Banished after release, jailed Bhutanese can’t return even to their former refugee camp

Chatur Man Tamang and Hasta Bahadur Rai, after serving over 18 years in a Bhutanese prison, found themselves stranded at the India-Nepal border, denied entry into Nepal. The two men, who grew up in refugee camps in eastern Nepal after being expelled from Bhutan in the early 1990s, were released from Chamgang Central Jail on June 1.

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If they had proof of release from the Bhutanese prison, it would be easier for us to take them in. Unless we have documentary proof, we cannot allow them here.

Bhutanese security personnel escorted them to Jaigaon on the India-Bhutan border, providing them with 30,000 Indian rupees for travel expenses and warning them never to return to Bhutan. Crucially, they were not given official release certificates. This lack of documentation became an insurmountable barrier when they attempted to cross into Nepal at the Kakarbhitta border.

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They told us never to come back to Bhutan. They said that if we returned, even by mistake, we would be sent back to prison.

Officials at the Beldangi refugee camp in Nepal stated they could not admit Tamang and Rai without documentary proof of their release. "Unless we have documentary proof, we cannot allow them here," said Sanchahang Subba, secretary at the camp. The men were forced to turn back from the Nepal-India border, leaving them with no country willing to accept them. They are currently sheltering with a Nepali-speaking laborer in Jaigaon, India, who took them in out of sympathy but fears repercussions if authorities discover their presence.

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I thought about going back and asking for the papers, but I am terrified. They clearly told us never to return.