It’s been three months since 29-year-old Bhakti Maya Mainanj Dhamala migrated to Australia after spending 18 years in a Nepalese refugee camp.
Lhotshampa Bhutanese by birth (born in Bhutan but of Nepalese origin), Bhakti was nine years old when she and her family fled the country in fear for their lives.
At the time fierce fighting had broken out between the native Bhutanese and the Lhotshampas in reaction to new laws passed by the Bhutanese Government in direct discrimination of the Lhotshampas.
Bhakti said the laws were designed to rid them of their cultural heritage and included a new prescription of etiquette, the discontinuation of Nepali language from school curricula, obligatory wearing of only Bhutanese national dress in public and the enforcement of native Bhutanese culture as the national culture.
The Lotshampas resented such moves, having lived peacefully with the native Bhutanese for more than a century, and violence ensued.
Fleeing across the border to Nepal, Bhakti and her family were placed in one of the seven refugee camps that are now thought to house an estimated 120,000 Lhotshampa refugees.
She said living conditions were harsh in the camps, with only basic facilities available, including schooling and a basic heath care system.
If there is any light in Bhakti’s story it is that she and her now husband met and fell in love in a refugee camp and they, along with her husband’s brother, have now migrated to Australia where they finally have a place to call home.
But, as refugees have no say in where they are placed, Bhakti’s parents were sent to the USA and she now has no idea when or if she will see them again.
“As with all refugees, my story contains pain and suffering,” Bhakti said.
“I keep busy all the time. I go to cookery and sewing classes. I work as an office organiser outside of the hours I study English. I keep my mind busy so I do not get sad about my family who I miss so much.”
Bhakti, alongside her husband and brother-in-law, attends English classes held at Charles Darwin University and operated by the Adult Migrant English Program which is funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
This week is World Refugee Week where stories like Bhakti’s are bought to the fore and the global community embraces their migrant refugee population and celebrates how they can now live their lives free of fear.
An event will be held in Darwin on Saturday, 20 June at the Holzerland Park, opposite the shopping centre in Malak from 4pm – 8pm.
Bhakti and fellow members of the Nepalese community will cook local delicacies at the free community event, which will include speeches, citizenship ceremonies, food tastings, cultural performances and a film screening.
“Word Refugee Week really is so important for refugee migrants like myself as it allows us to meet and open up about our lives as refugees, share our stories and through talking about our sorrow, get some relief from our sadness,” Bhakti said.