Family Life 2 Sunday, March 27, 2011 FAMILY LIFE Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho Journey of the forgotten people: How the became outsiders

Late 1890s: Bhutanese 1988: The 1990: Lhotshampas hold protests in southern . Bhutanese officials begin arresting 2001: In March, Nepali March 2008: The first government starts Bhutanese govern- activists; accounts and claim torture and rape. and Bhutanese teams Bhutanese arrive in the recruiting Nepali farm- ment conducts a begin a joint verifica- U.S.; 121 Lhotshampas resettle ers to settle in southern census in southern Bhutan begins requiring Lhotshampas to obtain “No Objection Certificates” from the Royal tion process to investi- in cities across the country, Bhutan. Bhutan. In order to Bhutan Police, which state that the holder has not taken part in anti-government activity. gate the citizenship including Chicago, New York be counted as a citi- Schools require children to obtain these documents. Some families claim the Bhutanese status of Lhotshampas City, St. Louis and Syracuse, N.Y. 1907: The Wangchuck zen, Lhotshampas government evicts them from their homes, forcing them to sign “Voluntary Migration in Khudunabari, a family takes power in must produce a Forms” that state they are leaving the country of their own will. where September 2008: The first Bhutan, establishing a land tax receipt about 12,500 arrive in monarchy that still from 1958. The first Lhotshampas claiming to be refugees arrive in after crossing through . Lhotshampas live. Twin Falls. stands.

Before the 1980s 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08

1958: Bhutan passes its 1985: Bhutan passes a new citizenship act, 1992: The United Nations 1998: The 2003: Bhutan 2005: In a press 2006: The UNHCR first citizenship act, which strengthening requirements to become a High Commissioner for Bhutanese announces results conference in reaches an agree- makes Lhotshampas (eth- Bhutanese citizen. For citizenship, residents Refugees establishes refugee government of the 2001 verifica- New Delhi, India, ment with the U.S. nic Nepalis living in Bhutan) must have been born in the country to a camps in southern Nepal. The begins reset- tion exercise and Wangchuck says to resettle 60,000 citizens of Bhutan. Bhutanese mother and father or have refugee flow reaches its peak, tling people says 75 percent of the refugees people from the resided in Bhutan prior to Dec. 31, 1958. with up to 600 Lhotshampas from northern the refugees aren’t citizens of Nepali refugee 1972: King Jigme Singye Naturalized Bhutanese citizens must fulfill arriving in Nepal’s camps per Bhutan onto checked in Bhutan and sug- camps. Australia, Wangchuck comes to eight requirements, including the ability to day. Amnesty International land formerly Khudunabari are gests they lived Canada, , power. In coming years, speak and read Dzongkha proficiently. The issues a statement about owned by Bhutanese citizens, in India or Nepal , New Wangchuck will express act gives the government power to revoke alleged human rights viola- Lhotshampas. but Bhutan’s gov- before arriving Zealand and concern about Bhutan’s citizenship for perceived disloyalty to the tions against Lhotshampas in ernment makes it at the refugee later agree cultural identity. king, country or people of Bhutan. Bhutan. difficult for these camps. to resettle some of refugees to return. the Lhotshampas.

