The Center for New North Carolinians Newsletter – February 2013
Building bridges among immigrant populations and existing communities throughout the state of North Carolina…
Greetings! In this month’s newsletter, we are excited to highlight the Bhutanese, a population that the CNNC serves.
We will also share some stories about work conducted by members of our wonderful CNNC family.
In this Issue
- “Who Are the Bhutanese” by Raleigh Bailey
- To Nepal and Back – photo exhibition
- Oakwood Community Center Takes A Closer Look at Education
- Know Your Rights
- Announcements
“Who Are the Bhutanese?” by Raleigh Bailey
Bhutan and Nepal are two adjacent small countries in South Asia. Their northern borders are high in the Himalayas, and their southern borders descend down to India. Historically, both countries have been isolated, having little contact with the outside world. However, in the past five years, ethnic Nepalis with Bhutanese citizenship, who have been forced out of both Bhutan and Nepal, have become one of the leading refugee groups entering the US, with over 62,000 arrivals as of December 2012.
Over these five years, 2,345 Bhutanese have resettled in North Carolina, placing them second only to the Burmese in numbers of refugees resettled in our state over the same period. Charlotte has led the state in Bhutanese resettlement with 1,129 people, Guilford County follows with 825, and Raleigh and Durham trail after with 212 and 127, respectively. Half a dozen other NC communities host smaller numbers. (Statistics and related cultural notes come primarily from the Center for Applied Linguistics – CAL – and its website: www.culturalorientation.net, which is funded in part by the US Department of State Bureau of Populations, Refugees, and Migration, as a resource for refugee providers in the US. These statistics do not reflect the children born into the new refugee families in the US, nor do they reflect internal migration between states as these newcomers try to track down and join families and friends who might be resettled in different communities.)
Labeled as Bhutanese, these newcomers are ethnically Nepali, and their language is Nepali. Their ancestors migrated from Nepal to a relatively unpopulated area of southern Bhutan in the late 1800s, looking for land to farm. The group is known in Bhutan as “Lhotsampas,” meaning “People of the South.” The Lhotsampas maintained their Nepali language and kept their own customs and dress, which differ from those of the ethnic Bhutanese. Schools serving this group used Nepali language and relied on their own communities for teachers. The majority of the group practice Hinduism (60%). The remainder practice Buddhism (30%), Kirat (an indigenous religion), or Christianity.
The Lhotsampas were granted Bhutanese citizenship in 1958, but in the 1980s the Bhutanese government became concerned about the growing size of this group with a different language and heritage. CAL reports that the group has an unusual history of refugee persecution. Rather than experiencing a war or conflict in the traditional sense, they were stripped of their citizenship by the Bhutanese government, suffered cultural discrimination, marginalization, harassment, and denial of basic services, including access to education, jobs, and healthcare. Some Lhotsampas were also detained, tortured, or compelled to sign documents stating that they would leave the country. As a consequence, tens of thousands of refugees flowed out of Bhutan, through India, and into Nepal in 1991. The Nepalese government did not welcome them back, and they were forced into seven refugee camps on the Nepalese border. Through migration and birth, the camp populations grew to over 100,000 people. Over 40,000 of the original refugee population were children, so a substantial proportion of the refugees have lived in the camps their entire lives.
Refugee camp life is challenging and primitive, even with support from the United Nations and NGOs – non-governmental organizations. Education systems are set up in the camps with teaching in Nepali but with some English language classes as well. The curriculum runs through grade ten, though some people are allowed to leave camp to continue their education in Nepalese schools or universities in India. Most identify as farmers or students, though some have been teachers, social workers, weavers, and housekeepers.
Caste systems traditionally operated in the community, but the refugee camp design and programs helped to weaken that tradition. Similarly, while women’s roles were narrowly defined historically, those roles changed with resettlement. Typical foods include rice, curry, lentils, and other vegetables. Some refugees are vegetarians, and there was no consumption of beef due to the predominant Hindu religious tradition. Goat and chicken have been popular, however. Camp life is simple, and residents have little or no exposure to modern cooking appliances.
