South Asian Bhutanese Refugees and Their Transnational Families: Dynamics, Dilemmas, and Challenges

Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees began to immigrate to the United States when the US government offered them a resettlement program. Prior to their resettlement in the US, they had been living in refugee camps in eastern Nepal. Many were separated from their immediate and extended families while fleeing Bhutan. During their more than two decades in Nepal, their family and household structures evolved. More children were born in the camps as those who had escaped Bhutan as adolescents began to have their own children and families. When resettlement to third countries began, some families chose to immigrate to Australia, some chose European nations, and others chose the United States. This paper draws on an ethnographic study of Bhutanese refugees in two US cities--Salt Lake City and Seattle. Many Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees in these cities now live in two- or three-generation households. This paper focuses on their family structures, experiences, and dilemmas in relation to their migration/immigration history and resettlement processes. The paper examines the following questions: How has migration in different historical times and phases affected and shaped their family lives? What have been the social, cultural, economic, and psychological ramifications of Bhutanese refugees being displaced from their homes, resources, and communities? What does it mean to have a family with different nationalities? What are the social, cultural economic, and emotional costs of making a new home in a transnational landscape? What are the dynamics and dilemmas of transnational refugee families who live in multi-generation households? How do different generations of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees in the US face these challenges?