In 2007, then Asst. Secretary of State for Population Refugees and Migration, Ellen Saurbrey, said the US had agreed to take 60,000 of the 100,000 Bhutanese (really Nepali) refugees living in camps in Nepal over a five year period. Here we are, going on 7 years, and we have now taken in 75,000 with more on the way!
You can read all about why we decided it was our duty (here) to do this when we had no national interest in it—other than that the UN told us to do it! And, surely US companies, looking for cheap legal labor, were egging the Bush administration on, while the human rights industrial complex agitators cheered. In fairness, we can’t blame Sauerbrey for what the subsequent Obama State Department is doing.
But, pay attention because they will do this (lie) about the Syrians as well.
Once the US State Department begins the process with its resettlement contractors, the numbers will balloon way beyond what they promised in the first place. Remember the contractors are paid by the head to resettle refugees in your cities and town. They are always out scouting for a fresh supply!
Other countries were supposed to help, but as is the usual case, the lion’s share falls on the US.
From the International Organization for Migration (also a US contractor):
Nepal – The United States this week resettled its 75,000th Bhutanese refugee from eastern Nepal. Tilak Chand Ghimire, 44, his wife, 12-year-old daughter and 75-year-old parents, will start new lives in Akron, Ohio, where his brother resettled in 2010.
The move brings the total number of Bhutanese refugees resettled from Nepal since 2007 by IOM, in close cooperation with the Nepali government, the embassies of resettlement countries and UNHCR, to 88,770.
Get it! We took 75,000 of the 88,770 resettled so far!
All subsequent negotiations to allow them to return to Bhutan failed and almost the whole 107,000 caseload are expected to eventually be resettled in third countries, notably the US.
We have an extensive archive on Bhutanese refugees going back to our first year writing RRW, click here to learn more. You will see in the early posts that a large number of the Bhutanese/Nepalese camp dwellers DID NOT want to be resettled in third countries.