The excerpts:
Heard, your are filling up forms for repatriation?
Subba: Yes. We starting filling up the forms for repatriation three weeks before. There have been massive responses from the community in this aspect. So far, 1,180 households from three Beldangi camps have expressed their interest to go back to Bhutan. This includes more than eight thousand individuals.
Subba helping the fellow-countrymen in filling up repatriation form Photo: Rajendra
What about it in other camps?
The update has not been made yet. But, early responses have shown that several have filled up the forms already. The process is going on and we hope that this number goes high in a week or two.
What is motive behind this?
This is meaningless. What motives do we need for going back to my land? This is the reality. No organizations have backed this initiative. We have little trust on human rights groups and political parties. They have gone almost useless by now. They don’t have programs for repatriation back home.
When the third country resettlement program has taken a giant leap, you have started this campaign. Why?
While starting third country resettlement program, several countries and even the UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, vowed to pressurize international community to put pressure on the Bhutanese regime for taking its citizens. Now over 15 thousand Bhutanese have left camps for relocation. However, no such voices have been raised by resettling countries or the UNHCR. That is why we are compelled to start our own initiative.
Is it true that mostly elderly people in the camps have expressed their interest for repatriation?
Can you find a Bhutanese in camp who says that he doesn’t want to go back to Bhutan? It is not that old-aged people have shown their interests, there is a deep interest in young hearts and we must learn to respect such a feeling of patriotism.
What are you going to do with those forms?
It is a simple mechanism. We will submit the database and declarations of interest to agencies concerned like the UNHCR, refugee resettling core-countries and the government of Nepal. This approach would definitely create pressure on them so that they can think of repatriation as the best and durable option for resolving 18-year-long imbroglio.
How assured are you from this initiative?
This time there has been good media coverage for this initiative. Several televisions including the Kantipur TV highlighted this. Since the step has been taken when there is an alarming interest towards resettlement, we hope this will be a lesson as well. There are cases that some members are going to America or other countries for resettlement while the remaining family members have filled up the repatriation forms. If we all work together, definitely this will have a greater impact on out movement.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Forms! yet again!
The resettlement process and application for it began AFTER countries expressed interest in resettling the Bhutanese refugees. Don’t you think Bhutan needs to express interest in repatriating us before we start filling out these useless forms? Which Bhutanese does not want to repatriate to Bhutan? All of us do. All of those who are now resettled want to go back to Bhutan ONLY IF Bhutan will take them back. Any indication of that yet? Haven’t we been saying that we want to go back for the last 18 years?
Mr. Subba should focus on things which actually have at least some probability to bear fruit. How the heck is he any different than other “leaders?”
And is it true that people have to pay to fill out these forms? If yes, you got a great money-minting project going right there!
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:47 am
With due respect to Subba, this is not going to work, straight forward answer. The RGOB will take you under their citizenship act, if they decide. This means you have to be a labour in roads for 10 years before you apply for citizenship where your character will be assessed before you receive the ID card.
Please convey this to him that reality bites and truth is bitter. Best bate is to launch from west and negotiate with RGOB.
Young generation RGOB officials are not so poisoned like the old ones.
Thanks
June 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
“When resettlement countries take a big chunk of the bhutanese refugees, the remaining some refugees would be definately accepted by Bhutan with some criteria; if followed the customary international norms of refugees with the three options of durable soultion”. May be this is what SCB and we can expect to come true. If SCB particularly the leaders in it do not misuse the money collected, I believe the initiative taken is so good. Our people must have kept more faith in SCB being them as senior citizens. I request SCB to take the initiative being more coucious of what criteria that Bhutan would put forward and what needs to be done, if Bhutan is really going to accept refugees in the near future. With best wishes,
Ashok Gurung
Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,USA.
June 17th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
It is really foolhardy to embark on this endeavour without having any kind of assurances from the RGOB. To begin with, Mr. Subba et al should at l;east the assurance from the government of Bhutan that the RGOB is WILLING to talk to them. Even that assurance is not there, but Mr. Subba et al are already misleading the folks in the camps. How much of an intransigence do you need from the Bhutanese government to understand that this will nto go forward?
We went knocking to their border, we wrote petitions after petitions, we had international diplomats and western diplomats go and talk to the Bhutanese govt. Nothing worked. How will filing out meaningless forms work? This is an unnecessary ploy on the part of those who oppose resettlement. I am quite sure that Dr. Bompha Rai and SB subba are behind this and are fronting innocent senior citizens into a folly that will eventually leave them nowhere.
There was a time when we followed Rizal and that left us nowhere. There was a time when we followed other jhyaurey leaders which left us nowhere. And when everything is lost and we have abandoned our dream for a new life, there conme this idiots with forms to fill! Grow up!!
June 17th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Bhutanese refugees were kicked out under various pretex by the authorities in thimphu planned and financed by the big brother in New Delhi begining 1980s.
We became refugees in nepal for more than 18 years and many thousands have become refugees within bhutan.Repatriation to our homeshed was the slogan of the day for years,now the process of resettlement is in progress and many have opted for it.
At this hour filling up forms for repatriation and creating a database sounds fine if not old wine in the new bottle. Many of our seniors seems to be trapped halfway and started thinking otherwise.One must be clear until and unless the king calls for repatriation nothing new will happen.Many of us have tasted the bitter results in the past. It is not a wrong idea to call for repatraiation,i stand for it even from The United States but Please ensure all these activities take voluntarily and not at the cost of others interest, twisted and pampered.
