Recession Hits Refugees Hard

The US takes in about 60 thousand refugees a year. When they arrive, they get assistance for several months. In the past, that’s generally been enough to tide them over until they find work. But with the economy in recession, some refugees are weeks away from having no job and no way to pay rent. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg reports.

Bhima and Lakshu Acharya and their three children came to Concord five months ago. Ethnically Nepalese, Bhima and Lakshu were born in Bhutan, a small Himalayan country squeezed in between India and China. 18 years ago, the Bhutanese government forced many ethnic Nepalese to leave. Bhima and Lakshu have spent most of their adult lives living in refugee camps in Nepal. They could neither work in Nepal nor go back to Bhutan.

A local resettlement volunteer, Doug Hall, takes me to their spartan apartment.

CUT: Jon, this is Bhima//Hello// Hello// sound of door, room sounds

The sweet aroma of Indian spices hangs in the air. The local resettlement agency, Lutheran Social Services, provided furniture and clothes. A mix of federal funds and charitable donations covers the cost of rent and food. Lakshu Acharya says that will soon end.

CUT: Lakshu - Nepali - fade under

Doug Hall translates.

CUT: Doug: beginning Jan 1 they will be responsible for paying the house rent. and what he said was, without a job, how am I possibly going to be able to pay the rent?

Lakshu and his wife have applied at dozens of companies. In the time they’ve been here, he has worked only three days for a small manufacturer. Some of their fellow Bhutanese have found temporary Christmas jobs at retailers like Target but that income will end in January.

The very first Bhutanese refugees to arrive in this country came to New Hampshire. All told, about 40 households. Many of them are in similar circumstances as the Acharya’s.

CUT I would say we have 12-15 families that we’re tracking closely right now.

Amy Marchildon oversees refugee resettlement at Lutheran Social Services. To have a third of her clients without stable income after six months is something she’s never seen before. LSS has no money to continue paying their rent but Marchildon remains hopeful that a special appeal to local congregations and others will bear fruit.

CUT We would depend on the generosity of donors//JG: And if those donors don’t materialize?//Then the refugees in that situation would be just like anybody else in the community who might be in that situation.//JG: Homeless.// Possibly.

A common path for a refugee in America is a few months of assistance followed by a job with modest wages and a hard scrabble to more secure economic footing. Historically, according to government figures, about 70% succeed. The recession is causing many to falter on the way. Livinia Limon is the president of the nonprofit U-S Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

CUT: We hear anecdotally of refugees being evicted. We’ve not seen it whole scale [sic] yet.

Limon works with many of the local organizations that help refugees in hundreds of communities across the country. Limon says that those groups are scrambling.

CUT: I know that all the agencies that are doing this, are spending lots of money. We’re spending money that we don’t really have, it’s a hedge against disaster. But having a family homeless is a bigger disaster than my balance sheet right now.

Resettlement advocates say federal aid has long fallen short of what’s needed. Local charities try to fill the gap but in a tough economy, that resource is stretched thin. Advocates do not want to see refugees end up on public assistance. They say, at the very least, Washington could provide some extra dollars to help with current crunch.

David Siegel directs the federal office of refugee resettlement. Siegel says right now, he has no more money. He says his hands are tied by a continuing budget resolution that limits spending at last year’s level. But Siegel holds out hope.

CUT: When we have a final budget for 09. If you invited me back, I’d probably give you a different answer. Until that time, the answer is, we do not have any.

There is a common refrain in the resettlement community. As difficult as things might be here, they are infinitely better than life in a refugee camp. Most refugees seem to agree. But not all.

In the parking lot outside their apartment, Lakshu and Bhima Acharya talk about their situation. Lakshu says he would rather be here without a job than in a camp without a future. But Bhima thinks her friends back in the refugee camps ought to stay there until the economy improves.

CUT: Bhima – Nepali – fade under

This time, a Bhutanese neighbor translates.

CUT: She’s not going to tell them to come here. The rent bill to pay, the electric bills, the winter season and children, seeing all this, she cannot say to others to come because they might also face difficulties in later days.

This might be a minority view but it speaks to the uncertainty all these refugees feel as they approach the moment when, in a totally unfamiliar land, they will have no means to provide for themselves and their children.

For NHPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg

Bhutan’s forgotten citizens

By Bhumika Ghimire

West Lafayette, IN, United States, — Bhutan celebrated the coronation of its new king last week. The 28-year-old Oxford-educated bachelor Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck assumed leadership of a nation that is just beginning to take baby steps toward modernization. The country held its first democratic elections in March 2008 and only recently allowed satellite television and Internet access.

