Late Dhan, 30s. Photo/Indra

Reports received late from Dhan’s sister in Arizona confirmed that she committed suicide in her new temporary house in Buffalo days after her resettlement.

A permanent resident of Chirang district in Bhutan, Dhan moved to New York through resettlement program on August 17.

According to Indra, sister of the deceased, the actual reason behind the suicide is not yet known.

According to our correspondent Bhakta Ghimire in Buffalo, the funeral processing of late Gurung completed today afternoon.

Late Gurung is survived by her husband and two daughters.

While in Bhutan on his three day official visit, Kuroda will speak to various top official and some cabinet ministers.

He took an audience with the King yesterday and discussed the bank’s support to Bhutan.

The ADB has been involved on transport and roads, development of urban infrastructure, hydro power, good governance and rural electrification, among others in Bhutan since its establishment.

Minister of Economic Affairs (extreme right), Secretary of Agriculture (centre) and Attorney General (extreme left) Photo: Choidup Zangpo

The three-day conference will discuss the status of implementation of the resolution taken last year, evaluate present progresses and achievements and formulate strategies for future. 

National Biodiversity, Bhutan Narcotic Control Agency, Department of Public Health and Department of Forest will make presentation at the conference about the progress in implementation.

Minister for Economic Affairs Khandu Wangchuk inaugurated the opening of the conference, attended by Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Sherub Gyaltshen, Attorney General Rinzin Penjo, Paro Rabdey Lam Neten and Officer-in-Charge of the RBP among others.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Wangchuk appreciated BAFRA’s efforts for the daunting task it undertakes in ensuring food safety and hygiene for the well being of all the Bhutanese both in term of health and economic point of view.  

Stating that healthy food leads to healthy population which in turn leads to positive economic development, Wangchuk said BAFRA’s role encompasses two pillars of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) – environmental protection and economic development.

From left, Yadav Rizal, Mani Dahal and Pasupati Khanal talk about the black eye and cuts inflicted on Rizal in one of four known attacks on refugees from Bhutan in the metro area. (Photo source: Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

“Before leaving the refugee camp, I was thinking: We have problems. . . . I’ll feel safe in the United States. Now my feeling has changed. I’m not safe in the United States,” said Yadav Rizal, 39, who was robbed of $250, beaten and dragged behind a liquor store in northeast Denver.

Due to the attacks, he has to change his apartment, again becoming refugee in America. His family shifted to a new place on Tuesday.

Denver and Aurora police are investigating three crimes. This was the fourth instance of attack on the Bhutanese. After the May 8 robbery, Rizal was unconscious for five hours in a hospital. Seven stitches closed a gash over his blackened right eye. His head and neck still ache today, he said.

The latest attack began when a big man followed him when he got off the bus at the end of a 90-minute commute from a mountain casino where he works. “He said: ‘Give me five dollars.’ ”

Rizal refused, thinking “that’s hard-earned money,” After the man hit him, Rizal threw $40 from his pocket. Another man joined the assault. After they dragged him, he felt them taking his wallet and a pack that carried a certificate of appreciation from his employer.

Also on May 13, Rohit Khanal was assaulted in an attempted robbery on East Colfax Avenue at Billings Street — another case that police are investigating.

Similarly, Shiva Bhattarai, 31, was also hassled by three man on May 13 when he got off the bus after work.

The attacks aggravate a difficult situation for resettled Bhutanese. The government grants them only $450 a month for eight months to resettle, forcing most to live in rougher areas where police and caseworkers say street crime is more frequent.

Since most resettled Bhutanese work for long hours, it is always late when they get back to home.

“Our promise is not just to bring them here,” said Paul Stein, Colorado’s refugee coordinator, who is planning emergency meetings with the Bhutan immigrants to help them improve their personal safety. “Our promise is to help them integrate. We have to do a better job.”

Ram Chandra Guragai

The aged couple, Ram Chandra Guragai, 73, and Yasoda, 69, are living on the good will of their neighbors. Simple and essential tasks such as fetching water from the nearby tap and preparing meals are no longer possible for them most of the time. People age all over the world, and in Bhutanese refugee society the elderly are usually cared for by the families of their children. For Ram Chandra and Yasoda, however, this care is a dream, as their family is about 10,000 miles away.

Two years ago the Guragai family started the resettlement process. As a family they faced the violent mass exodus from Bhutan. As a family they endured 18 years of struggle and poverty in the refugee camps of south-eastern Nepal. And as a family they dreamed of a new beginning when they were offered the chance to seek resettlement to a third country. This dream has proven to be elusive, however, as the family has been scattered around the world, leaving the two elders behind.

Six months ago their eldest son left for Australia. The youngest son left four months ago, also to Australia. Two married daughters have already left for  the USA, and the only remaining support, one of their daughters who is also no longer living with them as she is also married, is scheduled to leave for Canada in the next few days.

