Land Area: 143,181 (Sq/Km)
Capital: Kathmandu
Official Language: Nepai
Refugees: 143,181 (UNHCR, 2004)
Literacy: 48.6% (UNDP, 2006. Adult rate, age 15 and older)
Under 5 Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births): 74 (UNICEF, 2005)
NepalSituation OverviewNepal’s royalist government and Maoist rebels signed a peace accord in November 2006, which ended ten-year civil war in the Himalayan nation. In December 2007 the country’s ruling alliance voted to end the monarchy. However, formal abolition will be carried out by the new assembly following elections in April 2008. Nepal hosts more than 107,000 Bhutanese refugees, nearly all of whom are Lhotsampa-Bhutanese Hindus of Nepalese origin, coming from southern Bhutan. Most fled Bhutan between 1990 and 1992 to escape persecution by the Government of Bhutan. The persecution originated in 1988 when the Government issued citizen regulations that dispossessed the Lhotsampa minority of their land and citizenship rights. In 1990, mass civil demonstrations occurred demanding a review of the Government’s policy. The government responded by imposing martial administration in southern Bhutan and perpetrating intimidation, arbitrary arrest and sexual harassment. After 17 years of failed negotiations, the UNHCR is finally laying the groundwork for third country resettlement. The first group of accepted refugees is expected to leave Nepal’s camps early next year. It is anticipated that there will be resettlement of 5,000-7,000 refugees in 2008, 10,000 in 2009 and 15,000 in 2010. |
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Our Current Work in NepalAustcare has been working alongside local partner organisation Bhutanese Refugees Aiding the Victims of Violence (BRAVVE) for almost ten years, and is currently working to increase the capacity of BRAVVE by providing training and resources to staff. Since Austcare began its support to BRAVVE in 1994, BRAVVE’s administrative and operational strength has grown and that their program has become increasingly sustainable. The Austcare Micro Skills Training Project provides income-generating skills to Bhutanese refugees in seven different refugee camps in Jhapa-Morang district, Nepal. The skills learnt will assist them in the camps, and if or when they have the opportunity to repatriate. Women make up 80% of our participants. Refugee women in the camps experience poor social and economic status, problems compounded by poor health and a limited access to income generating activities. The remaining 20% of project participants are men, many of whom are disabled or suffer from mental illness. Participants are taught vocational skills such as tailoring, typing, weaving, bag making, embroidery, agriculture, language and literacy. They are also taught business skills and provided with a revolving micro-credit scheme; this enables groups to manage their own affairs and equip themselves with resources such as sewing machines. Austcare is partnering with the Lutheran World Federation-Nepal (LWF-Nepal) for this project. The combined presence of BRAAVE and Austcare in the camps has also meant that over 790 victims of torture under Bhutanese authorities have been registered and documented, bringing acknowledgement to those who have suffered human rights abuses. Highlights- Over 10,000 people have had the opportunity to participate in the Austcare-supported program. - Graduates are generating an average income of 1,157 rupees per month, a substantially higher figure than the average. - The mental health of graduates has significantly improved, with 86% of mentally ill patients interviewed reporting they had discontinued taking depression medication as a result of their participation in the micro-skills training. - A monthly newsletter has been distributed in all of the camps. The newsletter provides a forum for refugee journalists and results in increased awareness and community cohesion among the refugees living in the camps. |
Man Maya Bista
Man Maya Bista has lived in the Sanischare refugee camp in since 1992, when the Royal Bhutan Government expelled Nepali-speaking Bhutanese from the country. Bista is 32 years old and has 3 children and 18 extended family members. She participated in two training programs; eight months of sewing training in 1995 and six months of bag making training in 2002. Bista says, “This training improves my livelihood and helps me to stand on my own two feet.” Bista sells the bags she makes and her tailoring services at the local market. After participating in her own training she became a trainer, teaching other women in the Sanischare camp her sewing skills. She also joined a saving credit group which was initiated by BRAVVE in 2005 and took out a loan from the group to by a tailoring machine for her business. “Sanischare refugee camps people and the local community know me as a bag making trainer and tailor didi. Local community women respect my jobs which makes me very happy and lose the refugee pain,” says Bista. |
