We haven’t had any news on this in a long time, so here is a quick update. It seems that the Maoists in refugee camps in Nepal are continuing to subject refugees wishing to be resettled by the UNHCR to violence or threats of violence, so much so that security villages have been set up within camps to further protect some refugees on the list to leave.
Just a reminder to new readers we are taking a total of 60,000 Bhutanese refugees over a five year period. So far we have resettled around 20,000. It’s inaccurate to call them Bhutanese because they are really ethnic Nepalese who had been living in Bhutan for a long time. Bhutan expelled them for a couple of reasons, first Bhutan is concerned with ethnic nationalism (surprise, surprise, they want Bhutan for the Bhutanese) and fear that the Nepalis are infiltrated with Maoists who would overthrow the government of Bhutan. Here is just one of many posts on the Maoist issue. Nepal doesn’t want to repatriate them either.
Anyway, the violence is coming from the Maoists who contend that the more ‘Bhutanese’ refugees that accept a third country resettlement, the less likely they will have enough of an ‘army’ to push for a return to Bhutan.
As for that security village:
This is not a wonder, as you feel when reading this, but the fact is a village has been created within the Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal. And it is named as security village.
Created on the lap of Armed Police Force (APF) base camp in Beldangi I, the security village turns to be a shelter for all refugees getting threats for opting to go third country as part of the resettlement.
The village contains only few huts where people recommended by the UNHCR, having felt the need to provide security due to increasing threats, are sheltered in. Attached is four-hut separate shelter called transit huts.
There is more, read on.