Celebrate Easter: Order Bhutanese hand-woven kudzu baskets!

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

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

• Atlanta's Craig Gilbert, Bhutanese, and Community Service Awards (includes video)
• Bhutanese Atlantans repurpose "the vine that ate the South" (includes video)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution headlines "Baskets full of ambition" 
• Atlanta’s Bhutanese refugees and their new neighbors
• Brothers who share only a few words
• Atlanta Bhutanese refugees want jobs (includes video)
• Joe Franco (1909-2008): Celebrating a long, loving life

Cross-posted at Only Connect

Tulasi's Thanksgiving Letter

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

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

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

Tamar Orvell's 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

For more information, visit the Fugees Family web site.

Pabitra Rizal's gifts

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