Resettling Bhutanese Refugees – Update on Canada’s Commitment
What is Canada doing to help Bhutanese refugees?
Bhutanese refugee camp
Photo courtesy UNHCR
Bhutanese refugees of ethnic Nepalese descent have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990s. Canada is part of a group of seven countries taking steps to address this long-standing situation by agreeing to resettle some of these refugees.
In May 2007, the Government of Canada announced that it would resettle up to 5,000 Bhutanese refugees over the next three to five years.Canada’s resettlement program
Canada operates a global resettlement program and in 2010 alone, it resettled refugees of about 70 different nationalities.
There are an estimated 10.5 million refugees in the world today. Countries with resettlement programs agree to resettle about 100,000 refugees from abroad each year. By 2013, Canada will resettle up to 14,500 refugees or one out of every nine refugees resettled globally, through its government-assisted and privately sponsored refugee programs.
How are the resettlement plans going?
Bhutanese refugees waiting for their interviews
When this resettlement movement first started in 2007, there were about 108,000 Bhutanese refugees in the camps. As of August 2011, that population had grown to over 113,000 – largely due to births in the camps.
The seven countries participating in this project have together committed to resettling at least 70,000 persons over a period of years and already, more than 47,800 people have left Nepal for their new lives in these countries. Resettlement efforts are ongoing.
Canada’s commitment to resettle 5,000 Bhutanese refugees over five years is well underway and we are on track. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has already recommended or “referred” more than 4,500 refugees to Canada for consideration. Additional cases continue to be referred so that when the next team goes to Damak in October 2011 for Canada’s final selection interviews, we will reach our target of selecting 5,000 refugees to come to Canada.
As of March 31, 2011, nearly 2,600 Bhutanese refugees had already arrived in Canada with additional arrivals continuing throughout 2011-2012.
Refugees have settled into more than 21 communities across Canada, including Charlottetown, Fredericton, St. John’s, Saint-Jérôme, Quebec City, Laval, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Windsor, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Lethbridge and Vancouver, to name just a few.
Information from previous trips to Damak
In September 2008, a team of Canadian officials went to Damak, Nepal, to conduct the first selection interviews with Bhutanese refugees seeking resettlement. Throughout this process, the Canadian team has worked closely with its international partners at the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Bhutanese refugees are very enthusiastic and optimistic about resettling in Canada. This is a very diverse group of men, women and children of all ages. They speak a variety of languages, and the adults have a range of employment skills. The first refugees to be resettled included the following:
- women at risk
- survivors of violence and torture
- refugees with medical needs such as speech and hearing impairments
While only a handful of people already have family living in Canada, many speak English and it is not uncommon for the young adults to have secondary, and even post-secondary education.
Additional selection missions occurred in October 2009, October 2010 and April 2011.
Following the interviews, refugees who are selected undergo medical, security and criminality checks, and those who meet all admissibility requirements will then be eligible for resettlement to Canada.
Canada has also handed out three information bulletins in the camps explaining the resettlement process.
- Bulletin #1 was distributed in May 2008 to provide general information about life in Canada and the resettlement process.
- Bulletin #2 was given to Bhutanese refugees after their interview to explain the next steps and to provide more information about life in Canada.
- Bulletin #3 was handed out in the refugee camps in July 2010 to Bhutanese refugees. The goal was to provide ongoing information about the Canadian resettlement process.
How you can help the Bhutanese
Interested parties can sponsor and help integrate Bhutanese refugees into our communities through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.
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