Travel arrangements for US-bound Bhutanese refugees resumed in Nepal

KATHMANDU: After a week-long hiatus, stakeholders resumed their work in Nepal to make necessary arrangements for Bhutanese refugees' resettlement to the US. It has been learned that at least 10 individuals from Beldangi refugee camp in eastern Nepal have been brought to Kathmandu en route to their final destinations in the US.

Six members of Kalimaya Magar’s family, two of Shantimaya Subba’s and Rajesh Magar are among those who bid adieu to the refugee camp recently, Sanchahang Subba, secretary at the Beldangi refugee camp, told THT Online.

They who belong to five families had already received confirmation from the US government and were waiting for their departure when their travel arrangements were aborted last week in the wake of suspension of US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) by the presidential executive order. Before flying to Kathmandu, they had to undergo medical examinations in Damak once again.

They are expected to fly to the US coming week. Before their departure, the US-bound refugees would get a final fitness-to-travel examination and orientation at the International Organization for Migration (IOM')s transit centre in Baluwatar.

On January 30, the US Embassy, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Resettlement Support, South Asia had notified the refugees in the USRAP pipeline that there would not be any departure after February 3 until further notice.

The resettlement plans in Nepal were restored after a federal court in the US on February 3 stayed the January 27 presidential executive order. On Thursday, February 9, an appeal court refused to reinstate the executive order, which included travel ban on refugees for 120 days and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days.

In response to THT Online's query on the ongoing resettlement process in Nepal, the US Embassy in Kathmandu said USRAP would continue to comply with court orders as the legal case progressed.

Referring to their policy, the Embassy and the IOM, nevertheless, did not want to comment on the number of individuals being taken to the US and their travel plans.

The IOM has been assigned to facilitate the selection of UNHCR-verified refugees for resettlement as well as their medical examinations and travel arrangements from Nepal to the US.

Data extracted from the US Refugee Processing Center’s Worldwide Refugee Admissions Procession System shows that 154 Bhutanese refugees from Nepal were admitted to eight US states after President Donald Trump signed the executive order.

The US government had considered the Bhutanese refugees, who were identified as in need of resettlement and had expressed their interest for the same prior to June 30, 2014, eligible for processing in the fiscal year 2017. But uncertainty prevails over the fate of thousands of US resettlement aspirants as legal battle against the presidential order continues in the US.

Third Country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees
Third Country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees

With the introduction of the third country resettlement programme in 2007, more than 108,000 refugees have already been resettled to eight countries including the US.

The first lot of Bhutanese refugees departed to the US on March 4, 2008. Since then 92,323 individuals made it to 41 US states, according to official records of the US government. IOM records, on the other hand, showed 92,319 Bhutanese refugees left Nepal till February 1 for their resettlement to the US.

Other host countries include Canada (6,773), Australia (6,204), New Zealand (1,075), Denmark    (875), Norway    (570), United Kingdom (358), and the Netherlands (329).

 

(With inputs from Govinda Chhetri in Jhapa)

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A version of this article appears on Page 1 of the print edition of The Himalayan Times on February 11, 2017 with the headline: Ten Bhutanese refugees set to fly to the US