never be filled. In Madan Daju’s murder, Darjeeling lost a great leader the likes of whom may not come for a long time. We Bhutanese lost a great supporter and a well wisher. There were those who were in to for name and fame. He was in it for truth. May 21, 2010 is a sad day for many Bhutanese in exile. We lost Madan Tamang, Darjeeling-based Gorkhali leader, one of our greatest well-wishers, supporters and a strong think-tank for the struggle of the Bhutanese refugees for their rights and for democracy in Bhutan. Since I met Madan Tamang for the first time in 1995 in Darjeeling, he had been my mentor and a family friend, as he has been to many Bhutanese activists and leaders alike. He had become “Madan Daju” for many of us. Fate took a cruel turn, when an armed mob, descended on Madan Daju, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League, and stabbed him to death in broad daylight.

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No matter how much qualified you are when you come as a refugee in US. The first job the resettlement agencies help refugees to find is an entry level or that involve the physical work as a manual laborer. All Bhutanese refugees are unskilled except for those who has a Phd. The work experience in refugee camp and in Nepal or India is not accounted by the employers and they need the work experience in US. Very few of the refugees can apply for the job on their own and less of them get by themselves. You need to be referred by someone who already has worked in US or have to go through the agencies. Your certificates are not required for applying to jobs like cashiers, stewards, dishwashers, packaging, stocking, grass cutting and lawn mowing. Semi-skilled jobs like plumbing, electrical wiring, auto-mechanics, masonry also require the US education and training. If you have worked as an auto mechanic in Nepal or India for several years, you have still to wait to get same job even when you are perfect.

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