Sources: CNN.com, BBC.co.uk, Times-News,“Unbecoming Citizens: Culture, Nationhood and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan” by Michael Hutt, Amnesty International, PhotoVoice and the Bhutanese Refugee Support Group, and Bhutan’s Office of the Attorney General. Forgotten Terms, people Continued from Family Life 1 well. I’ve answered their and places to know the first Bhutanese TRIP FUNDING questions about American refugees to arrive in Twin culture and listened as Beldangi and Beldangi including a national dress Falls. According to Ron In September, Times-News reporter Melissa Davlin started raising they described those hard- II: Two refugee camps code and elimination of Black, director of the CSI money for her trip to Nepal through the website Kickstarter.com. ships and heartaches. I’ve near Damak, Nepal. the from Refugee Center, 180 In exchange for pledging money, donors will receive gifts, like ear- also shared joys and tri- Damak: A city in south- schools. Bhutanese refugees have rings from Nepal or a copy of the book she intends to write about umphs with them, like east Nepal, near the Lhotshampas: Ethnic settled in Twin Falls since the Lhotshampas in Idaho. naming ceremonies for Bhutanese refugee camps. Nepalis who live or have February 2009. But many While Davlin’s time and equipment is paid for by the Times-News, their newborn children, : The lived in south Bhutan. arrivals preceded that the $5,000 Davlin raised — all from individual Kickstarter.com weddings and countless national behavioral code According to the U.S. De- date. The fledgling donors — covers travel costs for her and her interpreter. The rest dinners of daal and rice. of Bhutan. Enacted to partment of State, Lhot- Bhutanese American Soci- will go toward publishing her book. The more I’ve learned, establish a national shampas make up 35 per- ety of Twin Falls counted the more I want to know. Bhutanese identity, it ad- cent of Bhutan’s popula- more than 300 Lhotsham- Chandra Upreti, one of dresses clothing, archi- tion if displaced refugees pas now living in Twin the refugees I met more tecture, festivals and are counted as citizens. Falls — many of whom, than two years ago, is other cultural items. The Most practice Hinduism like the Upretis, arrived in coming with me to Nepal Driglam Namzha draws and speak a variety of late 2008. and will interpret for me from Ngalop customs. Nepali dialects. During this assignment, throughout the project. Dzongkha: The nation- Ngalop: Bhutan’s sec- I’m reporting on living While we’re there, you can al language of Bhutan. ond largest ethnic group. conditions and daily life in check out updates on my IOM: International Of- Ngalop live in northern the camps, like sanitation, blog, fice for Migration, an in- Bhutan, speak Dzongkha education, health care and magicvalley.com/nepal. tergovernmental organi- and control most of the political movements. I’m The site will also have in- zation with 132 member government. The largest also meeting with several teractive features, includ- states including the U.S. group is the , families who hope to re- ing a map, timeline, photo and Nepal. The IOM co- who live in the eastern settle in Twin Falls within galleries, video interviews ordinates resettlement part of the country and the next year and inter- and messages from efforts for refugees. have adopted Ngalop- viewing officials from the Bhutanese refugees who Jhapa: The district in Tibetan customs. United Nations High have resettled in Twin Nepal where refugee Terai: The southern Commissioner for MELISSA DAVLIN/Times-News Falls. camps are located. plains region in Nepal, Refugees and the Interna- At a Feb. 20 wedding ceremony, Hindu symbols sit on the floor of a We hope these stories Jigme Khesar Namgyel where refugee camps are tional Office for Migra- Twin Falls home. Bhutanese refugees living in Twin Falls try to keep will help Magic Valley res- Wangchuck: Current located. tion. their culture alive. idents understand where king of Bhutan. UNHCR: United Na- This reporting will cul- their new neighbors came Jigme Singye tions High Commission- minate in a series of cover the refugee commu- ness, keeping Nepali cul- from. Wangchuck: King of er for Refugees, which Times-News stories on nity in Twin Falls. I’ll write ture alive while learning Bhutan from 1972 to helps refugee popula- the resettlement process. about the struggles of re- American customs. Reporter Melissa Davlin 2006. During his reign, tions with food distribu- When I get back, we’ll settling: learning English, Since I met the Upretis, may be reached at Wangchuck enacted sev- tion, education and other start publishing those sto- looking for jobs, fighting I’ve come to know many of 735-3234 or eral government reforms, needs. ries, and I’ll continue to of feelings of homesick- the Bhutanese refugees [email protected]. Optometrists: Nintendo 3DS could