Learning the Dutch ropes

JOHN NARAYAN PARAJULI
Amersfoort, May 21 - It's a sunny day and a group of young men stand out in the sun in one of the reception centres for refugees discussing the best internet plan they can purchase for their laptops. Inside one of the apartments, two women of the Karki family are preparing lunch in their fully furnished kitchen adjacent to the dining room where the men are talking and watching television.
Less than five months ago, they used outdoor solar cookers in the refugee camp in Nepal where they cooked in a narrow kitchen under a thatched roof.
After being stateless and homeless for as many as 18 years, many Bhutanese refugees (about 11,000 so far) are on their way to permanent residency and eventual citizenship in eight Western countries. Since Feb. 16, a hundred refugees have arrived in The Netherlands for resettlement. They are currently being housed in a transit centre in this small town of Amersfoort, where they will live until a suitable house is found for them.
“My family will be moving into a new house on June 16. The house has been assigned to us in Utrecht,” says Parlad Karki, who is in his 30s. The refugees will be eligible for social housing that is subsidized by the state for people with low incomes. As residents, they will also be getting unemployment benefits and free health care. As of now, they receive 55 Euro for adult and 30 for children in food allowances. Once they move out they will get unemployment allowance of 1,200 Euro every month, with additional money for children. Life here promises a lot they say.
Most seem eager to start a new life, but they know how hard the transition to a different world will be. In The Netherlands, where English is not the first language, even the young and educated will have to learn Dutch from scratch and make efforts to understand the local culture. “So far, learning the language has been the most difficult thing for me,” says Nawaraj Gazmere. There is excitement among the younger generation, most of who grew up with hard-ships in the camp.
“It was difficult for us in the beginning, but we are slowly adjusting to a new life here,” says Yog Bahadur Khadka. “There was no future for us in the camps and Bhutan was unwilling to accept us back. We didn't have much of a choice.” But for the older generation, the transition has been rough. “I can't read or write English, so it’s is difficult to get around,” says 60-year-old Akhil Bahadur Khadka.
Then there is that constant trauma of having left family members in distress. Many have immediate family members in Bhutan who have been denied property rights and are often persecuted because of their connection to the refugees. “I can't imagine living away from my relatives,” says Chakra Prasad Gazmere, who has a heart condition. “But now I have to.”

The Kathmandu Post