REFUGEE WATCH
"A South Asian Journal on Forced Migration" - Issue NO.31
Report of Rapid Assessment Survey on Displaced Bhutanese Refugees from the Camps- Discussion Paper I (Prepared by Som Prasad Niroula, Nepal Institute of Peace (NIP)
There are about one hundred thousand Bhutanese refugees in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal since the last 17 years. The refugees are in confusion and chaos resulting in some ways from the current resettlement and repatriation debate. The refugee agency UNHCR has asked refugees to choose from among the three available option – repatriation, local integration in host country Nepal and, third country resettlement in United State of America, Canada, Australia and some of the European countries. The refugee community are clearly divided into two broad camps – one for repatriation to Bhutan and the other for third country resettlement. However, the refugees who are interested in local integration process are silent.
In the spate of violence that erupted with the above offer of resettlement mainly by USA, the refugee community have been blaming each other. In one incident, two refugees lost their lives in skirmish with the security forces inside the camps. The agitators burnt some of the huts which belonged to the leaders who supported the option of third country resettlement. The international community and government of Nepal has been an eyewitness at this battlefield of the refugee community.
Since then, a number of families have been displaced from the camps who are supporter of comprehensive durable solution of the problems. The large numbers of the people who got displaced are also the supporter of the third country resettlement. The displaced refuges are those ‘ who have been forced to leave the camps from threat of life and intimidation’. The residential huts of majority of them are dismantled and destroyed. In addition, there is a continuous threat upon their life from the radical group.
Following are the objectives of the survey:
a) To assess the situation of the refugees who have been displaced from the camps;
b) To understand the causes of the displacement; and,
c) To understand the emergency needs of the displaced.
The rapid assessment survey was conducted on the basis of one to one interview in Damak and in Kathmandu. The short questionnaire was developed before conducting the interviews within the refugee community. The displaced refugees filled up the forms themselves and submitted to the surveyors; except a few who have sent them through e-mails. This is a preliminary survey conducted to understand the situation of the displaced population from the camps. The survey takes into account those people who have been displaced from the threat of the ‘radical groups’ of people inside / outside of the camps.
Since it was a critical and emergency situation, the survey was conducted in a short period of time on only two bases at Damak and Kathamndu. It may not cover all the displaced population from the camps. The people who have been displaced from the camps are scattered in Damak, Kathamndu, Dharan and Biratnagar.
Findings of the Rapid Assessment
1. Numbers of Displaced
According to the rapid survey conducted in a short period of time 102 persons have been identified as displaced. The characteristic of the displaced population is given below:
1.1 Sex Distribution of the Displaced Population
There are 102 persons displaced from the camps since May 27, 2007. There is 60.78 percent male displacement whereas female displacement is 39.22 percent.
1.2 Age Group of the Displaced Population
The table 2 below gives an overview of age group distribution of the displaced population. Children and elderly persons consist of about 42.16 per cent the total displacement. It gives an indication that the children and elderly people are in urgent needs of the humanitarian assistance.
2. Causes of Displacement
Refugees are displaced on different instances. In the first instance, most of the people have been displaced after the agitation in Beldangi-II on May 27and 28, 2007 as the radical groups turned violent while opposing the offer of the third country resettlement. The second instance was also an attack on a few frontline campaigners of the third country resettlement offer on 12 August, 2007 and the following days. The opposition has targeted the prominent figures of the community their families and supporters were also chased out of the camps. The refugees have left the camps for the following reasons:
a) Destruction of house (hut)
b) Property looted, destroyed or burned
c) Manhandled (beaten heavily that many of them were hospitalized)
d) Threat and intimidation of life
e) Lack of security
3. Consequences of the Displacement
a) Problems of children for the continuity of their education
b) Problems of housing
c) Problem of treatment in hospital (the AMDA hospital will need recommendation from the inside camps health centre to entertain refugee patients for the treatment) and that the displaced are insecure to visit the camp health centres.
d) Lack of security / life threat
e) Difficult to apply for the travel document & movement pass as it is given through the camps RCU officer from their camp based offices.
f) Difficulties to collect the camps’ ration (some of the people are collecting camps ratio through their relatives in the camps, some such helping the displaced are even beaten when found out).
4. Humanitarian Support
Most of the displaced families are collecting ‘rations’ from the camps through their relatives. There are few incidents that the relatives and friends who help to collect the rations are also threatened and in one case, a boy was beaten by the radical group for doing so. In many instances the rations has been used by the representatives of the camp management committee thereby not reaching to the displaced beneficiary. Owing to these difficulties, the camp In-charge of the Home Ministry has suspended the rations in some such cases. The new set of camps management committee is formed in the domination of the radical groups who oppose alternate options to repatriation for durable solution. Thus, it seems that the people who are residing outside the camps are not getting and or will not probably be able to get the ration for long time through relatives and supporters.
The survey was based on the 31 families. Out of 31 families, only 2 families have received partial educational support out side camps from CARITAS Nepal as a one time grant for the said reason that there is no set budget for such cases with any of the agencies involved. However, refugees have not got any other forms of assistance from the agencies. Relating to the question on the outside employment opportunities, a large numbers of people revealed that they do not work.
The refugees are displaced from the camps since May 2007 and are living in a difficult situation in Damak, Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Dharan. Some of the refugees are getting rations from the camps through their relatives or supporters and some do not get even the basic rations. It seems difficult to the supporter who is helping to get the ration due to security threat to them from radical groups. The displaced refugees are helpless in the city of Damak and Kathmandu. As the data shows that the displaced are not receiving any support from the agencies neither in Kathmandu nor in Damak except one time educational support from the CARITAS- Damak for few students which helped them for the school admission only.
To sum up, the situations of the displaced is critical. Though few families receive camp rations through their relatives, it is not as much they are entitled, and the cost of reaching these items is an extra burden to these victims. To the receivers also the ration is not enough, they have to supplement. Besides the rations, they need shelter for which there needs to be a serious attention of the donors and agencies for management. For those who are not been able to access their camp facilities, it is a severe humanitarian crisis.
As the cause of the displacement is identified as the inadequate security arrangement in the camps, there is a need of a comprehensive protection package for the refugees in the camps.
Following are the recommendation based on the rapid assessment of the displaced refugees:
Humanitarian Agencies [UNHCR, LWF, CARITA and Others]
a) To provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees who are forced to leave the camps
b) To lobby to the government of Nepal to develop strategy to provide adequate security who are displaced from the camps.
c) To provide an easy access to screen their applications for the third country resettlement process without leaving a room for the radical groups to hinder their process.
d) To support and entertain the refugees with high risk to attend the process at the safer place like Kathmandu if they desire for resettlement.
Government of Nepal
a) To provide adequate security to the displaced refugees from the camps;
b) To further develop security arrangement to ensure no additional refugees are threatened, intimidated or displaced from their place of residence in the camps.
c) To recommend the UNHCR and others concerned to immediately take up the cases of the displaced for resettlement on protection grounds accepting the vulnerable situation of these displaced, if these refugees are desiring to resettle in third countries,
d) To bring the perpetrators before the law so that there is no presidency of violence in the camps for the peaceful living and the management and operation of the camps.
International Organization for Migration, Resettlement Countries and Agencies
a) To ease the process of verification and proceedings for the displaced and others at high risk and for the immediate rescue of these refugee and displaced population.
Annex-1: Questionnaire
Rapid Assessment of Refugees Displaced from Camps
