| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 23,316 Americans of Bhutanese descent or ethnic origin (2013 American Community Survey) [1] 71,000 Bhutanese refugees in USA (according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in USA in 2013) [2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Vermont (Burlington) • New Hampshire • Maryland (Baltimore) • Colorado (Denver, Boulder) • Ohio (Akron, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo) • South Dakota (Sioux Falls) • North Dakota (Grand Forks, Fargo) • Kentucky (Louisville, Bowling Green) • Massachusetts (Boston, Worcester) • Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Erie, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Lancaster) • Nebraska (Omaha) • Michigan (Lansing, Grand Rapids) • Utah (Salt Lake City) • New York (Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester) • California • Wisconsin (Milwaukee) | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism • Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
Bhutanese Americans are Americans of Bhutanese descent. According to the 2010 census there are 19,439 Americans of Bhutanese descent. [1] However, many Nepali-Bhutanese came to the U.S. via Nepal as political refugees from that country and are registered as Nepali Americans; often leading to the actual numbers of Bhutanese Americans being underreported. More than 92,323 Bhutanese Nepalis have been resettled in the United States, with the largest single community being approximately 27,000 in Columbus, Ohio. [3] [4]
According to the 2010 census, there are 19,439 Bhutanese Americans. [1] However, many Bhutanese came to the U.S. from Nepal as political refugees from that country. These political refugees formed, according to estimates of June 20, 2010, a population of 27,926 people in the United States. Many Bhutanese Americans are of the Hindu faith. [5] The others are Kiratas, Buddhist, and Christians.
Many of the Bhutanese living in the United States were actually ethnic minorities of Nepalese descent. This was because, between the late 80s and early 90s, thousands of Bhutanese were driven out of Bhutan, as they were considered by the government of that country as "illegal immigrants" because they did not have the required proof that was needed to tag them as a citizen of Bhutan. Despite this, however, these Bhutanese came from families who had been living in Bhutan for more than two centuries. The government's goal was to maintain the Tibetan ethnic purity of most of the population. Thus, since 1990, more than 105,000 ethnically Nepali Bhutanese refugees temporarily migrated to neighbouring Nepal, from where their ancestors came, establishing in refugee camps in the east of the country. However, after 15 years living in exile in the neighbouring country, many of them have migrated to the U.S., Europe and Australia. [6] This emigration to the United States is due, at least in large part, to a program coordinated by the U.S. State Department and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. [5] Of the 60,000 Bhutanese - Nepali refugees that U.S. has offered to migrate in the country, [7] according to BBC News on June 20, 2010, had already 27,926 lived in USA. [8] [9] However, in Oct. 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that around 71,000 Bhutanese refugees living in the U.S. [2]
According to the International Organization for Migration, the Bhutanese refugees are sent to places such as New York City, Chicago, Syracuse (New York), and St. Louis (Missouri). The refugees are also sent to states such as Texas, Arizona, Maryland [7] and Oregon. [10] The community is being helped by The Hindu Temple of Minnesota, along with Lutheran and Catholic social organizations who give them materials and moral support. [5]
In 2014, Connecting Cleveland, a four-page paper with stories in English and Nepali was launched to serve Nepali-speaking Bhutanese families in the Cleveland, Ohio area. [11]
In 2020-2021, Connecting Cleveland founder Hari Dahal, a Bhutanese American, registered the non-profit as Connecting Cleveland Community, Inc. The non-profit has helped Greater Cleveland immigrant families whose members often work in frontline jobs in the service industry where early in the pandemic the virus was spreading fast. Bhutanese Americans youths under Hari Dahal's leadership have found a group in early 2020 - called Nebham LLC - that create various technological solutions and apps for nonprofits and businesses run by Bhutanese Americans. [12]
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the cities, suburbs, and towns with the largest percentages of Nepali Bhutanese Americans were: [13]
A trouble in the community is the high rate of suicide. In 2008, more than 30 Bhutanese refugees, shortly after resettlement in United States, committed suicide. [2] [14] From 2009 to 2012, 16 more suicides among the Bhutanese community had occurred. [15] According to an article in The Wall Street Journal in 2013, 7 more Bhutanese refugees had committed suicide. [14]
