Bhutan to Atlanta

Tulasi Ghimirey's Thanksgiving Letter 2011

2011-11-24T20:40:00.000-05:00

Tulasi loves growing vegetables

In 2000, Tulasi Ghimirey arrived in the U.S. from United Nations-run refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. There, 100,000 fellow ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese refugees landed in 1990 following ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, their homeland. Through combined efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Third Country Resettlement Program and the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, about 60,000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled in the U.S. Tulasi lives in Atlanta with his wife, Kumari, and son, Ryan.

Dear friends, volunteers, and well-wishers of me, my family, and the Bhutanese community,

I never wait for Thanksgiving to arrive to thank this country and its citizens. Giving and Thanking someone is the ultimate happiness prescription.

At night, I still dream of those days, especially the torture that I have gone through, in Bhutan. I find myself running, crying, and begging for help. Those camouflage outfits of the Bhutanese Army haunt me always.

When I get conscious from my dream, I find myself in the fancier house in America. My pounding heart slows down realizing that I am in America and not in Bhutan. The next thing I do before putting my body under the quilt is to Thank this great country because I will never be tortured again. I don’t have to get punched in my face until I am found guilty. What humane laws this country has. I can proudly say that I am a human being because humans are treated as human beings here.

Thank God for the bountiful blessing bestowed upon America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave! I salute our armed and unarmed forces who are making tremendous sacrifices to keep us SAFE and FREE. Thanksgiving would not even exist without their selfless service. As I feast on delicious food, I remember the American farmers who feed us and the world safe nutritious food.

We still have many people struggling to put food on the table as we work to recover from our economic downturn. Our food shelves feel increased demand during the holiday season so I encourage you to donate or make a charitable contribution.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Related posts

July Fourth picnic with Atlanta's new Bhutanese neighbors (includes video)
Tulasi's Thanksgiving letter (2010)
Tulasi Ghimirey's Thanksgiving letter (2009)

Emory University article on Tulasi
Bhutan refugee finds Shangri-La in Atlanta

Cross-posted at Only Connect

First Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament (Day Two Video)

2011-07-03T16:30:00.002-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Cheering for their sons Birendra and Chabi during the final playoff game

The Georgia Reds and Texas teams vied for the winner's trophy in the final playoff game on the evening of Day Two of the First Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament. While perfect weather favored the two-day event, held on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18, in Atlanta, minutes before the final playoff, thunderstorms erupted, driving hundreds of spectators and players from twenty teams to sheltering cars, tents, and Porta-Potties.

Forty minutes later, emerging to clearing skies, their spirits never flagging and their patience seemingly infinite, this reunion of family and friends witnessed the final game, followed by a parade of trophies, medals, special awards, and words of thanksgiving and appreciation for everyone — in the playing field, across the USA, in their homeland, Bhutan, and in the seven Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal where many played soccer together as children following ethnic cleansing in Bhutan.

The weekend was another triumph of this refugee community that has shown perseverance, courage, and faith over decades of suffering and injustice, and now, is embracing welcome and opportunity in these United States.

Watch the video (7:56 minutes).

Updates from the soccer field (include photos and videos)

The back story
Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament: June 17-18, 2011, in Atlanta

First Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament (Day One Video)

2011-06-19T10:37:00.012-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell


Georgia's Red Team huddles in a tent as thunderstorms drive hundreds of players and spectators to sheltering cars, tents, and Porta-Potties to await the final game on Day Two

The First Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament in the USA featured twenty teams that drove or flew from coast-to-coast, north and south to join more than 350 players in Atlanta, Georgia. The two-day event on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18, showcased brilliant athletes, organizers, coaches, and managers in a celebration of teamwork, community, fair play, tireless dedication, and hard work over decades of nearly insurmountable obstacles. The event was a reunion of family and friends, many of whom played soccer together as children in seven Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, following expulsion from their homeland, Bhutan. For nearly two decades in the camps, their 100,000-person ethnic-Nepali community relied on the same teamwork and life-affirming beliefs and practices witnessed this weekend.

Watch the video (8:45 minutes).

Updates from the soccer field (include photos and videos)

The back story
Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament: June 17-18, 2011, in Atlanta

Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament: June 17-18, 2011, in Atlanta

2011-06-14T20:01:00.015-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Georgia's Red Team is among twenty
nationwide competing in the event

Empowerment Through Sports is the theme of the first Bhutanese Interstate Soccer Tournament in the USA. Organized by a small independent group of sports lovers and volunteers, the event features twenty teams — two from Georgia, with more than 350 players meeting at Granite Field in Tucker, Georgia, on Friday and Saturday, June 17 and 18, from 6am to 8pm both days. Admission is free for spectators.

For Rules and Regulations of the Tournament and more information, send an email to BhutanSoccer@gmail.com. Phone: 404-749-6268.

The Schedule
(Click the image to view the schedule full-screen.)

Updates from the Field

Watch a video of Day One (8:45 minutes).
Watch a video of Day Two (7:56 minutes)
Bhutan News Service: Texas bags winner trophy
Bhutan News Service: The beginning of a new chapter
The Tournament Facebook event page

About Soccer and the Bhutanese Refugee Community
For the ethnic-Nepalis in Bhutan and Nepal, and now in the USA, soccer has been more than a sport in helping to define communities and strengthen the social fabric by bringing together players, youth, and sports enthusiasts. The Tournament organizing team acknowledges the contributions of soccer players and team managers in the seven Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, and hopes that in this event, the same spirit and love of the game as in the camps is injected and that a precedent for future events is created.

