Exiled Bhutanese children explain their difficulties

Kathmandu, January 17: Bhutanese children in exile identified that economic difficulties to study beyond grade 10, lack of citizenship, the current political tensions and insecurity in the camps are the major problems they have been facing at this point of time.

In a new research carried out by 29 children, coordinated by an Oxford researcher Roz Evans, revealed that some children live in especially difficult situations. These include children living without their parents, in single parent families and with elderly and/or disabled parents.

Children living in these circumstances are compelled to take on greater household management responsibilities, including the burden of domestic and income-generating work.

A group of the child researchers, in a public presentation of their research in Kathmandu on Wednesday, expressed their interest in moving to third countries where they hope they will have a better future, with more rights, citizenship and access to good educational opportunities but equally stressed their wish to return to Bhutan as well.

The research was carried out between October 2007 and January 2008 where 29 children were involved alongside few adult assistants who cooperated in the process. Children in different camps carried out research in different aspect of their problems.

This child research project has been implemented by Refugee Youth Project (RYP – a UK-based charity), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the Bhutanese Refugee Children Forum (BRCF). It was funded by a grant from the Big Lottery (a UK-based grant giver). Bhutan News Service