When I made a trip to Vermont with the scholars in February 2012, I never expected to meet Christie Bond, the ever enthusiastic Coordinator and Educator at Shelburne farms. But most surprising of all I never expected to meet Bhutan in the United States. We were having a quiet dinner at the home of Madame Melissa Burroughs of the prestigious St. Johnsbury Academy. She had invited some of the teachers to join us for the evening. Among those who turned up was teacher Hellen. She came along with her friend from graduate school at the University of Vermont. Christie happened to be visiting St. Johnsbury at the same time as the scholars.
The two brought with them some cookies for desert, scholars loved it. During chit-chat and warm conversation over food and drinks I got to know her better. Usually, informally (Mohammed sometimes did it formally), scholars introduce themselves and where they come from, ask whether the individuals have been to either of their countries, heard of them or even knew where they were on the map. With baited breaths, we waited for Christie to confirm whether she had ever heard of Bhutan. Surprisingly, she knew more about Bhutan second only to Dechen. Having worked with a group from Bhutan until recently, she talked about her work with the federal refugee resettlement program in Vermont before getting busy at the Shelburne Farms. And that there were a lot of Bhutanese refugees in Vermont! This came as a shock to me and the other five scholars on the trip. Mohamed was not with us but at that point, I vividly remembered his jokes about the population of Bhutan comprising of four people; the King, his two wives and Dechen. And now that Dechen was out of the country, there were three people left in the beautiful and hilly Kingdom.
Christie appeared to be telling us that there was a civil war in Bhutan and refugees were in plenty!
Bhutan, as Dechen described it, was this exotic, serene paradise where the kings’ wedding was a ‘national holiday’ and everybody attended arrayed in the national dress. Even the comely Dechen spent the whole night watching a halting live stream of the nuptials on her laptop despite my suggestion that the internet connection was not particularly good that evening. From the different colours or shades of them, adorned for the day, she was able to pick out, for me, the royal family, the priests, the elders, the government officials, the judges, the common man and the monks among others.
After recovering from the blow of Bhutanese refugees dominating Vermont resettlement program, clearly, Dechen had some explaining to do! She explained that the refugees were actually Nepalese who entered Bhutan as migrant workers when the country started paving its first roads. They stayed back and settled in the south of Bhutan and were given citizenship by the Bhutanese government and were officially called Lhotsampas meaning the people of south just as the people of the east are called Sharchops. They have inter-married with the local Bhutanese population and have overtime swelled in numbers and even have political representation in the government. Later in the early 1990s, tensions broke out between the Lhotshampas and the Bhutanese government. The Bhutanese government’s side of the story is that the tension was ignited by a group of Nepalese who revolted against the government to gain supremacy and autonomy. They were said to have denounced the numerous integration programs initiated by the Bhutanese government. In the ensuing clashes, the group left the country proclaiming ethnic cleansing by the Bhutanese government. The group also brainwashed others in the community and as a result a few thousand of Lhotasampas left the country with the group. They landed up in Nepal where the UNHCR set up camps for them. And they are being resettled in five countries including the US, Canada and Australia. And that explains the presence of Bhutanese in Vermont.
Dechen, however, admitted that her account of the story may not be hundred percent clear or true because it is something that happened when she was 6 or 7 years old. And the subject is hardly discussed in formal public forums or the media not because the Bhutanese government is trying to sweep the issue under the carpet but because the government always kept the issue low profile. This very attitude of the Bhutanese government helped stain Bhutan’s image. When the group claimed persecution and ethnic cleansing, the Bhutanese government never clarified its stance. International media did numerous stories many of which were one sided but the Bhutanese government ignored it. Silence on the Bhutanese government part was like confirming the claims and the accusations made by the group and the international media.
This Bhutanese connection with Nepal, their Neighbor from west, was something no one had discussed at the Sauve house prior to the US trip. Not beyond the fact that they were just neighbours. Similarly, me and Yimin always discussed Canada-US ties, mostly on the pipeline, and never once discussed Sino-Bhutanese relations, yet China borders Bhutan to the North!
According to Dechen, Bhutans’ relation with India has always been that of love and hate. The King’s stunning bride was actually schooled in India and so are many young Bhutanese. During the royal wedding spell, for instance, Some Indian Tabloids even claimed that the Bhutanese King was getting married to an Indian girl, much to the Chagrin of Dechen and the Bhutanese people. Such is the pride of a nation. And such is their love for the Charismatic King. But they also appreciate that India offers a variety of essential goods and services that maybe beyond this Happiest Kingdom on earth.
During a tour of St. Johnsbury, the always reliable Melissa drove us across the bridge and onto the elevated part of the township where she first lived when she arrived in Vermont. Enroute, Dechen, occasionally and excitedly, pointed at the landscape through the chilly winter windows saying “this looks exactly like Bhutan”. .and we all looked outside the windows, instinctively, to see how Bhutan looked like..for the first time!
And of course by the end of the program, every scholar vowed to visit Bhutan in their lifetimes. But first, Instead of changing flights three times to get to Bhutan, maybe we all need to go to Vermont instead, to see ‘Bhutan’ and the ‘Bhutanese’ people. And despite Mohammed’s concerted teasing throughout the year, I think Dechen did a good job of Marketing Bhutan at the house and beyond. The King would definitely approve.
Lest you forget, Dechen is a reporter, and no one can ever market a country better than a seasoned Journalist with a cool, delicate, measured and deliberate approach to life.
And for the first time in my life, and without setting a foot, this little far eastern kingdom of 700,000 people became an integral part of my life at the Sauve House, just like Canada did in my nine Months in Montreal!
