Nepal Letter Exchange
A group of Bhutanese students living in the Sanischare Morang refugee camp in eastern Nepal has initiated a letter exchange with Highland Middle School, in Bellevue, Washington. Buddha Bir Gurung coordinated the exchange, encouraging over 25 students, aged 17-20, to write to the U.S. school about their lives in Nepal. According to Bir Gurung, the students eagerly await responses from their U.S. counterparts, in order to respond with more descriptions of their lives and questions about the U.S.
The Bhutanese students, who have lived in Nepalese refugee camps since 1992, describe themselves as intelligent and talented, as most students do. However, they are frustrated by their current education and life situation. The United Nations High Committee on Refugees (UNHCR) provides education through the eighth grade and the international non-governmental organization Caritas Nepal adds funds for two more years of education. But after grade 10 the Bhutanese students have few opportunities to further their education.
The refugee crisis occurred 13 years ago, when the Bhutanese government expelled ethnic Nepalis from the country, many of whom had been living in Bhutan for generations.[ 1] Currently 100,000 Bhutanese, or a sixth of the population, are in the refugee camps, located in southeastern Nepal. According to Human Rights Watch ( http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/10/nepal-bhutan102803.htm), there have been several rounds of talks between the governments of Nepal and Bhutan, but no solution that would allow most of the refugees to repatriate to Bhutan.
[1]In Limbo: Is there a solution in sight for Bhutanese refugees? The Economist, October 23,2003. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2156264