Bhutanese call their country “Druk Yul,” which means “Land of Thunder Dragon.” The country has been described by many as the ultimate tourist destination, untouched by the hazards of the modern world, with a perfectly preserved environment and undisturbed ancient culture.

Unfortunately for the new king, integrating Bhutan with the modern world while keeping its natural and cultural heritage is not the only challenge on hand. For the last 17 years, the country has been wrestling with a major issue, which surprisingly was not mentioned or discussed during the lengthy and lavish coronation celebrations.

King Jigme Khesar’s father, Jigme Singye, came up with a plan for a more homogeneous Bhutan during the 1990s. He wanted Bhutan to have one culture, one language and even imposed a dress code. The problem with his ideal was that his country was not homogeneous. Significant numbers of ethnic Nepalese were living in the country. They had their own language, culture and religious beliefs.

Not to be deterred, Jigme Singye decided to throw out the “undesirable Nepalese” and create a perfect Bhutan. As a result, more than 100,000 ethnic Nepalese were left stateless.

Nepal and Bhutan don’t share a border; the two countries are separated by the Indian state of Sikkim. Indian authorities allowed safe passage for the refugees to enter Nepal. The circumstances under which the refugees were escorted into Nepal are often disputed, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the scene was definitely neither pretty nor peaceful.

With India’s help, Bhutan successfully got rid of more than 100,000 of its ethnic Nepalese citizens. Those refugees are now living in camps funded by the United Nations in and around Nepal’s Jhapa district.

For more than a decade, Nepal and Bhutan have been wrangling about the refugee issue. India has refused to get involved. Not a single refugee has been repatriated and all the diplomatic efforts have produced almost zero results – except for protracting the debate.

It was disheartening to see that Bhutan’s new king did not make any move toward reconciliation or show any concern toward his citizens suffering in a foreign land. In his message to the nation after coronation, King Jigme Khesar promised to keep Bhutan safe from “outside influences” and emphasized preserving the country’s heritage, but he chose to forget about the refugees.

Bhutanese refugees have urged their new king to allow them back home. They have asked the Nepalese government for help. But the Maoist-led government is in no position to save the Bhutanese; in fact, it is in no position to save itself. Bitter fighting among various political parties over the issue of integrating former Maoist fighters into the Nepalese Army could very well cause the government’s collapse.

Who is going to stand up and fight for the refugees then? At this time the answer is, sadly, no one. The international community, including the United States, has decided to take the easy route. They have decided to resettle the refugees in a third country. Already, some refugees have been taken in by the United States and Australia, and some will be going to Europe.

It is better to provide a stable home and citizenship to the refugees instead of leaving them to languish in camps for years without any legal status. But if we keep ignoring abuses like the one committed by Bhutan and keep cleaning up their messes, aren’t we empowering the abuser?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor to News Front Weekly, in Kathmandu, and Nepal Abroad, in Washington D.C. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)

American refugees iternal story

Source: NepalBC.com

For 17 years, the Odari family was among more than 107,000 Bhutanese refugees in camps scattered over the southeastern plains of Nepal, hoping to return to their rightful place: Bhutan.

The nine-member family shared a small hut with thatched roof and dirt floor with no electricity, running water, toilet or kitchen. They lived on sparse rations of rice, lentils, vegetables, salt, sugar and oil distributed twice a month by United Nations agencies, but the food was never enough to fill their hungry bellies.

Then on April 9, three members of the Odari family arrived in Pittsburgh, in the US state of Pennsylvania to start a new life.

"We were having a tough time in the refugee camp. We're happy to be here," said a beaming Man Maya, 25, who is living with her younger sister, Yani Maya, 22, and brother, Dilli Prasad, 20, in an apartment at Prospect Park in Whitehall.

Last night, their elderly parents, two more brothers - one 24 and disabled and another 17, and two other sisters, 21 and 25, were expected to arrive here to join them.

The family's relocation is being assisted by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Man Maya was only nine when she was forced to leave Bhutan with her parents and other family members. They were among the 120,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese - mostly Hindu and Buddhist - who were evicted from Bhutan in the late 1980s and early '90s when the Bhutanese rulers forced them to wear traditional dress, required that they speak the Dzongkha language and deprived many of citizenship.

Protests against the stringent rules resulted in the mass exodus of tens of thousands to neighbouring India.

India, in turn, forced most of them to enter Nepal, which does not share a border with Bhutan.
Dilli Prasad Odari said all of his family decided to resettle in the US. "In camps we had to rely on UNHCR for our daily needs. But here we can live on our own, and it's also good for future generation," he said.

