Resettled Bhutanese Face Cross-cultural Challenges
Bhuwan Gautam
Springfield, USA
Preservation, promotion, and protection of Nepali language, culture and religion have become a burning issue for the resettled Bhutanese. Not having the Nepali language in the school curriculum has posed a challenge among the second generation to acquire native language skills to meet parents’ and society’s expectations. This article explores the Resettled Bhutanese Parents’ Cultural belief, expectation, environmental factors, and reality.
Everybody spoke Nepali in Bhutan. Dzongkha, the national language, was taught in schools but not all Bhutanese had the privilege to attend school. Although the government fully funded the public schools, few southern Bhutanese managed to go to school. The household chores kept them busy. They spoke Nepali all their life. The national language was not mandatory until the Bhutanese government adopted the One Nation One People policy in the late 1980s. Over 100,000 Nepali speaking Bhutanese were mercilessly uprooted and were forced to become refugees in Nepal since the beginning of the 1990s. Bhutanese refugees were fully acculturated in the Nepalese culture and language they speak.
The third country resettlement has made anything possible for the resettled Bhutanese youths in achieving their American dream but beginning to upset at least to the illiterate and non-English speaking elderly population. Those parents and grandparents who were initially happy to hear their children and grandchildren speak English are now worried because they can’t communicate with the children. Children speak English only and parents and grandparents speak Nepali only.
Parents want their children to speak Nepali while children want their parents to learn English. There is a power struggle. The bilingual English speaking parents enjoy having conversations with their English speaking children while monolingual parents feel the opposite.
Some resettled Bhutanese worry that they might need a Nepali interpreter at their home if their children stop communicating in Nepali. Nepali linguistics and religious leaders are concerned that Nepali language and culture would vanish from our community if no promotion, protection, and preservation are done regularly. Some community volunteers have already started running Nepali classes in their communities. Though the different level of language promotional campaigns is ongoing, there aren’t any studies that evidence language acquisition effectiveness.
Some of the anecdotal evidence shows that children of parents providing less supervision, monitoring and support are less receptive to the Nepali language acquisition and retention. They are often found sitting in the corner of the room with an electronic gazette, phone or watching TV and less engaged in conversations with the parents and family members. They love to mingle, play and engage with their peers who speak English. A school going child spends about eight hours a day in schools where English is a basis of all forms of communication. They have to sleep for at least 8 hours. If they are at home with the TV and other devices, they spend additional hours to engage in non-Nepali activities.
Some parents are forced to leave their children under the care of grandparents, relatives, and neighbors due to their nightly work schedules and other situations. It becomes hard for the caretakers to discipline someone else’s children. Traditionally, when a guest/relative visits home, parents try to divert their attention to ask their children- hey Child, Say Namaste to Uncle. The child, for the sake of parents, says either flatly or ignores the call or says hi or Namaste under the compulsion and minds his own business.
Some of my friends’ children don’t speak Nepali at all but they do understand. However, they can’t communicate with their grandparents. The parents are proud that their children speak English fluent like a Native American. They share how hard it was to go through ESOL, difficulty getting a job due to poor English, hard time people understanding English accent and other frustrations. They are proud to be with their children who can help them to be their communication manager role in the country where everyone speaks English.
The grandparents and the Nepali teachers, including social and religious leaders, are putting a significant emphasis on promoting, preserving and protecting the language, culture, and religion. Some of the communities in the US have started Nepali classes. Some parents have enforced restrictions on speaking English at home. However, if they are not allowed to speak English at home, they may not be able to complete their homework assignments. Parental involvement in children’s day to day educational activities is so significant even if communicated in Nepali.
It is not uncommon for the first generation immigrants to go through challenges maintaining family traditions, language, and culture among their second generation children and grandchildren in the new country.
Research findings show that educational and family efforts to maintain and support the development of competence in the two languages of the dual language child may prove rewarding in terms of long-term well-being, educational and cognitive benefits. Therefore, it’s critical for the Bhutanese communities to learn from the other immigrant communities about their success and adopt the best practices to maintain, preserve and promote Nepali language, culture, and tradition.