The Sorry Saga of Bhutan's North

The Sorry Saga of Bhutan's North
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Monday, December 31, 2012

75000th Bhutanese refugee leaves Nepal for resettlement


THT ONLINE
Thousands of Nepali speaking Bhutanese were forced to leave their homes in the late 1980s and 1990s following the state-backed atrocities against them

KATHMANDU: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that they sent 75,000th Bhutanese refugee from Nepal to the United States on Wednesday for the third country settlement.

Six-year-old Yagandra Kami became the 75,000th refugee to be a part of major resettlement programme, which was launched in November 2007. He flew to Pennsylvania along his two sisters and parents today.

"Today we celebrate this turning point and look back the long way we have come from number one,” said Maurizio Busatti, Chief of Mission of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Nepal.

Six-year-old Yagandra Kami, in his blue jacket, waves goodbye as his boards the IOM bus to the Tribhuvan International Airport together with his parents and two sisters. Photo: UNHCR/E.Hamilton-Clark

“Our efforts will continue unabated to prepare the last refugee to settle into his/her new life. IOM is committed to nurturing the team spirit and the model partnership that has marked this program from the start and is at the basis of today’s result,” Busatti said.

Thousands of Nepali speaking Bhutanese were forced to leave their homes in the late 1980s and 1990s following the state-backed atrocities against them. Most of them took refuge in the eastern districts of Nepal.

Under one of the largest and successful resettlement programmes, more than 63,400 of the refugees have begun new lives in the United States, said UNCHR and IOM in a joint statement.

The other countries to accept refugees are Australia (3,837), Canada (5,296), Denmark (724), New Zealand (710), the Netherlands (326), Norway (546), and the United Kingdom (257).

“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Stephane Jaquemet, UNHCR Representative in Nepal. “It has only been possible due to the incredible generosity of the resettlement countries, the resilience of the refugees, the great support of the Government of Nepal, and the exemplary partnership with IOM.”

With over half the original population resettled, the seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal have been merged to two—one in Sanischare and the other in Beldangi, according to UNCHR and IOM.

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