Some of his other relatives have been resettled in Texas.

The family is gradually becoming accustomed to their new surroundings in the Whitehall area in the South Hills.

They are taking English classes in the mornings. They received health screenings shortly after their arrival. They also received food assistance to shop at Wal-Mart.

Even though he's 20, Odari last attended 10th grade in the refugee camp and hopes to further his education here. He likes to compare Pittsburgh with Ilam, a city in the eastern highland of Nepal that has similar topography. A lover of Nepali music, he has brought a collection of Nepali lyrics. "But I'm dying to listen to Nepali songs," he said.

Man Maya, a high school graduate, said it's hard to keep connected with her loved ones across the ocean. "It's hard to make phone calls to Nepal," she said.

Yani Maya is a little worried about finding work. "I hope we'll be able to work after four months," she said. "They seem happy and are feeling good about being here," said John Miller, director of refugee services for Catholic Charities. His organisation is resettling a total of 170 refugees in 2008.

Catholic Charities also provides core services such as applying for Social Security cards, medical screening, enrollment in English language training, employment counselling and orientation to the refugees. According to Miller, Catholic Charities provides its services for five years after they arrive. Catholic Charities in Pittsburgh also has helped resettle Vietnamese, Burmese, Sudanese, Somalian, Burundian, Iraqi, Meskhetian Turks (from the former Soviet Union) and Haitian refugees.

"Each refugee group has a different set of challenges," Miller said. "They have struggles but they also have emotional and psychological issues."

Odari hopes more Bhutanese will be resettled in Pittsburgh. "It feels good to be here but I'm also missing my friends in Nepal," he said, adding that he is developing friendships with young Burmese refugees in the neighbourhood.

He's learning the bus routes of the city and has learned how to follow maps to visit places.

On a recent afternoon, when he saw a deer in the nearby woods, he was thrilled.

Eventually he hopes to return for a visit to Nepal to see the place where he said he has spent "some of the hardest times of my life."

Uncertain refuge - Funding cuts jeopardize services to growing influx of refugees

Source: www.goerie.com

By REBECCA HARRIS

rebecca.harris@timesnews.com

(Left) Shyam and Rupa Rai are refugees that recently moved to Erie from Bhutan. The couple live on Erie's eastside with two of their sons, John Rai, 25, and Amos Rai, 23. (Janet B. Campbell / Erie Times-News)

After living for 16 years without grocery stores, refrigerators or phones, the Rai family found their new East 23rd Street apartment a bit foreign.

There was the heating system they had never seen.

And the locking front door.

"Two times we are already locked (out) here because our parents do not know how to use things," said John Rai, 25.

For their apartment -- as well as the English as a Second Language classes they attend, and the shiny new sneakers that John Rai bought at Walmart -- the Rai family can thank the International Institute of Erie, a resettlement agency that helps refugees intensively during their first six months in the area.


The apartment is about twice as big as the mud-and-bamboo hut the family occupied in a Nepalese refugee camp.

But John Rai's parents, Shyam Rai, 65, and Rupa Raini, 63, have yet to learn English or find jobs.

And starting Oct. 1, cuts in funding for social services to assist refugees after the first six months of resettlement funding ends, which might leave some refugees' needs unmet.

Social programs statewide have suffered cuts for the coming budget cycle.

But refugees in Erie may be facing a particular crunch.

Funding for the year starting Oct. 1 is based on the low numbers of refugees who came to Pennsylvania between October 2004 and October 2007, state refugee coordinator Norm-Anne Rothermel said.

In the year since, however, the number arriving in Erie has doubled to more than 300.

On Thursday, the Legislature allocated $350,000 to help fill the gap, restoring funding to 2007's level, Rothermel said. A $300,000 shortfall remains because a new refugee service agency in Philadelphia now shares in the funding.

Before the cuts, Erie County's three refugee agencies had big plans for working together.

The International Institute works with refugees in their first six months here. The Hispanic American Council provides social services for years after they arrive. Catholic Charities does both.

Since the beginning of 2008, they have met jointly to come up with a self-sufficiency plan for each family, said Joel Tuzynski, executive director of Hispanic American Council.

Funding for a certified counselor and a medical advocate began in April, he said.

But by May, a 10 percent funding cut put the cooperative effort's future in jeopardy.

Tuzynski had envisioned sharing resources such as driving simulators and financial-management classes. A shuttle could transport refugees between different agencies, and even to their jobs.

But those ideas could now be moot, leaving Erie's increasing numbers of refugees with fewer options.

Funding allocations will be announced in letters mailed this week, Rothermel said.

Tuzynski is waiting.

