From the Archives: Bhutanese Nepali refugee communities in the United States have embraced an approach to identity that reflects their unique heritage and underscores the power of choosing their own labels.
Katie Reilly” Rai was 8 years old, he and his family were forced out of Bhutan by the government and relocated to a refugee camp in the nearby nation of Nepal. Food was scarce, he remembers, and survival was hard.
“Some people say, ‘We are Bhutanese because we were born in Bhutan and our nationality is Bhutanese,’” says Rai. “Other people say, ‘Our forefathers are from Nepal, and we speak Nepali, we eat Nepali food, and we celebrate Nepali culture.’” Nepal and Bhutan, two nations neighboring Tibet, share a population of individuals who have deep ties to both countries.Bhutanese Nepali naming, then, offers a window into a refugee experience and the community’s century-long narrative of resilience. Today, as vulnerable populations migrate across the globe in search of better lives, that narrative is a timely reminder of the complexity of defining nationality, particularly for groups who have experienced statelessness.
“Being forced into highly regulated refugee camps in Nepal forged a collective identity which was often in resistance to the larger political structure,” Nelson says. That spirit would contribute to the refugees’ flexibility in naming as they resettled once again.United States
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