About the Bhutanese Refugee Community
From expulsion and refugee status to welcome and opportunity in the USA, the Bhutanese refugee community is determined to succeed in creating a better future. Once stateless victims of ethnic cleansing in their homeland, Bhutan, they are resettling here through combined efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Third Country Resettlement Program and the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. (Among the community's 100,000 ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese refugees subsisting in holding camps in Nepal since 1990, about 6,000 have been resettled in Atlanta among 60,000 resettled nationwide; more relatives and neighbors are expected to follow.)

Pitamber Adhikari: "Though I am financially poor, mentally, I’m rich!"

2011-05-26T07:52:00.208-04:00

Guest author: Pitamber Adhikari

Pritam's tassels attest to his multiple honors and awards
at the Druid Hills High School 2011 graduation ceremony

Editor's note | The young scholar's journey — from expulsion and refugee status to welcome and opportunity, attests to determination to survive and hope for a better future. In August 2008, Pritam and his family — stateless victims of ethnic cleansing in their homeland, Bhutan, joined Atlanta's growing Bhutanese refugee community of 6,000 through combined efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Third Country Resettlement Program and the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. (Among Pritam's 100,000 fellow ethnic-Nepali Bhutanese refugees subsisting in holding camps in Nepal since 1990, about 60,000 have been resettled nationwide, and more relatives and neighbors are expected to follow.)

Last fall, Pritam applied for college admission to realize< his fondest dream of becoming an aerospace engineer. On publishing this essay, which he sent with his applications, Pritam writes, "I want to thank editors for giving me a golden opportunity to tell about my life, from my native land to the USA. I also want to recognize Ms. Tamar Orvell for helping me out and encouraging me."

° ° °

I was born in a small, rural village in Bhutan, a monarchy on the border between China and India. Everything was backward, lacking, or undeveloped — education, transportation, sewage, electricity, and medical facilities. In 1992, when I was two years old, the cruel monarch expelled me and my family (mother, father, brother, and five sisters) and our 100,000 Nepali-origin community from our homeland. We were sent to live in Beldangi-2, Jhapa district (one of seven Bhutanese refugee camps in neighboring Nepal). There, we lived in bamboo huts with mud floors and newspaper-covered walls to keep out the winter cold and rain. We cooked, washed, and used toilets in outdoor communal facilities.

Though refugee life in the camp was miserable, I spent 15 years studying hard, participating in our cultural festivals, playing sports (soccer, table tennis, and Badminton), and volunteering in two organizations helping young children and teens: “Save the Children Forum” and “Youth Friendly Center.” In the United-Nations-run English-language-school where I had a golden chance to study, I was known as a smart and likable student. Though my parents attended only grade school, they inspired me by their example to work hard and discipline myself for a bright future.

Questions filled my imagination.

Pritam, age 12, in Beldangi-2
refugee camp

Since age six, I loved playing with small paper airplanes with my friends and family. Questions filled my imagination, and I have been curious to find the answers to them and to other questions ever since.

For example, I wondered —

How does this paper plane fly?
How can I make it fly higher?
Is it like a real airplane?
How can an airplane fly, but not a car?

In fourth grade, I learned a bit about engines, and I wondered, How can engines be made stronger so that airplanes can carry more weight? And, in seventh grade, I wondered, Why don’t jet airplanes fall because of their huge mass?

I have always loved and excelled in science and math, and have planned on a career related to aviation since I was 14. In 2008, when I was almost 17, I was excited when my family and thousands more got a chance to leave the refugee camps and to resettle in the USA. Finally, I could continue my studies at higher levels and at more rigorous standards.

Relocating to a new country is hard!
I am constantly adjusting to new people and different customs, foods, and habits; navigating busy roads and many buildings; and managing language and communication challenges! I am an active volunteer in two of my local community organizations, Bhutanese Community of Georgia and Sewa International (Sewa is a Hindu word for volunteer), and I accompany my family to health care and immigration offices where I translate for them and agency officials.

At Druid Hills High School, I learned a lot about computers, which I had never even seen in the refugee camp, and I discovered the aerospace field through my chemistry teacher and friends. My fellow students come from all over the world, and I love this diverse society. I am practicing to be a careful listener, to speak clearly, and to appreciate and respect differences among my peers and others. I’m steadily improving my English in composition and literature classes and in speaking with American-born friends while working hard to maintain good grades in all my classes, including advanced placement (AP) classes in physics, statistics, calculus, and economics. (The last two years, I earned straight A’s and have been on the Honor Roll.) I am a member of my high school International Club and The National Society of High School Scholars. After graduation, I seek to fulfill my dream to do research, to obtain valuable real-life practical experience, and to study through the doctorate level.


During the Dashara festival, Hera and Yamuna flank their brother Pritam, 2010

I'm excited to make an outstanding contribution.
Life circumstances required me to follow a long, nontraditional route toward my goal, and though I am financially poor, mentally, I’m rich! I bring to an academic community unique gifts of a refugee student from another hemisphere who can teach and inspire fellow students and others. I'm excited to share my experience, knowledge, culture, traditions, and positive attitudes, and to make an outstanding contribution to the community.

° ° °

Editor's note | On graduating from high school, Pritam was among the top 10% in his class; a member of the school's International Club and The National Society of High School Scholars; Advanced Placement Honoree (three or more AP classes); and Work-Ready Certified, Gold Rank (to perform 90% jobs in the state). He was also awarded the Emory University Award for Academic Excellence, Georgia Certificate of Merit (top 5% of his junior class), and President’s Award for Educational Excellence (recognition from the U.S. President and Secretary of Education to students whose outstanding efforts have enabled them to meet challenging standards of excellence). Seven schools accepted Pritam, including Purdue University, in Indiana, and in Georgia, Mercer University and Oglethorpe University. In August, he plans to begin post-secondary coursework at Georgia Perimeter College, then transfer to Georgia Tech.