ID vision issues NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. the right and left eyes, a tech- ed with the Children’s Hospi- eye specialists are welcoming nique that creates an illusion tal in Boston and the Ameri- the Nintendo 3DS game de- of depth. But a lot of the cues can Academy of Ophthalmol- vice,dismissing the manufac- we use to perceive depth in ogy, said the idea that off- turer’s warnings that its 3-D our environment are missing. the-shelf 3-D games or screen shouldn’t be used by That confuses the eyes and movies could help screen for children 6 or younger because accounts for the eyestrain and vision problems such as am- it may harm their immature headaches many people ex- blyopia is “a little perplexing.” vision. perience watching 3-D Kids with amblyopia don’t On the contrary, the op- movies. Because of that, op- have much depth perception tometrists say, it’s a good idea tometrists say, these systems in real life, he said, so if they to get your kids to try the 3-D can help isolate problems that don’t see depth in a 3-D screen, especially if they’re have to do with the way the screen, they might not say younger than 6. It won’t do eyes move, problems that anything because that would- any harm, they say, and it aren’t caught by eye charts. n’t be much different from could help catch vision disor- These problems are much what they see around them. ders that have to be caught easier to fix if caught before It’s not impossible that it early to be fixed. age 6, when the visual system could help, but it’s “all sort of “The 3DS could be a god- in our brains is more or less exploration and speculation,” send for identifying kids un- done developing. Only 15 per- said Hunter,who has started a der 6 who need vision thera- cent of preschool children get company that’s developing a py,”said Dr. Michael Duenas, a comprehensive eye exam device for childhood screen- associate director for health that could catch these subtle ing of vision disorders. sciences and policy for the problems, according to the Nintendo’s warning, issued American Optometric Asso- American Optometric Asso- in December, was vaguely ciation. ciation, the professional worded. It said specialists be- AP file photo The new handheld game group for optometrists. More lieve “there is a possibility that A visitor operates a Nintendo 3DS device is already available in than half of all juvenile delin- 3-D images which send dif- featuring 3-D imagery during a Japan and goes on sale in the quents have undiagnosed and ferent images to the left and press conference by Nintendo. U.S. today for $250. It has two untreated vision problems, right eye could affect the de- screens like the DS machines according to studies. velopment of vision in small — is still developing. it is designed to replace. The Going to see a 3-D movie or children.’’ Nintendo, he said, wants to top screen can show 3-D im- trying a 3-D TV can also help The Japanese company be “conservative and consis- ages, without the need for screen for problems, but op- didn’t back the warning up Let us guide you in tent,’’ erring on the side of special glasses, though only tometrists expect the 3DS to with scientific evidence, so safety. new games will be in 3-D. A be in front of kids’eyes more. Duenas sees it as being moti- protecting your family. pair of cameras on the 3DS “This has presented my vated by liability concerns — can be used to take 3-D pic- profession, optometry, a much like coffee mugs carry tures. wonderful opportunity,” said warnings that beverages could Looking Life Insurance If your kid doesn’t see the Dr. Joe Ellis, the president of be hot — rather than a true 3-D effect on the 3DS, that’s a the optometrists’association. danger. Health Insurance sign that he or she may have a However, optometrists Reggie Fils-Aime, the pres- for vision disorder such as am- aren’t quite seeing eye to eye ident of Nintendo of America, Cancer Insurance blyopia, or “lazy eye,”or sub- on this issue with another says the company is “aware of tler problems that can cause group of eye specialists: the all the work that has been answers CALL NOW problems with reading, Due- ophthalmologists, who are done in the field’’ and issued N nas said. Kids who experience medical doctors. (Op- the warning based on that Twin Falls center finds solu- dizziness or discomfort tometrists are doctors of op- work. The warning, he said, is tions to serve adults with W E should also be checked, he tometry but not medical doc- based on research that up un- mental illness, despite said. tors.) til age 6, a child’s eye — Medicaid budget cuts. WESTP RT Today’s 3-D viewing sys- Dr. David Hunter, a pedi- specifically the connection INSURANCE ADVISORSORS S Next Sunday in Family Life tems send different images to atric ophthalmologist affiliat- between the eye and the brain Chris Stevenson | 208.733.5858 | winwithwestport.com