Refugees from Bhutan like the Rai family are the third-largest group arriving in Erie, according to numbers provided by John Flanagan, director of the International Institute. Nearly 70 have come to Erie since October 2006.

Although John Rai has been in the U.S. only since July, he already looks like any other American 25-year-old, from his short black hair tousled with gel to his sneakers.

When his family left for a refugee camp in Nepal in 1992, John Rai was 8 and attending school in India. Within a couple of years, he joined them in the camp because his parents could not pay for his education.

The Bhutanese government expelled many ethnic Nepali families like the Rais in a drive to "purify" the country, John Rai said.

For decades beforehand, his parents had suffered doubly because they are also Christian.

Bhutanese police raided house churches on Christmas. Shyam Rai was repeatedly summoned to the mayor's office and forced to stand against a wall for hours.

"We can't say with our head lifted up that we're Christian in our country," John Rai said. "Sometimes we have to tell lies. We have to hide it."

Shyam Rai and Rupa Raini, both pastors, raised their three sons in the faith. John Rai sprinkles the phrase "by the grace of God" into everyday conversation. He started teaching Sunday school at age 12 and preaching at age 16.

He studied theology in college and graduate school in India. He relied on scholarships, help from friends and income from preaching to pay the bills.

"I didn't eat, and I didn't buy new clothes, but I used my money to buy books," he said.

He left 40 of those books behind in the refugee camp.

On a desk the International Institute gave him, he keeps a small stack of books that he brought, as well as a Longman Dictionary of American English from the International Institute and a stack of Bibles from Crossroads Community Baptist Church.

The Bibles, he said, are to give to other refugees. While his parents don't know enough English to be pastors here, John Rai has already found employment at Crossroads doing community outreach.

After growing up in a refugee camp, he said, a desire to help others motivates him.

"God has given me that privilege and responsibility to follow his path. I am in the right track, I believe," he said, putting his hand on his chest.

"I have died many times, but God helped me resurrect."

REBECCA HARRIS can be reached at 870-1739 or by e-mail.

Refugees In Erie And The U.S., By The Numbers

• 50,000: Number of refugees who come to the U.S. each year.
  
• 
  
• 60,000: Number of Bhutanese refugees U.S. has pledged to accept by October 2012.
  
• 
  
• 5,000: Number of Bhutanese refugees who have arrived in the U.S. in the past 12 months.
  
• 
  
• 69: Number of Bhutanese refugees who have settled in Erie since October 2006.
  

SOURCES: Ben Sanders, spokesman for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants; John Flanagan, director, International Institute of Erie.

Non-Bhutanese resettled in US: APFA Bhutan

Source: Nepalnews.com

Association of Press Freedom Activists (APFA) Bhutan has said a non-Bhutanese refugee has been resettled in United States, using fake identity as a Bhutanese refugee from Beldangi 2 camp in Jhapa district.

According to a statement by the association, a non-Bhutanese has been sent to US after completing resettlement process at the International Organization of Migration (IOM) in the name of Padam Lal Poudel, 52, from Beldangi 2, Sector D/2 Hut No 24.

The association quoted a family member of Poudel as saying, "The inquiry section of IOM confirmed that someone matching my father's information has
already got resettled in the US."

The matter came to light after Poudel's son inquired at the IOM to know why his father's resettlement process had been delayed while other families whose interviews began at IOM along his family already left Nepal.

He was informed by the people at IOM reception that there are many such cases.

There were media reports saying some non-Bhutanese have been making efforts to go US under disguise.

APFA said IOM offices in Damak and Kathmandu, UNHCR office in Kathmandu and UN embassy in Kathmandu denied talking on the issue.

The association demanded that original identity of the person being resettled be made public by the concerned agencies - date of his departure from Nepal, place where he has been resettled along with photo - and urged IOM, UNHCR and US embassy to take precautionary measures to ensure that non-Bhutanese are not be resettled.

US embassy says no non-Bhutanese has been resettled in US

Source: Nepalnews.com

The American Embassy has said no non-Bhutanese refugee has been resettled in the US and that recent news reports saying a few people have managed their way to the US, as refugees, are unfounded.

"There have been several reports published in Nepal that contain factually inaccurate information regarding refugee resettlement in the United States. UNHCR and the U.S. Embassy confirm that all refugees resettled so far have successfully gone through an exhaustive process and have been confirmed to be genuine candidates for resettlement.

The embassy further said, "Each refugee who is resettled goes through an extensive screening process, first by UNHCR, second by IOM, then by representatives of the resettlement country, in this case by officials of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security."