Bhutanese arriving in North Carolina are family-oriented and motivated to continue their educations, English language acquisition, vocational training, and pursuit of jobs to become self-sufficient. North Carolina resettlement agency representatives report little out-migration because most new arrivals now join established family units in the state.
CNNC is delighted to host a photographic exhibit of Bhutanese refugee camp life, developed in 2011 by Duke University students who visited the camps as part of a Kenan Institute for Ethics project. The exhibit will open on Saturday, March 30.
To Nepal and Back – photo exhibition
Students from Duke University steep themselves in refugee studies as part of a program called DukeImmerse. The program, which focuses on Bhutanese and Iraqi refugee groups in particular, is led by Dr. Suzanne Shanahan, Associate Director for the Kenan Institute for Ethics.
Over the past two years, DukeImmerse students have visited the Center for New North Carolinians to gain perspective on North Carolina’s history of resettlement and to talk with Dr. Bailey and the other staff about their experiences working with refugees.
As part of their experience, these students travel to refugee camps. One group that traveled to Nepal over the summer of 2011 to learn from Bhutanese refugees brought back pictures and stories, which they have since developed into a photo exhibit. Dr. Margaret Brown, who assists with the project and coordinated development of the photo exhibit, described the Bhutanese trip as an opportunity “to learn about refugee service provision internationally and to work with refugees in collecting life stories.”
This February, the photo exhibit has come to Greensboro. The pictures and stories will be displayed at the CNNC and officially exhibited for the appreciation of local Bhutanese and UNCG students, faculty, and staff on Saturday, March 30.
Oakwood Community Center Takes A Closer Look at Education
Jason Straus, who works in the Oakwood Community Center, is not only a tutor and mentor but also a proponent for education on behalf of the kids with whom he works. Kids in the tutoring program are predominantly Latino. Along with excellent English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction in school, they receive tutoring assistance at the Community Center.
Recently, Jason realized that the majority of children and parents in the tutoring group were either misinformed about Guilford County Magnet Schools or unaware that magnet schools existed. With a desire to expose them to possibilities and encourage them to aim high, Jason contacted the Magnet School office and Mayra Hayes, the ESOL Coordinator for Guilford County Schools. Ms. Hayes, through Guilford County Schools, was able to provide transportation for 25-30 students and their parents to the Magnet Schools Fair on January 28.
A price cannot be placed on sparking a child’s desire to learn, and that is exactly what happened at the fair.
Know Your Rights
An elderly couple lived in a rented home for four years where the only heating came from a portable heater. Nang Nguyen is on staff at the Center for New North Carolinians and a home educator with the Lead Paint and Health Home Project. He visited the couple’s home to see if he could help.
There was more wrong with the home than just the lack of heat. He promptly documented the situation and confronted the landlord. Eventually, the landlord had to fix the problems or be forced to forgo the rent payment until he did.
Nang is a part of a team of roughly three people that educate the community about how to keep homes clean and safe. They also advocate on behalf of renters who may not know their rights or, because they are refugees or immigrants, are hesitant to exercise those rights.
Each person on this team speaks three to four languages and is a wonderful asset to the Greensboro Housing Coalition with whom they collaborate.
Announcements
Don’t miss the Bhutanese photo exhibit, Saturday, March 30. If you are interested in attending please contact Elizabeth Leon at [email protected] for more information.
Upcoming interpreter training! A two-day Foundations of Professional Interpretation for Health and Human Services training will be held April 18th and 19th. For more information about when and how to register, go to http://cnnc.uncg.edu and click on “Events.” For technical assistance, contact Susan Chilcott at [email protected] or 336.256.8617.
AmeriCorps is now recruiting for new volunteer Members as well as additional partner agencies. If you would like to participate or know of any person or agency that would like to be involved, please contact [email protected]. Information can also be found at http://cnnc.uncg.edu.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Center for New North Carolinians visit our website here.
Thank you so much for your continued interest and involvement. Special thanks to our friends in UNCG’s Office of Research and Economic Development.
Did you know…?
According to information published by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), by 2008, there were 107,000 refugees fleeing Bhutan to Nepal.