Update, Summer 2011 | Pritam participated in a special project at Georgia Tech's Combustion Lab, where you're never too young to learn.

Celebrate Easter: Order Bhutanese hand-woven kudzu baskets!

2011-03-02T01:03:00.002-05:00

Celebrate Easter and our Bhutanese refugee neighbors who are rebuilding their lives! Order their hand-woven kudzu baskets by using this form or emailing BhutanBaskets@gmail.com.

The Bhutan basket makers are also eager to make beautiful, custom Easter baskets for your church or youth group.

Namaste and thank you.

(Click the image to enlarge it.)

2011 Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award honors Craig Gilbert

2010-12-29T15:48:00.012-05:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Craig Gilbert sporting his topi hat
and Nepalese doko basket

An appreciation and kudos to a tzadik [Hebrew: righteous person] — Craig Gilbert, my friend, mentor, sounding board, and role model, and Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group volunteer.

Emory University (School of Public Health and Goizueta Business School) will honor Craig and other recipients at The 2011 Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award ceremony on Thursday, January 20, at 4pm. The event will be in the auditorium of the Claudia Nance Rollins School of Public Health (1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322); a catered reception will follow. Parking from 3pm in the Michael Street Parking Deck (off Clifton Road) for faculty, staff, and students. Stay on the faculty, staff, and students side, and do not venture over to the visitors lot.

The theme for this year’s program of the 19th annual MLK Jr. Birthday Celebration is “Reinventing Communities: Turning Misfortune into Opportunity.”

This prestigious award recognizes Craig's accomplishments in the early days of the organic food movement, and for lifting up people in the refugee community (to earn fair wages for honest work, to access educational opportunities, and to preserve and transmit along the generations human dignity, cultural heritage, and ethnic identity).

At the event, Craig will speak briefly and share photos to highlight the Bhutanese Kudzu Basket Project and the Gardening Project, among enterprises he has initiated, championed, and given to with energy, imagination, and love!

The Atlanta Bhutanese community and many friends, allies, advocates, and supporters, are warmly invited to join in honoring Craig.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired America to grant human rights to all people using nonviolent means, a philosophy that Mahatma ("great soul") Gandhi, a son of India, pioneered. It is fitting that an Atlantan is recognized for upholding Dr. King's ideals by helping to resettle refugees from Bhutan (on the Indian subcontinent) whose homes and fields were stolen and whose lives were put on hold in refugee camps twenty years and longer.
— Craig Gilbert

Related posts by or about Craig

Cross-posted at Only Connect

Tulasi's Thanksgiving Letter

2010-11-25T12:35:00.005-05:00

Guest author: Tulasi Ghimirey

Ryan observes his dad, Tulasi, wearing
Bhutanese garb to honor his homeland flag

Editor's note | In 2000, Tulasi Ghimirey arrived in the U.S. from United Nations-run refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. Last month,Tulasi's parents joined him in an emotional reunion (photos here) at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. Thousands in his community are still living in the camps' squalid makeshift huts of bamboo and plastic. These homeless, stateless victims who have been enduring years of struggle and poverty were exiled from Bhutan, their homeland, in an ethnic cleansing, in 1991.

Dear friends, elders, brothers and sisters, and community leaders,

We traveled several thousand miles from Bhutan to Nepal and than to America and came to this wonderful land where we can call home. In 2003 there were four Bhutanese immigrants in Atlanta. Today we are 6, 000. Thank you to all the Ambassadors who reached to the Bhutanese people in the refugee camps in Nepal and today we are here because of you.

This land is so wonderful and citizens as well. Anywhere in the world if there a disaster both man made or natural American Citizens will reach there to help and rescue the needy. I salute all the people on the uniform for making us safe. Here, we can work, wear the clothes of our own choices, read, write, and speak freely. We can also hire an Attorney if we need. If you go to bed there is 100% chances that we will see the next day.

Generally, Bhutanese are doing well. Many have changed their job for better prospects. Many families have a car. Everyday they are looking for the better opportunity. No one is homeless yet.

We have enjoyed such a warm welcome and positive response. I am thankful for everyone who has taken time to say hello or meet with me and bring your gifts and talents to our community. As I celebrate the holiday with my family, I remember faces and names of all the volunteers, some as little as six and seven yrs old. A little girl collected her lunch money and bought a pair of sleeper for a Refugee child. Teamwork can be summed up in five short words: "We believe in each other."

Thank you for embracing us at the time of economic downfall. We saved our families from eviction list from the apartment because of you. You stepped in to help with your expertise running the kudzu basket project where many folks made some cash by selling the baskets made out of vine. You helped set up tutoring, and collecting and distributing clothes, household items, calculators, and study guides. Training were given in basket weaving, driving and preparation for the learner permit test, and working in food industry and construction. After people got training in grass cutting and edging, they made money to help pay their rent.

I am thankful to all Bhutanese friends who go to work daily with smiles on their faces, realizing that the work that they do makes our community and the world a better place. Work is worship. Our goal is to keep away from FOOD STAMP.

Thanks to all who introduced us to other communities. Today we are known in Jewish, Indian, Burmese, Spanish, Jamaican, and Nepalese communities. Still, Bhutanese is a new word for many.

Today I have several hundreds of people to take care of me in case of any disaster in my life. When my niece died at Gwinnett hospital, the staff was shocked to see the numbers of visitors who came before she died. These visitors were from Bhutan, India, America —Black and White. She was new in Atlanta, and many visited because they knew me. Even the staff asked me whether I am a political leader.