Best wishes and good luck for the initiatives you have taken.Doing something is better than doing nothing.
June 17th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Dear sir/madam,
Please kindly make two spelling corrections in the comment made by me yesterday. “Definitely” should be read as ‘definitely’ and coucious as conscious. I apologize for the inconvenience created.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
BEST OF LUCK HARKE
June 30th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Harke dai BEST OF LUCK.but i smell some rats in your new plan.It is learned that these guys are making false presentation to the masses in the camps.Please be aware not to make big issues cheating people in the camp.It is learnt Harkey is filling up the forms for repatriations saying it is the forms sent by RGOB for immediate repatriations,but the truth is this group headed by HArkajang made the forms themselves and twisted the facts to the innocent refugees in the camps.
Harkajung Be serious and avoid fooling bhotangays in the camp.Please dont use them as begging bouls as before
July 12th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Dear All,
Since there is no coercion, and as the younger lots are showing keen interest for 3rd country resettlement, there is no harm for the senior citizen to continue to campaign for repatriation. There will be repatriation to Bhutan after 2012, whatever the number may be. Bhutan has assurred this to the international community and to India. Once Bhutan decides to repatriate they will be taken in as Bhutanese citizen with all the privileges of Bhutanese citizenship. Bhutan keeping these people in a labor camps is out of question. So don’t wirte it off, what Harkaa Jung is saying. There is much deeper in it than you can judge from your end.
Dev
July 30th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Dear Dev.
It is very interesting to mark your comment. I’ve some questions regarding your remarks. Your hypothesis needs proof. Quote or mention the source from where you got the information that Bhutan is taking back its Ngolops back on 2012. Through your writing you are either the partner of Mr. Subba giving sympathy to the innocent lots and playing on the sentiments of poor refugee or an agent of black marketer. Had there been law for the exiled people, you would have already under prosecution. This is an open day cheating. We have heard many promises since 1990 from our exiled leaders that they had been fixing the year of dignified return when and where they need certain donation either in cash or kind. When the date expires, the leaders sunk their head. That is it. There is no shame for these leaders.
Second, they don’t have the right to represent the Bhutanese people as we haven’t given our consent to talk on our behalf to them. A group which cannot differentiate problem and issue cannot solve the wicked problem. This is as simple as that.
Since 1990 till 2009, most of the Mandols and Karbaris were the villain to the problem. They pretend that they know everything but in reality they have nothing in their heads. They had their vestals interest which is crystal clear to all. They say the people are on there side and tried to blow their trumpets loud. But you can see the reality.
Third point, through your write ups, it shows that RGOB already prepared a bill of law regarding the repatriation of refugee mass, am I right? Why you are writing about the citizenry matter when you do not know the things? One thing you need to be clear of is in a constituently elected form of government; such bills will be passed as per the system and tabled in the House of Representatives, either upper or lower as per the procedure. How dare you can write about the issuance of citizenship documents and the differences regarding the initial understating of naturalization process?
You are very tactical to fool people thinking that there will be a chain of support to your unethical write ups.
July 31st, 2009 at 1:52 am
Dear Harkajee,
I came to know your name after 18 years of life as refugee….best of luck for your work.But one suggestion for you…dont build a castle from the money you are collecting from those innocient people at camp as many of the so called bhutanese leader did before….subba jee i also heard that you are doing these especially to mongolian race at the camp? is it…if so radiculous……jay bhutan…
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:29 am
Either it is a agenda underlying a motive or it is expression of a true seniments by Mr. Harka Subba. Be it in any of the ways, it is a hypothesis of some big task . The ground reality is different. Government has changed by leaps and bounds back in Bhutan. Now, everybody has forgotten the refugees problem. Nobody takes up the issues in the Parlament and cabinet. The counrty in the process is facing unemployemt issues, economic ressecion and crimes and lot more. Who is going to support this issues. No one. The reality is something different than devising a strategy in papers. I know the elderly group of people are the one to see rays of hopes of going back to Bhutan. They must know what it is in reality. They die in camps with just a hopes. The youths have their whole life ahead. Let them do whatever they want. Where ever they are resettled , they atleast leave a heavenly life compared to the life in camps.
So, it is better done than said. Dont mislead the mass becuase the hopes and aspirations of those innocent peoples are just a dreams not coming true. Don;t play with emotions..
All de Best
September 4th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
This act is nothing more than fooling our innocent people. This i think is worthless. I want to ask Harka Jung who he is to say so showing the forms prepared by himself and telling the innocent people that they are sent by RGOB. This is infact an illegal act. Nepalese government must put its eye on this action and take necessary action against Subba.
September 20th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Hi i came to know that you are collecting the money from our fellow from the camps for the useless forms.I know that you are not doing the right thing making the fellow bhutanese fools as other ???? leaders did in the past.You are in the wrong direction…….it has been 18 years we are in the camp still…..and standng always in the repartiation process but no any friutful result appear.It has only become the SLOGAN for us.So, please Harkajung and his teams stop doing the naughty things with our fellow in the camps.Your meaningless process is not gonna function!And start thinking your future and fellow bhutanese’s near future.Don’t play a dirty game there plz.Start the resettlement process and make good life in the new country…they love you all…!Good luck.