In March 2025, Bhutanese refugees gathered at the Asian Refugees United center, which had become a crisis center due to the Trump administration's immigration policies. Community leaders detailed legal rights as detained individuals were named, stirring fear. An elderly activist’s question about belonging symbolized the trauma of statelessness experienced by those expelled from Bhutan decades ago. Many were born in refugee camps in Nepal, where neither Bhutan nor Nepal acknowledged their citizenship. Despite Bhutan's celebrated global image, the ongoing neglect of its dark history of ethnic cleansing highlighted the suffering of these refugees.
In mid-March 2025, the Asian Refugees United center in Harrisburg became a crisis center for Bhutanese refugees facing escalating immigration crackdowns under the Trump administration.
An elderly man asked, 'Where are we supposed to go?' highlighting the haunting question of belonging experienced by many in the refugee community.
Born stateless in a refugee camp in Nepal, many Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizens suffered dhisplaced identity, denied citizenship by both Bhutan and Nepal.
Despite Bhutan’s praised global image, a hidden history of ethnic cleansing persists, reflected in the struggles and histories of the Bhutanese diaspora.
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