What Is in This Book Leaving Bhutan 4 My Homeland Bhutan 6 Amita’s Story Life in Bhutan 8 The Bhutan Conflict 10 Amita’s Story Leaving Bhutan 12 Fleeing the Conflict 14 Amita’s Story Life in the Camp 16 Life in a Refugee Camp 18 Amita’s Story Moving On 20 Resettling the Refugees 22 Amita’s Story My Life in the United States 24 Challenges Refugees Face 26 You Can Help 28 Glossary 30 Learning More 31 Index and About the Author 32
Leaving Bhutan In the early 1800s and 1900s the tiny country of Bhutan needed workers and farmers to help build the country Thousands of families from the nearby country of Nepal went to work there and raise families At the time Bhutan’s government welcomed the Nepalese people They settled in southern Bhutan They were called Lhotshampas lot-sham-puz which means people from the south China Bhutan is a small kingdom in Asia Nepal India Bhutan Bangladesh The flag of Bhutan has an image of a dragon on it The Bhutanese name for Bhutan is Druk Yul druhk yul It means Land of the Thunder Dragon 4
UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights that all children should have Think about these rights as you read this book By the 1970s the Lhotshampas made up more than 25 percent of Bhutan’s population Because they practiced their own language and religion the Bhutanese government was not happy It saw them as a threat to the country’s way of life language and religion The government made laws that discriminated against the Lhotshampas These laws violated their human rights The Lhotshampas protested against the government They were arrested and put in jail beaten or killed Thousands fled to live in refugee camps in Nepal Refugees are people who flee their homeland because of war or other unsafe conditions Refugees are different from immigrants Immigrants choose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country 5 Some of the Lhotshampas have been living in refugee camps in Nepal for 20 years Many children have been born in the camps
