Bhutan
History of Bhutan
Bhutan is often described as a picturesque place where the people are among the happiest in the world. This glosses over the mistreatment of the Nepalese Bhutanese citizens by their government.
In the 1970s and 1980s the Bhutanese government began to enact policies with the goal of ridding Bhutan of the ethnic Nepalese. The ethnic Nepalese, Lhotshampas, were seen as threat to the current monarchy. The Human Rights Watch report "Trapped by Inequality: Bhutanese Refugee Women in Nepal" shares the set of policies that led to the expulsion of the Lhotshampas.The Bhutanese government, a hereditary monarchy dominated by the Ngalongs, perceived the growing ethnic Nepalese population and their formation of a political party as a threat to Bhutan’s cultural and political order.2 The Citizenship Acts of 1977 and 1985 included several provisions permitting the revocation of citizenship. The government began enforcing the 1985 Act in a discriminatory manner through a 1988 census, resulting in the mass denationalization of thousands of Lhotshampas in violation of international human rights law.3 The census was implemented only in southern Bhutan, and reports suggest that local government officials made arbitrary census classifications designed to push the Nepali-speaking community out of Bhutan. The government of Bhutan also introduced a “one nation, one people” policy in 1989 that forced the practice of Drukpa culture nation-wide through a compulsory dress code and the termination of Nepali language instruction in schools.4Mistreatment escalated after the implementation of these policies and eventually people had to choose to flee or risk being evicted, jailed, tortured, killed, or raped. The government even forced people to sign documents stating that they were leaving of their own free will. About a third of Bhutan's population fled the country.
Watch this video to hear from those affected by these events.
Nepal and India—both areas where a majority of Bhutanese refugees fled to—did not welcome them with open arms. They were hostile and adamantly opposed to letting them work or settle in their countries. Instead, they set up refugee camps. These camps have been home to the Bhutanese refugees for decades. Many have resettled in secondary countries like the United States and Australia, but many remain. They hope that one day they can return to their homes in Bhutan.
For those who chose to resettle, the process is a lengthy and difficult one.
Watch this video to hear about the resettlement experience.