WUNRN
Nepal's Displaced: What Does the Future Hold?
A Women's Commission delegation recently visited Nepal, where we looked at economic opportunities for Bhutanese refugees and Nepalis who have returned home after being displaced by civil conflict. Read more on this issue
Photo by Dale Buscher/Women's Commission
Nepalese Displaced In Their Own Country
Nepal is one
of the poorest nations in the world and has a history of political instability.
In November 2006, Nepal’s royalist government and Maoist rebels signed a
historic peace accord, ending a 10-year civil war that displaced upwards of
250,000 people, especially in the midwest region of the country. The Nepalese
that were displaced by this conflict are now returning home. However, frequent bombings,
general strikes and upcoming elections in April indicate more volatility ahead
for the Himalayan nation.
Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal
Settled in
southeast Nepal in seven camps, 108,000 refugees from neighboring Bhutan face
deteriorating conditions and rising tensions. In the late 1980s, the Bhutanese
government began a systematic campaign to deny ethnic Nepali Hindus human
rights, citizenship and their land. Expelled from Bhutan 17 years ago,
Bhutanese refugees are not allowed to work or move freely and have few options
for a better life for themselves and their families.
Only
recently has resettlement to a third country presented itself as an option. The
Bhutanese refugees have been banned from returning to Bhutan and not allowed to
integrate into Nepal. The United States will accept up to 60,000 Bhutanese refugees
for resettlement within the next five years, with Australia, Canada and New
Zealand also offering resettlement options.
Women irrigate plots of
land using the treadle pump, saving time and increasing productivity. Photo above by Dale
Buscher/Women's Commission. Photo top right by Lauren Heller/Women's
Commission.
================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com.
Thank you.