Jump to content

Bhutanese Americans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bhutanese Refugees in America
Total population
20,462Americans of Bhutanese birth or ethnic origin (2023 American Community Survey)[1]
71,000Bhutanese refugees in USA (according to theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugeesin USA in 2013)[2]
Regions with significant populations
Vermont(Burlington) •New Hampshire•Maryland(Baltimore) •Colorado(Denver,Boulder) •Ohio(Akron,Columbus,Cleveland,Toledo) •South Dakota(Sioux Falls) •North Dakota(Grand Forks,Fargo) •Kentucky(Louisville,Bowling Green) •Massachusetts(Boston,Worcester) •Pennsylvania(Harrisburg,Erie,Pittsburgh,Scranton,Lancaster) •Nebraska(Omaha) •Michigan(Lansing,Grand Rapids) •Utah(Salt Lake City) •New York(New York City,Buffalo,Syracuse,Rochester) •California•Wisconsin(Milwaukee) •Atlanta[3]
Languages
Religion
Buddhism•Hinduism
Related ethnic groups

Bhutanese AmericansareAmericansofBhutanesedescent. According to the 2010 census there are 19,439 Americans of Bhutanese descent.[4]However, manyNepali-Bhutanesecame to the U.S. viaNepalaspolitical refugeesfrom that country and are registered asNepali Americans;often leading to the actual numbers of Bhutanese Americans being underreported. More than 92,323 Bhutanese Nepalis have been resettled in the United States, with the largest single community being approximately 27,000 inColumbus, Ohio.[5][6]

Demography

[edit]

According to the 2010 census, there are 19,439 Bhutanese Americans.[4]However, many Bhutanese came to the U.S. from Nepal as political refugees from that country. These political refugees formed, according to estimates of June 20, 2010, a population of 27,926 people in the United States. Many Bhutanese Americans are of theHindufaith.[7]The others areKiratas,Buddhist,andChristians.

Bhutanese Lhotshampa

[edit]

Many of the Bhutanese living in the United States were actually ethnic minorities ofNepalesedescent. This was because, between the late 80s and early 90s, thousands of Bhutanese were driven out of Bhutan, as they were considered by the government of that country as "illegal immigrants" because they did not have the required proof that was needed to tag them as a citizen of Bhutan. Despite this, however, these Bhutanese came from families who had been living in Bhutan for more than two centuries. The government's goal was to maintain the Tibetan ethnic purity of most of the population. Thus, since 1990, more than 105,000ethnically Nepali Bhutanese refugeestemporarily migrated to neighbouring Nepal, from where their ancestors came, establishing inrefugee campsin the east of the country. However, after 15 years living in exile in the neighbouring country, many of them have migrated to the U.S., Europe and Australia.[8]This emigration to the United States is due, at least in large part, to a program coordinated by theU.S. State Departmentand theU.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.[7]Of the 60,000 Bhutanese - Nepali refugees that U.S. has offered to migrate in the country,[9]according toBBC Newson June 20, 2010, had already 27,926 lived in USA.[10][11]However, in Oct. 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that around 71,000 Bhutanese refugees living in the U.S.[2]

According to theInternational Organization for Migration,the Bhutanese refugees are sent to places such asNew York City,Chicago,Syracuse (New York),andSt. Louis (Missouri).The refugees are also sent to states such asTexas,Arizona,Maryland[9]andOregon.[12] The community is being helped by The Hindu Temple of Minnesota, along with Lutheran and Catholic social organizations who give them materials and moral support.[7]

In 2014,Connecting Cleveland,a four-page paper with stories in English andNepaliwas launched to serve Nepali-speaking Bhutanese families in theCleveland, Ohioarea.[13]

In 2020-2021, Connecting Cleveland founder Hari Dahal, a Bhutanese American, registered the non-profit asConnecting Cleveland Community, Inc.The non-profit has helped Greater Cleveland immigrant families whose members often work in frontline jobs in the service industry where early in the pandemic the virus was spreading fast. Bhutanese Americans youths under Hari Dahal's leadership have found a group in early 2020 - calledNebham LLC- that create various technological solutions and apps for nonprofits and businesses run by Bhutanese Americans.[14]

Communities in the United States

[edit]

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the cities, suburbs, and towns with the largest percentages of Nepali Bhutanese Americans were:[15]


According to census estimates for 2018-2022[16]from the Migration Policy Institute, there were 48,600 immigrants from Bhutan in the USA, the top counties of which were:

1)Franklin County, OH.................................. 4,200

2)Allegheny County, PA................................ 2,900

3)Summit County, OH................................... 2,700

4)Dauphin County, PA................................... 2,400

5)Licking County, OH.................................... 1,800

6)Hamilton County, OH................................ 1,800

7)Cuyahoga County, OH............................... 1,600

8)DeKalb County, GA.................................... 1,300

9)Monroe County, NY................................... 1,200

10)Mecklenburg County, NC........................ 1,000

11)Arapahoe County, CO.............................. 1,000

Community and social issues

[edit]

Suicide

[edit]

A trouble in the community is the high rate of suicide. In 2008, more than 30 Bhutanese refugees, shortly after resettlement in United States, committed suicide.[2][17]From 2009 to 2012, 16 more suicides among the Bhutanese community had occurred.[18]According to an article inThe Wall Street Journalin 2013, 7 more Bhutanese refugees had committed suicide.[17]

In a 2018 report released by theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention,for every 100,000 Bhutanese refugees, 24.4 committed suicide, almost double the rate of 12.4 for the US general population. This estimate was much higher than the estimated annual global suicide rate for all persons in the world, at 16 per 100,000 people.[19][18]

