The Story that Should Never be Forgotten
Sweeta Ghimiray
Worcester, Massachusetts
The story that most are not aware of. The story that people hear and sometimes say, “that never happened.” This story is a story that should never be forgotten. A story that aligned in the south of Asia. It happened between the two neighboring countries of Nepal and The Kingdom of Bhutan.
Let us start from the past and make it back to our present. In the early to mid-1600s, a migration began. Nepalis of different castes and ethnic groups made their way to their neighboring country of Bhutan. This was because the Kingdom of Bhutan was in its developmental era. It needed support and help to be built as an official country of its own. This gave the opening to Nepalis to go over, support, hope, and attempt for better lives.
Bhutanese of Nepali descent, mostly-Hindu group, were settled in the southern parts of Bhutan. With them, they brought over traditions, cultures, and different ethnic groups. All that Nepal had to offer. Soon those families built their heirs and generations, and that is how Bhutanese-Nepalis came to be. Now these Bhutanese-Nepalis they built and created hundreds, possibly thousands of different things in Bhutan.
They were living their lives having their origin, religion, and culture of Nepal combined with the Realm of Bhutan. The two cultures joined together; some stated to be “a new opening.” But even with the combination of Hinduism and Buddhism, two religions and cultures, Nepalis never forgot their true roots and origins. They continued with their former cultures and traditions. Teaching and building their generations never to forget who they were from the start.
But unfortunately, after a couple of centuries, things changed, but not in a positive manner. In the late 1900s, the Bhutanese monarchy saw how much the population growth of Bhutanese-Nepalis had increased. The fear grew in their minds, with them thinking that Nepal would take over Bhutan completely. But that wasn’t exactly the case. Nepal itself has an individual had/has never been colonized as well as never attempted to colonize another.
The monarchy thought that the Bhutanese-Nepalis would cause harm to the pure Bhutanese people. Nepalis were quick grasp, hard work, and smart decision makers to improve their family status. So, the government of Bhutan decided to attempt and force the Bhutanese-Nepalis to drop their origin and follow ONLY Bhutanese culture and traditions. Made them follow Bhutanese hairstyles, that is donned short hair. ONLY cook Bhutanese food, that is Ema datshi, the national dish of Bhutan. ‘Ema’ means chilly peppers, and ‘datshi’ means cheese. Wear ONLY Bhutanese clothing that is gho and kira. They wanted it to be as if the Neapalis’ traditions and diversity never ceased to exist in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
The Bhutanese-Nepalis didn’t stand for that. They fought and stood for who they originally were. They were beaten, tortured, accused of illegal authority, had false accusations placed against them, and many other horrid things. Then they fled, and the Bhutanese-Nepalis fled back to their origin of Nepal. On foot, bike, bus, undercover, in whatever possible way they could. Some escaped from the forest region because there was possible they could be handcuffed or raped by the Bhutan military.
An estimated number of over 100,000 Bhutanese-Nepalis were forced to leave their homes in Bhutan. Back in Nepal, they were placed in camps. Refugees were placed in 7 different camps in Jhapa and Morang of eastern Nepal.
Most were in poverty even if the Word Food Program supported them for basic needs. And did not have power and electricity, enough to eat or supply their young ones.
The camps were crowded, and there was a shortage of almost everything. Most had to build houses and places to live on their own. The camps were also not the most sanitary, and houses were nearby; they often would get sick. There wasn’t enough medical care and attention when there was sickness and people in need. Camp life was not the best for these refugees, even after everything they had gone through. There were still more challenges that they were facing.
Now here comes my story. I am Sweeta Ghimiray. Both my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so on are all Bhutanese-Nepali refugees who faced these hardships. I was born in Nepal. I was born into the Refugee camp that my family was a part of and then was brought to the United States with my family at only 22 months of age. I always question how to address myself because I did not fully understand how my ethnic background worked. Growing up, I was always curious and listened to all the stories my grandparents and parents told me. My mom told me about how Bhutanese guards would chase her and her friends to cut their long hair and style it the Bhutanese way.
My mom told me about how she spent many days hiding behind bushes, praying she would not be harmed. My uncle and grandfather would tell me about how men were stripped away from their homes and families in the middle of the night and tortured. They went through so many traumatizing experiences, all to ensure their culture was never forgotten. My mom was the oldest of six other siblings, and she went through so much in the Timai refugee camp. Taking care of herself, her siblings, and her parents. She and my dad raised me always to stand my ground and do what I feel is right for myself and others. My family ensured I knew my people, who they are, where they come from, and what they have been through.
I also have always stood proudly for my culture and who I am. Confidently being able to speak the language and understand the different customs, I have never backed away. Nepal is a beautiful country that has exclusive diversity. As one of the newer generations, I am bringing you this story to present you how the history of Bhutanese-Nepalis should never be forgotten. How we, as Nepalis in general, should never forget our religion, culture, and customs. The amazing food, the beautiful music and dancing steps, the gorgeous clothes, and costume jewelry everything we have to offer.
We are Nepali and proud! We are Bhutanese-Nepali and proud!