Thousands of Bhutanese living in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Europe have been exiled from their home country and refused the right to return, even to visit their families or educate their children about their heritage.  

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Click here to find out more. 

Please sign this petition so we can get support from the government and help the Bhutanese people amend this human rights violation. 

To better understand why the Bhutanese people need your help, here is a summary of how this atrocious violation of their human rights came about. 

The country of Bhutan is located in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India and near the country of Nepal. There are two major ethnic groups, one of which is the Nepali-Bhutanese who live predominantly in the south. 

In the late 19th century Bhutan invited Nepalese citizens to immigrate into their country to help clear the southern jungles, establish the land and farm it. They settled in this region of the country and were granted Bhutanese citizenship; their numbers increased until they were about one third of the population of the country. They remained predominantly in the south where they retained their culture, language and religion. 

In the 1980s, as Nepalese descendents were majorly of the Hindu religion, the king and the majority of the northern population began to see the Nepalese segment as a threat which might overtake the majority Bhuddist culture. The government took action. They started a movement called “One Country, One People” or “Bhutanization”. This enforced Bhutanese culture on all of the population. 

As a result of this, the rights of the Nepali Bhutanese were stripped away. This included the loss of their jobs, land and citizenships. They faced many brutalities including unfair trails, torture and rape. Some were even forced to leave the country and sign “Voluntary Migration Forms” under duress that said they are leaving the country “happily” and of their own free will.

Immediately following this, the Nepali Bhutanese refugees began to flee Bhutan, finding refuge where they could. A makeshift camp was set up in Nepal, however overcrowding, unclean water, poor sanitation and few resources or medical help made conditions very grim.

In 1992 the United Nations recognized this humanitarian disaster and began to assist with the establishment of refugee camps. Over the next several years many other countries (the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) and Europe began to offer their assistance to resettle the refugees. 

Nepali Bhutanese refugees relocated to and are now living in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The most dense concentration is in Ohio. The current estimate of refugees in Ohio is around 20,000, making this the largest concentration of Bhutanese people living outside of Bhutan. 

These people have made themselves vital parts of the community, stepping into all areas of commerce and civic organizing, and have made themselves an integral part of the Ohio community.

While they are living the American Dream and are being sheltered and looked after with great care, they are not able to visit or see their home country. Many of these Bhutanese citizens own land they cannot visit in Bhutan and have family members they cannot visit. The newest generation of Nepali Bhutanese living in America have never seen their home land and this once thriving culture is rapidly being lost as their ties to their homeland have been cut.

The Nepali Bhutanese would like your help in signing this petition so they can get the support and recognition they need to have the Bhutanese government grant them freedom to travel into and visit their home country.