After I was evicted from Bhutan, I discovered that the most powerful tool we carry is the power of love and kindness. Lets continue to keep our culture and tradition and treat our guests as dear mother.

I wish I can download all the pictures from my heart or the retina of my eyes.

Lets glorify our new motherland by singing this song.

God bless America
Land that I love
Stand beside her
And guide her
Through the night with a light
From above.

From the mountains, to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home (2x).

Related posts

July Fourth picnic with Atlanta's new Bhutanese neighbors (includes video)
Tulasi Ghimirey's Thanksgiving letter (2009)

Emory University article on Tulasi
Bhutan refugee finds Shangri-La in Atlanta

Atlanta Bhutanese refugees want jobs

2010-09-01T15:36:00.003-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Meet the Dulal brothers: Jaga, Tila, and Buddha. During the past 15 months, they resettled in Atlanta, joining their parents and community of 6,000 fellow Bhutanese refugees. They arrived from refugee camps in Nepal, where they had been living 18 years with 100 thousand fellow victims of ethnic cleansing in their homeland, neighboring Bhutan.

The Dulals and their community are aching for work to help feed and support their families. And while the Dulals speak halting English and are open to work opportunities, in this tight market they have not yet found jobs. Unless they earn money to pay for their modest housing and other basics, they face potential eviction.

Watch the video (1:50 minutes).

Bhutanese refugee men and women seek work in —

Restaurants: cooking, cleaning, and serving
Childcare and elder care
Landscaping, maintenance, and other service work
Factory assembly lines
Bakery processing plants
Sewing, tailoring, and weaving
Designing and making beaded necklaces
Henna painting

The young adults and high school students also seek work — after school, summers, and weekends. They speak English, and the teens attend local high schools (where many are in Advanced Placement [AP] classes). Many young adults study part-time in local community colleges where they must pay fees while helping to support their families.

Contact us
Please send job leads and offers to BhutanBaskets@Gmail.com.

How Bhutanese refugees come to Atlanta
The refugees arrive in Atlanta and nationwide through combined efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Third Country Resettlement Program and the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. The UNHCR also works with the U.S. and many other countries to resettle other refugee groups from around the globe.

Thank you and Namaste*
*Sanskrit greeting, meaning, I bow to you

Cross-posted at Only Connect

From Bhutan to the Emory Eye Center: a long road to good vision

2010-07-18T20:25:00.005-04:00

Pediatric ophthalmologist Amy Hutchinson
and Birendra Odari (Photo: Tamar Orvell)

Editor's note | When Birendra Odari visited the Emory Eye Center last fall, Dr. Amy Hutchinson was the first pediatric ophthalmologist ever to examine the Druid Hills High School teen, who arrived in the USA two years ago. A respectful and respected leader in his community, Birendra is an avid soccer player, active member of his school International Club, and vice- president of the Bhutanese Kudzu Project (profiled in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution here).

Emory Eye, a publication of the Emory Eye Center, published a news story (Summer 2010 issue, page 7) on Birendra's visit. (Because of an editing error, the publication misreported the current number of Bhutanese refugees in Atlanta. It is 6,000, not 1,600.) The story is reprinted here.

“We were glad that Birendra Odari had come to us for treatment,” says Dr. Hutchinson. “He had severe astigmatism and hyperopia (farsightedness).” Both conditions were untreated, and because Birendra had never worn glasses or contact lenses before coming to the United States, he had developed amblyopia (decreased vision in both eyes).

“Before visiting Emory Eye [Center], Birendra had been seen by an optometrist in Atlanta. We advised him to continue wearing the contact lenses prescribed by that doctor,” Dr. Hutchinson says. “His vision continues to improve. That’s a welcome situation for this bright and ambitious young man.”

Craig Gilbert and Tamar Orvell, volunteers with the Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group, accompanied Birendra to the Emory Eye Center.

Tamar noted that Dr. Hutchinson immediately established a caring relationship with Birendra. “After the exam, she asked him about his life up until now. Dr. Hutchinson explained that she could relate in some ways to his experiences in the refugee camps because she volunteers her professional services in third-world countries and sees many difficult situations there.”

Craig added, “Birendra’s mother felt so much relief when we returned home. It was almost overwhelming for her to know that after 18 years of no medical help and no vision correction, her son has had the best possible care. She is thankful to Dr. Hutchinson for her top skills and gracious, gentle ways.”

The Fugees: our Atlanta refugee neighbors

2010-07-11T18:51:00.001-04:00

For more information, visit the Fugees Family web site.

Pabitra Rizal's gifts

2010-06-25T11:44:00.005-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Pabitra Rizal shows Craig Gilbert
her Israeli-made Bhutanese flag

A two-hour Q&A punctuated by a salvo of Oohs, Ahhs, Reallys? and Nevers! followed the hug fest that launched Pabitra's and my reunion. We had recently returned to our lives in Atlanta; I, from my life in Israel, and Pabitra from visiting her "mum" in a refugee camp, in Nepal.

On the ferociously hot and muggy Sunday afternoon, over an early dinner we exchanged gifts. (One Israeli gift was from flag store owner Yehudit Liman, who instructed me to "Please deliver these [Bhutanese flags] to your friends in Atlanta, the Bhutanese refugees about whom you speak so fondly.")

And, when Craig dropped by to welcome back the one whom I call the Mayor of the Atlanta Bhutanese Community, the conversation took deep dives as the Bhutanese-born visionary, leader, activist, advocate, and go-to person answered our questions.