According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every 100,000 Bhutanese refugees, 24.4 commit suicide, almost double the rate of 12.4 for the general population of The United States. It was also stated that this estimate was much higher than the estimated annual global suicide rate for all persons in the world at 16 per 100,000 people. [16] [15]
According to data released in 2017 by the Pew Research Center, 33.3% of the Bhutanese American community lived under the poverty line. [17] This is more than twice the USA poverty average of 16% according to data released by the Economic Policy Institute in 2011. [18]
Many sources have indicated that 21% of all Bhutanese Americans suffer from depression which is nearly 3 times the rate of the general American which stands at 6.7%. [19] [20] [21] It has been observed that other mental illnesses are also prevalent among the community such as anxiety and PTSD. [22] [23]
According to the same date released by the Pew Research Center, the Bhutanese community has one of the lowest educational attainment level in the entire U.S. with only 9% of all Bhutanese Americans 25 years old and older have at least a bachelor's degree. [17]
Bhutanese Americans own various businesses that serve the community and larger groups throughout the United States, e.g. Nebham LLC. [24]
The Bhutanese American Association of Houston (BaaH) and the Association of Bhutanese in America (ABA) are two examples of Bhutanese-American organizations. The Bhutanese American Association of Houston has an ESL program which provides elderly people in the community with the resources to learn English. In addition, ESL students are taken to various places and parks with recreational purposes to facilitate adaptation to the city. [25] The Association of Bhutanese in America aims to establish relationships between U.S. Bhutanese and Bhutanese in Bhutan and elsewhere, as well as establish a platform that favors their relationship with the community and their country of origin. [26]
The Lhotshampa or Lhotsampa people are a heterogeneous Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent. "Lhotshampa", which means "southern borderlanders" in Dzongkha, began to be used by the Bhutanese state in the second half of the twentieth century to refer to the population of Nepali origin in the south of the country. After being displaced as a result of the state-run ethnic cleansing and living in refugee camps in eastern parts of Nepal, starting in 2007 most of the Bhutanese Refugees were resettled to various countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. As of 2021 the number of Lhotshampa in Nepal is significantly lower than that in the United States and other countries where they have resettled. People of Nepalese origin started to settle in uninhabited areas of southern Bhutan in the 19th century.
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 54 of 193 member states of the United Nations and the European Union. Bhutan's limited number of such relations, including the absence of formal relations with any of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, is part of a deliberate isolationist policy of limiting foreign influence in the state. This stance has been safeguarded by close relations with India, of which Bhutan has previously been considered a protected state.
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi), Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion.
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"), a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens who fled or were deported from Bhutan during the protest against the Bhutanese government by some of the Lhotshampas demanding human rights and democracy in Bhutan. As Nepal and Bhutan have yet to implement an agreement on repatriation, most Bhutanese refugees have since resettled to North America, Oceania and Europe under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many Lhotshampa also migrated to areas of West Bengal and Assam in India independently of the UNHCR.
Immigration to Bhutan has an extensive history and has become one of the country's most contentious social, political, and legal issues. Since the twentieth century, Bhutanese immigration and citizenship laws have been promulgated as acts of the royal government, often by decree of the Druk Gyalpo on advice of the rest of government. Immigration policy and procedure are implemented by the Lhengye Zhungtshog Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Department of Immigration. Bhutan's first modern laws regarding immigration and citizenship were the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1958 and subsequent amendments in 1977. The 1958 Act was superseded by the Bhutanese Citizenship Act 1985, which was then supplemented by a further Immigration Act in 2007. The Constitution of 2008 included some changes in Bhutan's immigration laws, policy, and procedure, however prior law not inconsistent with the 2008 Constitution remained intact. Bhutan's modern citizenship laws and policies reinforce the institution of the Bhutanese monarchy, require familiarity and adherence to Ngalop social norms, and reflect the social impact of the most recent immigrant groups.
