“But they weren’t Nepalis but Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees who had arrived in Seattle from the refugee camps in Nepal,” said Davis, a filmmaker by profession.[break] And the idea of documenting their life stories, the transition from the camps to a free life in the city of Seattle, germinated. After pitching the idea and having a nod from the Seattle Channel, one of the city’s local TV channels, Davis and Penny Legate, the latter a reporter, got on board to film.
The seven-minute short film “The Bhutanese Refugee Journey: From a Refugee Camp in Nepal to Freedom in Seattle” chronicles the story of the Rizal family along with other refugees, the migration process, and how they are adapting to a new lifestyle in the United States. And the short feature has been nominated for the regional Emmy Awards under the Historic/Cultural – Feature/Segment. The Emmy’s regional northwest chapter includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska.
Davis defines the documentary as “the story of the migration of the Bhutanese refugees starting a new life as a growing community in the city of Seattle.” And from the two-three families that the filmmaker first got acquainted with a few years ago, the number has now reached an estimated 200.
“It’s pretty special,” Davis said over a Skype conversation from Seattle where his production company Pangeality Productions “It was so unique and wonderful to tell a story that goes from my neighborhood in urban America to their home [in Jhapa] and show the process of relocating. The American population is able to see the story that helps them understand where people are coming from, the whole concept of coming from a different part of the world.”
And Davis has captured the relocation process from the Beldangi camp in Jhapa to their transit center in Kathmandu where they are documented, medically screened, and oriented about the US culture.
“We’re very excited and anxious to start a new life in America. Thank you, America,” says a male refugee in the video before embarking on his new journey.
While some are seen anticipating, anxious or full of anxiety, others, like the Rizal family, show a picture of starting a new life amid cultural differences. While the younger members of the family have jobs, the older generation complains of being jobless due to the language barrier.
“I’m the one who forced even my parents to resettle in the USA because I don’t want to be a refugee throughout my whole life,” Khem Rizal says in the documentary.
With the mediation of the United Nations, a third country resettlement program has been brought into effect for the Bhutanese refugees who were forced to leave Bhutan 18 years ago. And since then, most of the refugees are in Jhapa, waiting to find new homes and identities. And since then, about 10,000 refugees have been settled in third countries with around 1,500 leaving every month, states David Derthick from the International Migration Office in the documentary.
But Davis said he is aware of other issues that follow their migration. During his companionship with the refugee community, he noted such issues: language, lack of jobs due to the recession, and cultural differences. However, he has seen them overcoming the barriers.
Rizal and his brothers have been able to find jobs. He works as a nursing assistant in a hospital and no more relies on the food and cash stamps that the government provides.
“Just navigating a new culture and country is an amazing challenge…children getting used to the school district, getting used to technology…just to imagine they’re starting new lives here is amazing,” Davis said.
And it is a new and a better life for the Bhutanese refugees, a start of a better future.
“After 10 years, although my parents may not be as happy as we are, I hope that my coming generation will have better life than us,” Rizal says.
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