Poverty

[edit]

According to data released in 2017 by thePew Research Center,33.3% of the Bhutanese American community lived under the poverty line.[20]This is more than twice the USA poverty average of 16% according to data released by theEconomic Policy Institutein 2011.[21]

Health

[edit]

Many sources have indicated that 21% of all Bhutanese Americans suffer from depression which is nearly 3 times the rate of the general American which stands at 6.7%.[22][23][24]It has been observed that other mental illnesses are also prevalent among the community such asanxietyandPTSD.[25][26]

Lack of education

[edit]

According to the same date released by the Pew Research Center, the Bhutanese community has one of the lowest educational attainment level in the entire U.S. with only 9% of all Bhutanese Americans 25 years old and older have at least a bachelor's degree.[20]

Professionals

[edit]

Bhutanese Americans own various businesses that serve the community and larger groups throughout the United States, e.g. Nebham LLC.[27]

Organizations

[edit]

The Bhutanese American Association ofHouston(BaaH) and the Association of Bhutanese in America (ABA) are two examples of Bhutanese-American organizations. The Bhutanese American Association of Houston has an ESL program which provides elderly people in the community with the resources to learn English. In addition, ESL students are taken to various places and parks with recreational purposes to facilitate adaptation to the city.[28]The Association of Bhutanese in America aims to establish relationships between U.S. Bhutanese and Bhutanese in Bhutan and elsewhere, as well as establish a platform that favors their relationship with the community and their country of origin.[29]

Notable people

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"US Census Data".U.S. Census Bureau.Retrieved2024-09-21.
  2. ^abcBhutanese refugees in the US still committing suicide at high rate…Archived2014-01-31 at theWayback Machine.Posted by Ann Corcoran on January 10, 2014.
  3. ^Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Bhutanese population, 2015
  4. ^abBureau, U.S. Census."American FactFinder - Results".Factfinder.census.gov.Archived fromthe originalon 29 December 2014.Retrieved9 January2018.{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)
  5. ^"Where in US, elsewhere Bhutanese refugees from Nepal resettled to".6 February 2017.
  6. ^"Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio (BCCO)".10 May 2023.
  7. ^abcThe Washington post: Bhutanese refugees' American dream.Retrieved June 02, 2013, to 16:20pm.
  8. ^"Issue".Bhutanese Refugees.Retrieved9 January2018.
  9. ^ab"First of 60,000 refugees from Bhutan arrive in U.S. - CNN.com".Edition.cnn.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  10. ^"UNHCR, IOM say 20,000 resettle so far".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-02-06.Retrieved2013-06-01.
  11. ^"BBCNepali.com | पहिलो पृष्ठ | पुन:स्थापना थालिएपछि भुटानी शरणार्थीहरुको संख्या घट्दै".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-06-20.Retrieved2013-06-01.
  12. ^Bhutanese refugees in Oregon find a frustrating path to American dream.Posted by Anna Griffin.
  13. ^Smith, Robert L (2014-07-24)."Nepali teen launches newspaper to guide his community in the Cleveland tradition".The Plain Dealer.Retrieved2014-07-24.
  14. ^CONN, JENNIFER (2020-12-02)."Cleveland Immigrants Launch BRAVE to Connect Families with Resources During Pandemic".Spectrum News 1.Retrieved2021-07-11.
  15. ^"The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas".statisticalatlas.com.Retrieved2021-01-08.
  16. ^"Migration Policy Institute - U.S. Immigrant Population by State and County".{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^abStaff, W. S. J. (7 January 2014)."American Dream Becomes Nightmare for Bhutanese Refugees".Blogs.wsj.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  18. ^ab"Suicide and Suicidal Ideation Among Bhutanese Refugees — United States, 2009–2012".Cdc.gov.Retrieved9 January2018.
  19. ^"New to America, Bhutanese refugees face suicide crisis".America.aljazeera.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  20. ^ab"Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population".Pewresearch.org.8 September 2017.Retrieved9 January2018.
  21. ^"New poverty measure highlights positive effect of government assistance".Epi.org.Retrieved9 January2018.
  22. ^Preiss, Danielle (13 April 2013)."Bhutanese Refugees Are Killing Themselves at an Astonishing Rate".Theatlantic.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  23. ^Beras, Erika (29 January 2014)."Bhutanese Refugees Face a High Suicide Rate".Wesa.fm.Retrieved9 January2018.
  24. ^"Bhutanese Refugees Face a High Suicide Rate".Centerforhealthjournalism.org.Retrieved9 January2018.
  25. ^Vonnahme LA, Lankau EW, Ao T, Shetty S, Cardozo BL (December 2015)."Factors Associated with Symptoms of Depression Among Bhutanese Refugees in the United States".Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.17(6): 1705–14.doi:10.1007/s10903-014-0120-x.PMC4631124.PMID25348425.
  26. ^Tolan, Casey (9 June 2016)."A mysterious mental health disorder is afflicting Bhutanese refugees in America".Splinternews.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  27. ^CONN, JENNIFER (2020-12-02)."Cleveland Immigrants Launch BRAVE to Connect Families with Resources During Pandemic".Spectrum News 1.Retrieved2021-07-11.
  28. ^"Bhutanese American Association of Houston (BaaH)".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-08-19.Retrieved2013-06-02.
  29. ^Association of Bhutanese in America (ABA): Chairman's Corner.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bhutanese_Americans&oldid=1246945375"