Bhutanese refugees in Wisconsin
Understanding the history and circumstances of one of Wisconsin’s newest refugee groups
By Laura Salinger
Nestled between the up-and-coming superpowers of India and China, is the smaller, lesser-known country of Bhutan. In the last several
decades, hundreds of thousands of Bhutanese have been the target of government persecution and are now one of the newest groups of
refugees forced to seek safety outside their native homeland. Bhutan has one of highest number of refugees in proportion to their population.
Once considered one of the most isolated countries in the world (television and the Internet was banned until 1999), this predominantly
Buddhist nation is currently led by a recently reformed constitutional monarchy.
With little (but growing) contact with the outside world, it makes sense that Bhutan would be somewhat of an enigma. In fact, Bhutan has
even been lauded as a sort-of glorified bastion of Buddhism and happiness.
According to a press release issued by PhotoVoice and the Bhutanese Refugee Support group, the Bhutan government succeeded in
painting an idealized version of itself that is far from reality, at least for a large portion (approximately one-sixth) of the Bhutanese population.
“With a spotless environmental record and eye-catching social policies such as Gross National Happiness, this small country has succeeded
in projecting an image of itself as the ‘last Shangri La’ and an antidote to Western consumerism.
“In recent years it has attracted a raft of celebrities and ethically-minded travelers, drawn to it in part by its natural beauty and exoticism,
but also by recently-established luxury health spas charging up to $1000 a night.”
In 2006, researchers from Britain’s University of Leicester found and BusinessWeek reported that Bhutan is the happiest Asian nation and
the eighth happiest country worldwide. In comparison, the U.S. ranked 23rd and Bhutan’s neighbor India was rated 125th, while China rated
82nd on the happiness factor scale. It seemed, according to this study, that Bhutan was a utopia of smiling faces and content citizens.
When gauging the happiness factor in Bhutan, however, researchers most definitely weren’t talking to the Lhotshampas. The Lhotsampa —
people of Nepali origin who moved to southern Bhutan in the 19th century — are one of several main ethnic groups in Bhutan. In the 1980s,
the Bhutanese government, concerned with the growing population of the Hindu Lhotsampas, determined that they were a threat to political
order and subsequently passed ethno-nationalist policies. In the 1990s, many Lhotsampas were expelled from the country (accused of illegally
immigrating to Bhutan) or fled Bhutan in an effort to escape the ever-increasing ethnic tension in this landlocked country.
According to the UNHCR (The United Nations Refugee Agency), over 107,000 refugees have at one time been documented as living in
Nepali refugee camps since their mass exodus in the 1990s. They were refused citizenship by the Nepali government. In January of 2008, the
Nepalese government finally agreed to grant exit permits, which then began to spur a large-scale movement of Bhutanese refugees. The U.S.,
along with other countries, has begun to take in Bhutanese refugees and resettlement projects are underway.
“More than 20,000 refugees from Bhutan have now left Nepal to begin new lives … under one of UNHCR’s largest resettlement programs,”
UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said at press briefing on September 8. “The U.S. has received the highest number of refugees from
Bhutan, with 17,612 resettled there to date.” It is expected that at least 60,000 Bhutanese refugees will eventually call the U.S. their home and
that 125 Bhutanese refugees will call Wisconsin their home by the end of the year.
New refugees from Bhutan will face the daunting obstacles of language and cultural barriers, finding homes and work, and dealing with a
history that has stolen their home. It is at once a unique, yet also familiar story. Hopefully, they will be welcomed to our communities with the
understanding of the challenges they have faced and will face, and without the damaging stereotypes and discrimination that often unfairly
plague new refugee groups.
By Laura Salinger
Nestled between the up-and-coming superpowers of India and China, is the smaller, lesser-known country of Bhutan. In the last several
decades, hundreds of thousands of Bhutanese have been the target of government persecution and are now one of the newest groups of
refugees forced to seek safety outside their native homeland. Bhutan has one of highest number of refugees in proportion to their population.
Once considered one of the most isolated countries in the world (television and the Internet was banned until 1999), this predominantly
Buddhist nation is currently led by a recently reformed constitutional monarchy.
With little (but growing) contact with the outside world, it makes sense that Bhutan would be somewhat of an enigma. In fact, Bhutan has
even been lauded as a sort-of glorified bastion of Buddhism and happiness.
According to a press release issued by PhotoVoice and the Bhutanese Refugee Support group, the Bhutan government succeeded in
painting an idealized version of itself that is far from reality, at least for a large portion (approximately one-sixth) of the Bhutanese population.
“With a spotless environmental record and eye-catching social policies such as Gross National Happiness, this small country has succeeded
in projecting an image of itself as the ‘last Shangri La’ and an antidote to Western consumerism.
“In recent years it has attracted a raft of celebrities and ethically-minded travelers, drawn to it in part by its natural beauty and exoticism,
but also by recently-established luxury health spas charging up to $1000 a night.”
In 2006, researchers from Britain’s University of Leicester found and BusinessWeek reported that Bhutan is the happiest Asian nation and
the eighth happiest country worldwide. In comparison, the U.S. ranked 23rd and Bhutan’s neighbor India was rated 125th, while China rated
82nd on the happiness factor scale. It seemed, according to this study, that Bhutan was a utopia of smiling faces and content citizens.
When gauging the happiness factor in Bhutan, however, researchers most definitely weren’t talking to the Lhotshampas. The Lhotsampa —
people of Nepali origin who moved to southern Bhutan in the 19th century — are one of several main ethnic groups in Bhutan. In the 1980s,
the Bhutanese government, concerned with the growing population of the Hindu Lhotsampas, determined that they were a threat to political
order and subsequently passed ethno-nationalist policies. In the 1990s, many Lhotsampas were expelled from the country (accused of illegally
immigrating to Bhutan) or fled Bhutan in an effort to escape the ever-increasing ethnic tension in this landlocked country.
According to the UNHCR (The United Nations Refugee Agency), over 107,000 refugees have at one time been documented as living in
Nepali refugee camps since their mass exodus in the 1990s. They were refused citizenship by the Nepali government. In January of 2008, the
Nepalese government finally agreed to grant exit permits, which then began to spur a large-scale movement of Bhutanese refugees. The U.S.,
along with other countries, has begun to take in Bhutanese refugees and resettlement projects are underway.
“More than 20,000 refugees from Bhutan have now left Nepal to begin new lives … under one of UNHCR’s largest resettlement programs,”
UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said at press briefing on September 8. “The U.S. has received the highest number of refugees from
Bhutan, with 17,612 resettled there to date.” It is expected that at least 60,000 Bhutanese refugees will eventually call the U.S. their home and
that 125 Bhutanese refugees will call Wisconsin their home by the end of the year.
New refugees from Bhutan will face the daunting obstacles of language and cultural barriers, finding homes and work, and dealing with a
history that has stolen their home. It is at once a unique, yet also familiar story. Hopefully, they will be welcomed to our communities with the
understanding of the challenges they have faced and will face, and without the damaging stereotypes and discrimination that often unfairly
plague new refugee groups.
Laura Salinger is
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.
a freelance
writer based in
Madison, Wis.