“We can’t understand why we are left in the camp.” says Ram Chandra, his wife reading his lips as she is hard of hearing. The aged couple fears that they might not see their family again. “We might die without seeing our sons”, Ram Chandra adds, sadly lowering his gaze, unable to change the whims of the Australian authorities. After filing paperwork declaring their interest for resettlement, numerous interviews and two medical exams, they finally received the clearance needed for resettlement one year ago, but still they have not been given a departure date. They sit and wait while they whither away, unable to care for themselves.

According to Ram Chandra, his sons, worrying in Australia, tried to appeal to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to be reunited with their parents at the earliest, but were briskly sent away, told not to come again.

When asked whether his family is supporting them, Ram Chandra replies “So far we have received at least 15,000 Nepalese rupees [aprox. 200 $], but we now know that money is nothing. Our situation is worsening day by day, while we still cannot do anything”.

The entire process of resettlement was initiated with the intention of reducing the suffering of the exiled Bhutanese. After the mass exodus from Bhutan and 18 unfruitful years in refugee camps, the ordeal of the Australian bureaucracy is another hurdle for this displaced people.

When asked to comment on whether there was any role of his office in this delay, the chief of the International Organization for Migration in Damak, David Derthick, says “We only do the medical exams and handle booking requests by the DIAC”.

An estimated 108.000 people from southern Bhutan are bunched in seven refugee camps in two of the eastern districts of Nepal under UNHCR supervision. Displaced from their homes due to racial violence and oppression in the early 1990’s, so far not a single refugee has been able to return to their previous homeland.

With repatriation not feasible under the current circumstances, in 2006 they were offered the possibility of resettling in seven different countries (USA, Australia, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, The Netherlands and Norway). Due to the conditions in the camps, which provide little prospects for the future, more than 65.000 have already declared their interest in being resettled.

Australia alone has committed to accepting at least 5000 refugees, probable relief for many. 720 individuals have so far been resettled there. However, the case of Ram Chandra and Yasoda, along with many others, indicates that this process needs to be handled delicately; there is much to be done on part of the authorities in order to improve the process.

Especially when dealing with an issue as delicate as the relocation of families already traumatized by an extensive refugee experience, agencies and governments need to be sure they properly assess and ensure the needs of all individuals are met during the resettlement process. Failure to do so increases the trauma and stress of people who have already suffered enormous amounts of both through their lengthy ordeal as refugees.

A 90-year old from the same camp, Dhanapati Poudyel, was taken to Australia on May 17, 2009. “My grandfather is finally being resettled, with a doctor accompanying him”, his grandson says, “Although the process of settlement took nearly two years from its beginning and was a bit frustrating for us”. The refugees deserve to be treated with this respect and attention to their needs. Leaving vulnerable people in the camps and long and stressful resettlement processes are woes that cannot be placed on their shoulders.

But yet the question arises: will the Guragai couple be able to join their sons soon? Or will the wait take even longer?

(Mishra works with Bhutan News Service, D. Horn is Austrian Freelancer and B. Peterson works with Green Left Weekly, Australia)

They were arrested on April 30 and May 1 while returning from India but were released after interrogation. The authorities have not proven whether they had cast their votes or were just clamped allegations.

The arrested people were reported to be residents of Samtse and Chhukha districts.

However, reports also say that these people bear citizenship from both the countries though Bhutanese laws do not permit such conditions.

On April 28 issue, the government mouth piece wrote: This is the first issue of the Kuensel daily. Kuensel is evolving from the biweekly to a daily to cater to the growing needs of [our] readers for prompt and timely information.

However, the newspaper, as it says, is not exactly a daily newspaper since it takes weekend holiday on Sunday. It hits stands only between Monday and Saturday – six days a week.

The paper killed its Nepali (Lhotsampa) version and promoted 12-page English and Dzongkha editions combined in a single issue.

The paper will have an 18-page weekend edition on Saturday, which will include a ‘special magazine’ called K2 or Kuensel 2 – in full color – to meet the demands of the young readers. The magazine will replace its earlier City Bytes section. But the magazine will be available only in Thimphu, Paro, and Phuentsholing.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Sherub Gyeltshen and the Finance Secretary Lam Dorji have been promoted to Executive Level 1A while Secretary General of the National Council Tshewang Norbu and the Attorney General Rinzin Penjor have been promoted to Executive Level 1C.

Similarly, Director General of the Department of Culture Dorji Tshering and the Director General of the National Environment Commission Sonam Yanglay have been promoted to Executive Level 2A and Director of the National Housing Development Corporation Phuntsho Wangdi and the Executive Director of the Construction Development Board Wangdi Gyeltshen are promoted to Executive Level 3A.

Additionally, Executive Director of the Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority Karma Dorji and the Executive Secretary of Phuenstholing City Corporation Kinzang Norbu are promoted to Executive Level 3A effective from this January.