NGO releases books on exiled Bhutanese

 

 

The Empowerment Foundation, a Dutch NGO, published two books depicting situations of theBhutanese refugees earlier in September.

The NGO has brought an English novel ‘Headwind, Laxmi’s Story’ by Alice Anna Verheij, and another pictorial book by Verheij and her colleague Eveline van de Putte.

The 304-page novel carrying a story about a young Bhutanese girl, who has been resettled to the Netherlands and miles away from her longtime boyfriend in the United States , tells about her previous life in the Beldangi camp and the challenges of being an immigrant in the Netherlands.

While, pictorial book ‘Unforgotten’ is of 144 pages with 175 images showing life in camps and the Netherlands both in high quality full color print.

“The books are not only meant for informing the general public about the Bhutanese refugee situation but also as a memorial book for future generations,” Verheij told Bhutan News Service.

According to her, the story of the camps should never be forgotten.

Both books are sold with a 50% discount on the normal book price to exiled Bhutanese readers. The novel is priced 9 Euro while the pictorial book costs 11 Euro.

The Dutch nationals, who have also been advocating the Bhutanese refugee imbroglio, are doing a documentary film – the Headwind, which features both refugee camps and resettled Bhutanese in the Netherlands.