How did you feel returning to the camp you had left five years ago and continued to call home?
Why were you initially afraid to return there?
What do people in the camps know about life in the U.S.A.?
How much did you pay for dental work in Khathmandu when you visited the capital city?
What did it cost to treat your ingrown toenail, and what were the doctor's credentials?

The back story
In 1991, Bhutan expelled Pabitra, her family, and roughly 100,000 native-born fellow ethnic Nepalis after countless people endured imprisonment, separation, torture, murder, and rape. For decades since, these exiled, stateless people have been living in seven U.N.-run refugee camps in neighboring Nepal. In 2005, Pabitra left her camp to attend a conference in the U.S.A., where she sought political asylum. She had not seen her mother until last month.

In 2008, the chance to seek resettlement in a third country (the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and the Netherlands) under the United Nations Third-Country Resettlement Program for Refugees reversed the fortunes of more than 60,000 Bhutanese refugees.

Today, Pabitra and a community of 6,000 Bhutanese refugees live in Atlanta (more members are steadily joining them here and the others nationwide). Craig, I, and other Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group volunteers are helping our new neighbors to resettle and rebuild their lives. And our dear friend who laughs easily and often, and relishes her mother's Nepalese cooking is a key cultural interpreter and go-to person in helping us and her community to navigate the challenges.

Craig (left) with Atlanta Bhutanese basket weavers

Craig's (abridged) list of Pabitra's gifts

Pabitra is a shining light. You know she is in a room because people listen. She carries regally the weight and future of her community, and she is busy, productive, and planning her next move and next month’s move.
Pabitra knows what family really means. She traveled around the world returning to a refugee camp to see her brother and mother. The last leg of her journey she completed on foot and carried only a small satchel of clothes (having left her passport and documents in Kathmandu with friends). If people living in the camp had known she came from the U.S.A. or advocated resettlement, she would have been at risk.
Pabitra is thankful that she has been given a great gift of freedom in the U.S.A. She remains positive and understands that she is responsible for managing her life and helping others to navigate their way. Tired and tireless today, twenty years from now she will be the same focused, driven person with big dreams and major accomplishments.

Related posts

Bhutanese Atlantans repurpose "the vine that ate the South" (includes video)
July Fourth picnic with Atlanta's new Bhutanese neighbors (includes video)
Son of Bhutan (Pabitra's nephew Kamal)

Cross-posted at Only Connect

Bhutanese artisans at Inman Park 39th Annual Festival

2010-05-15T00:26:00.010-04:00

Photos: David Foster
(Click images to enlarge them)

Atlanta’s eclectic and revered annual Inman Park Spring Festival, a two-day celebration of parades, entertainment, dancing, and open houses the last weekend of April, took place Friday through Sunday, April 23-25, 2010.

Festival features
Atlanta’s largest street market (including a first-time Bhutanese Booth with beaded necklaces, henna body painting, and kudzu basket weaving!).

Also, food, music, fun, a most outrageous parade, and a home tour of Victorian-era treasures, Craftsman Bungalows, contemporary gems, and stunning renovations.

Bhutanese artisans and community volunteers
Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group "previously indefatigable" volunteer Craig Gilbert initiated, managed, and coordinated the project to include Bhutanese artisans among the festival vendors.

Henna artists: Bhima Thapa-Magar, Sanita Thapa-Magar, Nirmala Regmi, Bishnu Odari

Beaded necklaces: Mrs. Oma Odari

Kudzu basket weavers: Misters Dulal, Pulami, Rimal, Rudra, MarMagar, Mapchan, Samal, Timshina

Sales: Birendra Odari, Tilchand Mapchhan

Drivers: Barbara Dorfman, Craig Gilbert, Deb Tawil, Leslie and Jeff Sokolow, Tika Rizal

At the Collective: The Inman Park gallery hosted weaving demonstrations of Bhutanese kudzu baskets, and sells them year-round.

More information
Buy kudzu baskets
Contact Bhutan Baskets

Additional photos
by Vernon Gross

Related posts

Look what you missed at the Magar program

2010-03-22T10:35:00.008-04:00

Guest author: Sarman Samal
Photos: Craig Gilbert

Editor's note | Magar is one of the largest indigenous ethnic nationalities of Nepal. The Magar Association of Georgia (MAG) organized a Magar cultural program for the community and friends on February 27, 2010, at the Presbyterian Church, 5140 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA.

I N V I T A T I O N

This is Sarman Samal. I would like to invite everybody to the Magar cultural show on 27th Feb. 2010. Magar is a ethnic group in the Bhutanese community with a unique culture and traditions. Please join us, Bhutanese Magar people, and enjoy the Magar cultural show with typical dances, songs and a skit by high school students.

For further information, please contact me at 678 598 1245.

I would like to thank everybody for helping Bhutanese people. Your great efforts have made the Bhutanese community a better place.

Brothers who share only a few words

2010-02-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

Guest author: Craig Gilbert

Durga Dulal and Craig Gilbert wearing

a topi hat and Durga's scarf

To the Bhutanese community, Thank you for the recent "Thank you" party for Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group volunteers. It was very powerful to me.

At the party, I was honored to be given a beautiful kudzu basket and a topi, a type of hat popular in Nepal. Topis come in many in different colors and patterns, and I find them all striking.

And then, Durga Dulal stepped forward and placed his scarf on my neck. It brought me to tears. How can I take from someone with nothing? It was like giving the shirt off his back. I could not take it, but now it is mine.

He wore and used that scarf; it kept him warm all winter. I always believed it to be something that someone gave as charity. Its bright Day-Glo pink does not go with anything, and its origins seemed obvious: something that someone had to get rid of.