Numerous ethnic groups inhabit Bhutan, but the Ngalop people who speak the Dzongkha language constitute a majority of the Bhutanese population. The Bhutanese are of four main ethnic groups, which themselves are not necessarily exclusive – the politically and culturally dominant Ngalop of western and northern Bhutan, the Sharchop of eastern Bhutan, the Lhotshampa concentrated in southern Bhutan, and Bhutanese tribal and aboriginal peoples living in villages scattered throughout Bhutan.
Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bhutan, covering about 22.6% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center 2010. It is followed mainly by the ethnic Lhotshampa. The Shaivite, Vaishnavite, Shakta, Ganapathi, Puranic, and Vedic schools are represented among Hindus. Hindu temples exist in southern Bhutan, and Hindus practice their religion in small- to medium-sized groups. About 75% of the population of Bhutan are Buddhist.
Human rights in Bhutan are those outlined in Article 7 of its Constitution. The Royal Government of Bhutan has affirmed its commitment to the "enjoyment of all human rights" as integral to the achievement of 'gross national happiness' (GNH); the unique principle which Bhutan strives for, as opposed to fiscally based measures such as GDP.
Nepalese Americans are Americans of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigration from Nepal to America is more recent in comparison to other South Asian ethnic groups. Major community groups of Nepali Americans consists of Khas, followed by minority Newars, Tharus, Tamangs, Gurungs, Limbus, Rais, Magar, Madhesis, Lhotshampas, Sherpas, and others, as of American Nepalese Convention Survey of 2018.
Nepali Australians are the citizens and residents in Australia whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Nepal. Nepali started to settle in Australia from the 1960s, but the vast majority of Nepali Australians arrived after 2006.
Nepalese New Zealanders or Nepali New Zealanders are citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand whose ethnic origins are fully or partially in Nepal.
Nepal is home to 40,490 refugees officially recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Indian, Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees account for a large majority of Nepal’s refugee population.
The Beldangi refugee camps consist of three settlements in Damak, Jhapa District, Nepal: Beldangi I, Beldangi II, and Beldangi III Extension. They are inhabited by Bhutanese refugees. As of 2011, Beldangi I to the east had 12,793 residents; Beldangi II to the west had 14,680; and Beldangi III Extension had 8,470. The three camps are located near each other, off main highways LD Rd 15 and DL1, which separates Beldangi I from a nearby river.
Nepalese in the Netherlands consists of immigrants, expatriates and international students from Nepal to the Netherlands as well as Dutch people of Nepalese origin. As of 2010, statistics of the Dutch Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek shows that there are about 1,505 people of Nepalese origin living in the country.
Bhutanese Nepali literature refers to the literary works in the Nepali language by Bhutanese people. This started from 1962 with the publishing of Kuensel.
Dilliram Sharma Acharya is a poet of the Nepali language from Bhutanese diaspora. He currently lives in Norway. He started writing during his life as a refugee after he was exiled from Bhutan.
Ethnic cleansing in Bhutan refers to acts of violence to remove the Lhotshampa, or ethnic Nepalis, from Bhutan. Inter-ethnic tensions in Bhutan have resulted in the flight of many Lhotshampa to Nepal, many of whom have been expelled by the Bhutanese military. By 1996, over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees were living in refugee camps in Nepal. Many have since resettled in Western nations.
Bhutan and the United States have no formal diplomatic relations, but relations between the two nations are viewed as "friendly and close", due to shared values between the two countries. The increasingly close relationship between India and the U.S. has also helped to improve U.S.–Bhutanese relations.
British Bhutanese are people of Bhutanese ancestry who are citizens of the United Kingdom or resident in the country. This includes people born in the UK who are of Bhutanese descent, and Bhutan-born people who have migrated to the UK.
The Bhutanese refugees scam was a fraud scheme that duped over 800 people out of millions of rupees by giving them fictitious documents in the name of asylum seekers from Bhutan who were qualified for resettlement in other countries. A political-bureaucratic network and intermediaries were involved in this complex plan. The scandal has made the pervasive corruption in Nepal's political and administrative structures public. Tek Narayan Pandey, a former home secretary, has been detained on allegations of accepting payments totaling millions of rupees.
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