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A Window Of Opportunity
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
The United States as the land of immigrants has offered to take up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees currently languishing in several camps in eastern Nepal .
This provides a unique chance to the harried refugees who have been living miserable lives in camps to restart their life in the “land of opportunities.”
Likewise, the offer also provides Nepal with the opportunity of relieving off the burden that it has been shouldering for no fault of its own since last one and a half decade.
Due to recalcitrant and inhuman attitude of Bhutanese regime, the lives of over 100,000 people have been rendered miserable. Youths and children are living in a hell-like situation in camps deeply frustrated and anguished.
Therefore, notwithstanding how this decision could be translated as absolving Bhutanese regime of its wrongdoings, it does provide a practical solution to the plight of the people.
Strangely, the US offer seems to have irked the leaders of the refugees. A senior human rights leader of Bhutan has termed it as being supportive of Bhutan King. Even though he welcomed the US offer on humanitarian grounds, Tek Nath Rijal has criticized it as being “in favor of Bhutanese King and against Bhutanese people.”
On the other hand, the US proposal is said to be rapidly dividing the Bhutanese refugees. Following the offer, the debate has intensified even among members of a family with some wanting to go to the US , some wanting to return to Bhutan , some wanting to stay back in Nepal and some wanting to engage in agitation. This debate is taking intense form at seven refugee camps in Jhapa and Morang.
Groups of refugees who want to be resettled in the US or the third developed country, have started signature campaign in refuges camps of Beldangi, Goldhap, Timai and Pathari. They have even floated organizations to intensify the campaign.
This development has angered refugee leaders. Rinjin Dorjee, general secretary of Druk National Congress – Bhutan , has accused that a conspiracy is being hatched to split the refugees by compelling them to open up various parties, committees and organization in the pretext of resettling them to the US . “Situation is such that, there could even be a bloodshed. When we said that repatriation is the ultimate alternative and the only sustainable solution of this impasse, threats were made to our lives,” said D.B. Rana Sampang, chairman of Bhutan Gorkha Liberation Front. D.P. Kafle, general secretary of Human Rights of Bhutan, urged all concerned to be cautious about the likelihood of clashes. “If we are not cautious in time, there could be unimagined consequences (of this resettlement proposal),” he said.
Most of the refugee leaders claim that repatriation must be the number one priority. But this has been their stand for the past 15 years. Even after 15 ministerial meetings, the problem could not be resolved. A new round of ministerial meeting is expected to begin from November this year.
Although Nepal government has not made any official comment about the US offer, foreign minister KP Oli recently told reporters that Nepal first wanted to resolve it by repatriating the refugees. “But we could also look into other viable options,” he said.
The US offer was formally made by Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Affairs, Ellen Sauerbrey, during a conference of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva last week. She said that the US was “willing to resettle a very significant part of this [refugee] population." She said, "We think over the next three or four years that we can easily absorb 50,000 or 60,000 of the people who are now in these camps," AP quoted her as saying.
Every year the United States accepts around 50,000 refugees from all over the world – from Bosnia to Somalia . This is the first time US has shown interest to resettle Bhutanese refugees. Other developed countries such as Canada and Australia , too, reportedly have shown interest to take up some Bhutanese refugees.
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