He, too, was full of emotion. We used napkins to wipe our eyes and blow our noses. We were not embarrassed crying. It turns out that the scarf is from Nepal, and he brought it with him to America. It is now in my house, and if my house were to catch on fire, Durga's scarf would be among the first things I would save.

Durga Dulal is a leader. He impressed our kudzu basket-making teacher when he used his bare feet to turn and hold the baskets as he was weaving. He has been weaving baskets since he was twelve, and now he is my age: 54.

After four months of going together to farmers’ markets, artist markets, Christmas markets, and stores; relying on each other; problem solving; and working together, Durga Dulal is a brother. We know each other though there are only a few words we share.

Related posts

2010 calendar with Bhutanese and Nepalese festivals!

2010-01-22T11:20:00.016-05:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

The Bhutanese Community of Georgia (BCG) has created a stunning content-rich calendar. (Click the image to enlarge it.)

Printed on 11-x-17-inch top-grade paper, the calendar is spiral bound with drilled holes for easy hanging.

The handy organizer is packed with —

Bhutanese, Nepalese, and USA festivals and special days
Atlanta Bhutanese community photos
Spiritual teachings from the Vedas, Gita, Buddha
Horoscopes
Essential refugee resources: resettlement agencies, health organizations, radio stations

Purchasing calendars
Calendars are $5 each and can be purchased from the BCG. To order by mail, please send a check or money order of $5 per calendar, plus $1.50 shipping and handling to —
Bhutanese Community of Georgia (BCG)
3448 North Druid Hills Road, Suite L
Decatur, GA 30033

BCG contacts
Pabitra Rizal, 678/313-5444
Sanjay Dahal, 404/718-9323
Sarman Samal, 678/598-1245

Sample spiritual teaching: Sahanavavatu Mantra
AUM saha navavatu, saha nau bhunaktu Saha veeryam karvaavahai Tejasvi naa vadhita mastu maa vid vishaa va hai AUM shaantih, shaantih, shaantih.

Let us together (-saha) be protected (-na vavatu) and let us together be nourished (-bhunaktu). Let us together join our mental forces in strength (-veeryam) for the benefit of humanity (-karvaa vahai). Let our efforts at learning be luminous (-tejasvi) and filled with joy, and endowed with the force of purpose (-vadhita mastu). Let us never (-maa) be poisoned (-vishaa) with the seeds of hatred for anyone. Let there be peace and serenity (-shaantih) in all three universes.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution headlines "Baskets full of ambition"

2009-12-06T08:17:00.017-05:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Sold! At the Trinity Presbyterian Church
Global Mission Christmas Market,
Bhutanese-woven kudzu basket sales help
weavers' families pay rent, buy food, ride MARTA

Today and next Sunday after morning worship services, Trinity's Global Mission Christmas Market offers parishioners alternative gift giving opportunities. How? By bringing crafts of indigenous artisans in far-flung climes for sale here. The aim in doing this holy work? Benefiting church global mission efforts and relationships in Cuba, Kenya, Zambia, El Salvador, the Middle East and ... our Bhutanese refugee neighbors!

On the long table covered with an array of woven kudzu baskets (with an overflow below and on both sides), is a fresh copy (prominently displayed) of the morning's Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Baskets full of ambition:  Hard-working refugees weave kudzu into means of supporting families. Reporter Helena Oliviero begins her clear, comprehensive profile of the basket weavers' and their community — their complicated journey and local allies:

When a group of Bhutanese refugees set out to plant a community garden in September, the would-be growers found themselves knee deep in the south's leafy headache: kudzu.

The 12 families ripped, tugged and yanked the pesty vine, but the weed had taken control of the forgotten patch of green behind their apartment complex.

Yet, the newcomers suddenly saw this old problem in a new way: They saw a purpose, even opportunity and beauty in the vine everyone else loves to hate. [Read the rest of the story published December 6, 2009, Living Section, page E13 here, with photos (pdf) or here (text only)].

Update | Saturday, December 19, 2009 Today, last three farmers' markets to buy kudzu baskets before Christmas. Demos and sales all locations. (1) Morningside Farmers' Market at 1393 N. Highland NE 30306. 8-11:30AM. (2) Peachtree Rd. Farmers' Market at Cathedral St. Phillip, 2744 Peachtree Rd. NW 30305. 8:30AM – Noon. (3) Whole Foods Market - Buckhead at 77 W Paces Ferry Rd NW 30305. 1-4PM. Also, buy kudzu basket at these citywide venues until supplies run out this season. For more information, contact Bhutan Baskets.

In the photo
Bishnu Odari records the name of the artisan whose basket is bringing smiles to its purchaser. The tracking system ensures that each of the 50 plus artisans in her Bhutanese community is paid for their baskets sold.

The Druid Hills High School senior helps to support her family while studying hard, playing hard, and planning for a career in nursing. Bishnu arrived here less than two years ago with her family from United Nations-run refugee camps in eastern Nepal, where they were living nearly 17 years — victims of ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, their homeland.

Related posts

Tulasi Ghimirey's Thanksgiving letter

2009-11-26T16:15:00.006-05:00

Guest author: Tulasi Ghimirey

"I have the pictures of all the volunteers
in my memory of my heart."

Editor's Note | In 2000, Tulasi Ghimirey arrived in the U.S. from United Nations-run refugee camps in southeastern Nepal. Last month,Tulasi's parents joined him in an emotional reunion (photos here) at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. Thousands in his community are still living in the camps' squalid makeshift huts of bamboo and plastic. These homeless, stateless victims who have been enduring years of struggle and poverty were exiled from Bhutan, their homeland, in an ethnic cleansing, in 1991.

