The displaced refugees, who are now taking shelter at a local school building, have refused resettlement in other old huts, which have remained empty after their occupants were resettled in other countries. They say they want to live where they had been living for all these years.

 

“I have been living in Beldangi ever since I fled Bhutan,” says Devika Kafle, whose hut was also gutted in the fire. “If my family is relocated to some other camp, I am not sure if I will have my relatives around.” Kafle, like other displaced refugee families, also does not want to live in an old and abandoned hut. 

 

The displaced refugees have started building their huts in Beldangi after the District Administration Office of Jhapa asked them to remain ready to move to some other camps.

 

Jhapa´s Chief District Officer (CDO) Narendra Raj Sharma, who is also director of Refugee Coordination Committee, said that they thought of relocating the displaced families to some other abandoned camps as reconstruction work in the fire-ravaged camp may be costly and time-consuming. 

 

“We can´t rebuild so many huts overnight,” said Sharma. “And, we can´t keep the displaced families in the open place for a long time, either. Hence, we want them to move to other camps.” 

 

In a meeting with government officials and representatives of donor organizations on Friday, the displaced families firmly said that they would not move elsewhere even if the administration uses force. Meanwhile, the police have prevented the displaced families from rebuilding their huts in Beldangi.

 

On last Tuesday, 101 huts of Beldangi were destroyed in the fire, which forced nearly 400 Bhutanese refugees to take shelter elsewhere.

 

Published on: 8 December 2012 | Republica