untold story

BNS activities: looking back and forth

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Following the offer of third country resettlement program, even BNS team members had to agree to a dispersed living across the world, within the parameters set by resettling countries. It is perhaps, what we like to call, a ‘choice from a choice-less choice’. As you all do, we are also struggling for both personal and family’s existence in the new setting. Nonetheless, we are truly committed towards devoting our time to safeguarding your right to information through the steady existence of BNS. Of late, we started to fear that we might have to lose emerging writers due to our inability to remunerate their efforts.

In my frail conditions …

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There were 105 prisoners at the Damphu jail. The jailers began to threaten us, that if we wanted to stay in Bhutan then our prison term would prolong, or alternatively we could opt to leave the country. When I was asked what I wanted to do, I used to answer, that as three generations of my family had lived on the same land, why should I leave the country, when I haven’t done anything wrong? Enraged with my answer, they use to beat me heavily with sticks or intimidate me showing a piece of hot iron to change my statement and leave the country.

Out of 105, 24 prison inmates were released after they signed Voluntary Migration Forms, to leave Bhutan permanently. The rest of us were transferred to Chemgang prison near the capital, Thimphu.