Dear Friends,

It is a THANKSGIVING time and a happy time. In recent months, many great citizens of this country were involved in helping our Bhutanese people in our transformation process to this new way of life. It is totally different to the way we are brought up and raised.

Take my family, for example. They know manual work, not like high technology work here. We know how to plough the fields using a big bull but not a tractor or the one shown in [children's TV program] Bob the Builder.

We came to this land where human rights and democracy are respected.
After my arrival, I realized that I can wear the clothes of my own choice and can eat the food of my habits. I can speak freely and write freely and can have a lawyer in the court house in one's defense. What a free world.

My dad used to pay fees for having a radio in my house and that was a source of great entertainment. Few lucky ones used to own this, also. Here everyone has their own TV, computer and wristwatch.

We were never exposed to the greater world... and came from a bamboo hut to a beautiful furnished house where heating and cooling device is under your control. No more running to the muddy rivers. Boy! Clothes can be washed within a few hours.

Yet every evening you go and talk to my friends: they are nervous.
Smoke alarm is beeping. Someone tried to warm a boiled egg in the microwave and there was a big bang. Three people came and robbed our cash, showing a gun. A Bhutanese guy was in a dumpster [to recycle some items], and the pickup truck came. The guy's friend saw [the situation] yet couldn't explain in English to the driver that a man was in the dumpster. The driver kept loading the dumpster until, the friend knocked on the door of the truck and pointed to the dumpster. The driver finally understand, and the man's life was saved.

Cold was the greatest danger for us.
Back in refugee camps, the temperature was always hot. People reached Atlanta with no warm clothes. Children and older people were the victims, especially. And several HEROS OF MANKIND jumped in and started helping our people. There were child volunteers, young volunteers, old volunteers, female volunteers, male volunteers, and of all colors. No one asked me, What is your race?

There are thousand of such stories and a reality. Now things are getting better. Yet this transformation process definitely will take a long time, and your help and support is always needed.

American citizens are great and now we have to learn this culture too.
I have the pictures of all the volunteers in my memory of my heart. Your love and kindness. Your hard work, time and dedication to improve the living conditions by using your talents is a greatest gift for us. Several projects have began to support us. God, please protect this great people.

Today Tulasi is with his family for Thanksgiving and would like to thank each of you with greatest respect for your support for me, my family and my community.

Wish you a happy Thanksgiving. Namaste [Sanskrit: a friendly greeting meaning, I bow to you].

— Tulasi, Kumari and Ryan

Related posts

Cross-posted at Only Connect

Blanket Brigade covers neediest families, warms all hearts

2009-11-15T19:22:00.006-05:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

We were loading and distributing, and we were
like small kids having fun. (Bishnu Odari)

Bishnu Odari
The night before, Birendra and Kamal had made a list of the needy people in each apartment complex. In the morning, I went with Pabitra and other teens to get the 220 blankets that had been delivered to Lisa's and Robert's garage, in Duluth.

The blankets were packed in cartons and stored in one room. We took each carton, opened the top, and separated the blankets by each apartment complex, took the number we needed (using the list), and loaded them into separate cars. We left the cartons there.

Nirmala and I drove with Sanjay to Northchase Apartments in Chamblee. We had seven blankets for them. And we called one woman there, and she knew all the people, and each family came out, and we met them at their apartment. They were excited and so thankful. We gave only to needy people who are new. They don't know how cold it is here. They arrived this summer and fall. It was the first time I met them. I like to work this way, helping people and distributing.

___________________________________

Kamal Dahal
Today's delivery was a great success. It was such great help from all who coordinated to distribute this very basic thing. Your coordination, support, and expense of valuable time is really fascinating. This grand distribution helped needy people who were suffering from cold and lack of resources to get some warmth. This great job obviously gets rewards of blessings from the families who were in trouble. Thank all of you who directly and indirectly helped a lot to get this task done perfectly.

___________________________________

Leslie Sokolow
I was so impressed with how things went. I felt euphoric the rest of the day. Such beautiful blankets will last a lifetime! Pabitra coordinated the deliveries superbly with the cars loaded in less than an hour. Thanks to you, Pabitra, and to everyone else who came and threw their hearts and muscles into making this happen.

DRIVERS
Bill Tynan, Elizabeth Hill, Jeff Sokolow, Jen Murphy, Leslie Sokolow, Mita Patel, Narayan Katel, Pabitra Rizal , Robert Willis, Sanjay Dahal , Sarman Samal, Swadesh Katoch, Tek Thapa

TEENS
Bhima Thapa, Birendra Odari, Bishnu Odari, Chakra Subedi, Chandra Neopane (Charlie), Hari Timsina, Kamal Dahal, Lalita Thapa , Nirmala Regmi, Sanita Thapa, Tilchand Mapchhan (Mark), Tula Mapchhan, Yan Neopane

___________________________________

Pabitra Rizal

Hello Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group,

Kudos to all for making the blanket distribution event a great success! You wholeheartedly helped needy Bhutanese families.

To Lodgian, [hotel owner/operator company] for donating the blankets: You have earned our immense gratitude. Your blankets will definitely keep our people warm even in severe Atlanta winters. May you make continued progress with all our blessings and good wishes.

To CDC volunteers and others, for your generous help to our community: Special thanks. Your initiative to set up the blanket donation campaign is highly appreciated. I have not enough words to express my gratitude adequately. Special thanks to Leslie, Lisa, Robert, and Tamar for meeting our great need at a difficult time. and to Lisa and Robert for providing storage in their home for the blankets until the distribution.

