PRAJA KATEL ENGLISH-2010 03/06/2014 MEMOIR STEVEN HOLLAND

Moving to Nepal
In early 90s, the people of Bhutan, for the sake of freedom, started the peace movement against the autocratic government or monarchy in the nation. There was no freedom for the people in Bhutan. On September 1992, (the black day in my life) I including my other three family members had to leave our beautiful country and moved to Nepal as an exile. It was not our decision to move out of nation but we were forced to be away from there. They cant have human rights. Moreover, we the Nepalese, the people living at southern part of the nation didnt get chance to read and write our own language. We were not allowed to dress our own way. In addition, we were not allowed to follow our own culture and tradition. We were deprived from government jobs and we were forced to work at farms even though we were educated as other class. Hope for getting freedom, people started peace movement in the nation. May be due to that reason the government become angry and started to punish the uneducated public, mainly those living in the southern part of Bhutan. As our parents are illiterate they decided to move to and exile as a hope to have human rights and for the future of young generations.
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In the morning of 28th September 1992, we left our all possessions and started our sorrowful journey toward Nepal in a rented truck. Around 6 P.M. while we were on the way, the truck went out of the road, but luckily we were alive. I thank the god for saving us. Due to that accident we had to stay in India for two more days. On those two days, I didnt want to eat and drink because I didnt know about my future. Even my favorite food smelled bad at that time. I was worried about my life and my uneducated parents. If I was leaving the country happily, I may enjoy the natural beauty on the way. But any beautiful sceneries like the blooming flowers, flying or singing birds, blue sky and other natural beauty became meaningless for me as they couldnt able to make me happy . Finally, after reaching Nepal, we had to stay in an open ground as the sky was the roof of my house. Due to smoke, dust-particles, heat from the sun, etc. affected me and other a lot. For many days I didnt feel hungry as a dream to return back to the wonderful nation. Slowly the world knows about the refugees in camp, and the United Nation for Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) started to provide supplementary help to keep us alive. Though it is little but it is meaningful to make us survive till now. The huts, they provided we were made out of bamboos and plastic roof which was very hot. If the wind blew, next morning we need to search the pieces of plastic in order to fix them as a roof again. This miserable condition really makes me unhappy and painful for missing my motherland. I felt myself an isolated without any friends to help in needs. I was having homesickness and thinking about to returning back to the tiny but beautiful hometown after having all rights for which we were fighting.

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Thus, I still remember the life in an exile as sorrowful and painful. I bless no one should face such terrible moment like me in ones lives. I like to forget my bad experience in my life but its way difficult to forget it. Its easy for me to change my life by remembering the past. I faced many difficulties in the past and now I am going to school to get education to achieve my goal. Its easy for me to live now because there is freedom, peace and harmony. Though my life was full of sorrow and pain in the past, now its easily changing to normal by getting education and utilizing the rights. Lastly, the main purpose of my experience is to make people known about the discrimination of Government of Bhutan on the Nepalese people in early 90s. In addition, it makes clear about living in painful and sorrowful life in an exile fighting for freedom.

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