The identity of each refugee is checked several times against a data base containing the refugee's picture and finger prints, the embassy added.

Finding a new life in alien land

Source: Nepalnews.com

By Indra Adhikari

On the day Bhutan goes to historic polls to transform its absolute monarchy into a constitutional one, a group of Bhutanese refugees taking asylum in Nepal for the last 18 years nervously waits to set out for third country resettlement.

In Bhutan, it is the beginning of a new system, and for refugees here it is the beginning of new life in new countries.

On March 24, International Organization of Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced in Kathmandu that they had formally began taking Bhutanese refugees to third countries for resettlement as per their wish.

The resettlement process has begun amidst opposition from a few 'communist groups' within the refugee community announcing their intention to initiate armed rebellion inside Bhutan to overthrow the despotic monarchy there.

UNHCR country representative for Nepal Daisy Dale said despite the beginning of the third country resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees, the international community and the UNHCR will continue to advocate for the right of the refugees to repatriate to their homeland once the situation becomes conducive.

"Repatriation is the first priority," she said adding, "Failing to see any progress in repatriation process, resettlement has become a rescue for finding solution of the protracted crisis."

While some of the refugees complained that they were warned not to make any inquiry regarding their education, as they leave it in the middle of the session, UNHCR chief in Nepal said arrangements will be made for education of the refugee children.

Out of seven members in the core group expressing their interest to resettle the refugees, only two countries - United States and New Zealand - have began taking the refugees. Australia is expected to begin the process sometime soon.

Editor of Kathmandu based Bhutan News Service T. P. Mishra said majority of the refugees are complaining of unclear process of selecting refugee families for interviews.

Former country representative of the UNHCR Abraham Abraham had said refugees will be called for interviews on first come first serve basis according to the date they file their interest papers to the UNHCR. However, Mishra said it has not been so and that the refugees have not been able to make an informed choice on resettlement.

IOM chief in Kathmandu David Derthick, however, says that it is the UNHCR that decides who will be going to which country.

US government officials while visiting refugee camps last year had hinted that 60,000, the number of refugees they want to take for resettlement, would not include those who are involved in "armed groups". Yet, the government has not spoken anything about those having records of human rights violations. Accordingly, Hari Bangale, then secretary of Belgandi camp-2, because of who two refugees lost their life last year in Beldangi camp, was the first to be flown to US under resettlement.

Some 100 refugees have already left Nepal in the last three months. Media persons and other visitors were strictly barred from meeting those refugees on grounds of security and protection policies.

This week another 120 refugees will fly for third country resettlement. IOM plans to send at least 1,500 individuals in a month. By the end of 2009, half of the total population proposed by the US will find their shelters in the new countries.

While it's been widely accepted that resettlement would not give permanent solution to the crisis, the relocation of refugees is believed to give relief to UNHCR and Nepal being burdened for the last two decades.

Sixty more refugees flown to Kathmandu for third country resettlement

Source: Nepalnews.com

Sixty more Bhutanese refugees have been flown from Beldangi and Shanishchare camps in Jhapa and Morang districts, respectively, to Kathmandu on their way for the third country resettlement.

The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) flew them to Kathmandu on Friday.

The refugees flown to Kathmandu are expected to be shortly resettled to the United States and Denmark.

The Nepal Samacharpatra daily quotes Jhapa's assistant chief district officer Laxman Hamal as saying that on Saturday additional 61 refugees will be flown to Kathmandu for the same purpose.

A few weeks ago, the first lot of twenty families of refugees had been flown to the US and New Zealand.

As the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio has dragged on for over one and a half decade, the international community has decided to resettle them on humanitarian grounds.

Three families reached US safely

Source: Apfanews.com

California (USA), March 14: Three families from Sanischare camp who flew to the United States as part of the third country resettlement of the exiled Bhutanese on March 10 afternoon reached US safely.

They landed in New Hampshire by US Airways to start the new beginning. They were warmly welcomed by the NGO and Nepalese community who were staying there for a long time.

New Hampshire is one of the 50 states in the United States. It is approximately 500 Kms away from the city of New York and 170 Kms from Boston, Massachusetts. It is touched by the Atlantic Ocean.

Living in New Hampshire offers natural beauties such as seashore, mountains, lakes, four distinct seasons and beautiful scenery. New Hampshire offers the ability to be at the seashore in the morning and later in the day at the mountains.

The city of Nashua is one of the top cities in the country to live in along with city of Manchester and Concord. All these cities offer cultural events, seasonal events, and museums, in addition to schools, colleges and universities. Picnic with family and friends is the common outdoor recreation among many. (Contributed by Lalit Gurung, USA)