To the volunteer drivers who missed their Sunday leisure to help us to drop the blankets in various apartments: Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

To the volunteer teens from Druid Hills High School and Stone Mountain High School (Lalita): You deserve my deepest appreciation. You guys are awesome. You did a marvelous job beyond our expectation. You took the novel initiative to collect names of blanket recipients from various apartments, loaded the blankets into cars, guided drivers to different apartments, and distributed the blankets. Thanks for being with us till the end.

To everyone: Your work was appreciated by everyone. I got many calls from many people. I anticipate your generous support in the days to come. I hope we all will be together for a cause like this again. Together we can make a difference.

Thank you on behalf of the Bhutanese Community of Georgia.

Bhutanese Atlantans repurpose "the vine that ate the south"

2009-10-27T14:50:00.006-04:00

Guest author: Tamar Orvell

Atlanta Bhutanese Refugee Support Group volunteers and friends have been promoting our new Bhutanese neighbors in a collective enterprise that helps them to feed their families. Here’s the recipe.

Step 1. Harvest local scourge, kudzu, growing around their apartment complexes.
Step 2. Using ancient artisan techniques, weave the vines into one-of-a-kind baskets, wreaths, and custom-ordered products.
Step 3. Sell the products at the Morningside Farmers' Market and other markets, fairs, houses of worship, community events, and shops.

Watch the video (4:31 minutes).

More information
See photos here and here of kudzu basket weaving demos and sales at the Morningside Farmers' Market. For basket orders and inquiries, send an email. For background on Bhutanese refugees in Atlanta, visit the links in the right column of this site, Bhutan > Atlanta.

Related posts and news articles

Cross-posted at Only Connect.

Tutoring Bhutanese Teens: Study Resources

2009-10-25T12:36:00.003-04:00

Welcome! Please check this section regularly for updates. To suggest study resources, please contact us.

Weekly Words (Appelrouth Tutoring Services)
The Official SAT Question of the Day
Help with your college plans
Test Prep Review SAT (Practice questions for different sections)
Two free SAT tests
ACT official website practice questions (At the top, click English, math, and so on)
Test Prep Review ACT (Practice questions for different sections)

Related posts

Tutoring Bhutanese Teens: Project Launched

2009-10-16T18:51:00.003-04:00

Seven teens and three Emory College students met today to explore the teens' learning needs and ways to address them through tutoring resources.

Twins Bishnu and Birendra Odari hosted teens from Birch Grove and Valley Brook Apartments and their Emory tutors: Billy Zhang, Cherylene Ng, and Ying Long. We welcome more teens at our next engagement, Sunday, October 25, 3:45 pm, at the Odari home.

Working in small focus groups, areas of specific needs surfaced:

SAT preparations
Vocabulary building
Reading comprehension
American literature, specifically Arthur Miller's The Crucible
College: preparing, researching, applying

Everyone was excited to begin to identify the issues formally and to tackle them systematically with the guidance of exceptional and charming volunteer tutors.

See Study Resources for practical tools and reference materials that the tutors, teens, and others suggest.

For more information, contact Tamar Orvell.

The Support Group: Our Story

2009-08-26T07:51:00.043-04:00

We are volunteers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Druid Hills High School, and Emory University; and from the Indian, Nepali, and Jewish communities; and others.

A teacher's emergency call to aid newly arrived Bhutanese students lacking adequate clothing and supplies triggered our grassroots effort of steadily widening response.

We seek solutions, and there's much to do:

Troubleshoot employment, housing, and transportation issues
Promote collective enterprises to help feed their families
Manage special medical cases
Help navigating bureaucracies
Run a tutoring program for high school students
Obtain and deliver clothing and household items
Join in cultural events and celebrate U.S. holidays together
Partner with organizations to build community gardens and to organize focus groups to learn about pressing issues for women
Arrange field trips to museums, theaters, landmarks, and nature preserves

We also get out the word on community needs, accomplishments, and individual profiles through the media, workplaces, houses of worship, and friends, neighbors, and family.

About our new Bhutanese neighbors
Theirs is an ancient rich heritage infused with sterling values — respect for hard work, education, self-reliance, elders, and community. A recent history of trauma, endurance, and survival exiled these resilient, patient, and gentle people to U.N. refugee camps in Nepal, where they were living nearly 20 years — victims of ethnic cleansing in Bhutan, their homeland.

Now in the U.S., thanks to American policies, programs, opportunities, and personal acts of kinship and kindness, they are moving forward in our nation of immigrants.

Learn more. Get involved. Contact us.

Related stories

Bhutanese Atlantans repurpose "the vine that ate the South"
Bhutan refugee finds Shangri-La in Atlanta
Son of Bhutan: a Georgia first
Link to more "Facts" and "Atlanta Success Stories" (on the right)

Buy kudzu baskets

2008-12-07T16:53:00.004-05:00

Inman Park
Cacao Laboratoire - Atlanta
312 C North Highland Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 221-9090
Tues–Sat 11am-7pm

At the Collective
280 Elizabeth St.
Suite B103
Atlanta, GA 30307
(770) 696-5845
Tues-Sat 11am-6pm; Sun 12pm-6pm

Toco Hills/Emory/Buckhead
FarmerD Organics
2154 Briarcliff Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30329-3450
(404) 325-0128
M-F 9am-5:30pm; Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 11am-4:30pm

Norcross
FarmerD Organics
4050 Holcomb Bridge Rd.
Norcross, GA
(770) 734-0009
M-F 9am-5:30pm; Sat 9am-5pm; Sun 11am-4:30pm

Chamblee
Dryads Dancing
5655 Peachtree Rd.
Chamblee, GA 30341
(770) 234-0096
M-F 10am-6pm; Sat 11am-4pm