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US - New York, NY

The day after their arrival, Uma accompanies the family to the Bronx.
Man Maya walks carefully down the stairs to the Grand Central Station platform.
On the subway, the new arrivals were surprised to see street performers dancing.
The family has another new experience - riding the escalator.
In the Bronx, Uma escorts her in-laws to their new apartment.
Dill Ram and Man Maya
Ama was most excited about seeing her grandchildren.
Man Maya adorns Uma with a necklace from Nepal.
In Nepali culture necklaces are a symbol of marriage.
As the youngest son, Om is his parents’ caretaker.
In Nepal, Om lived with Chet Nath, Uma and Kushal outside of the camp.
Om is happy to be in the United States with his family.
Arriving home from school, Pratiksha jumps into her grandfather’s arms.

A reunion in the Bronx

US - New York, NY
04.01.2011

In the fall of 2009 Chet Nath Timsina’s parents, Dill Ram, 66, Man Maya, 63, and his youngest brother, Om, 22, arrived in New York from the refugee camp in Nepal where they had been living for 18 years. Photographer Misha Cohen documented the family’s first few weeks in the United States.
 

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Ma Aye Myint and Pa Pu Yu, Burmese refugees in New York City
Map of Thailand and Myanmar
Mae La refugee camp in Thailand near the Thailand, Myanmar border
Ma Aye Myint, Pa Pu Yu, Ler Pwe Htoo, Mya Thein and Saw Paw Kay at JFK airport
Pa Pu Yu and Ma Aye Myint share photos of their daughters and grandchildren
Burmese refugee Pa Pu Yu rides a New York City bus
Ma Aye Myint tries out an electronic fare card in the New York City subway.
Burmese refugee Ma Aye Myint at her new home in the Bronx
Kids at their new home in the Bronx
International Rescue Committee's Dah Thu checks in on the Mynt family
An International Rescue Committee staff and family with clothing donations
IRC resettlement staff brief the Myint family on school in the U.S.
The youngest Myint children visit the neighborhood school
Staff at the Bronx school welcome the family.
Pa Pu Yu and Ma Aye Myint pick up Saw Paw from his school in the Bronx
After resettling in New York City, the Myint family moved to San Diego, where they were reunited with one of their daughters who was eventually given permission to come to the U.S.. Ler Pwe Htoo -- Pa Pu Yu's oldest son -- now lives in Texas and works at a food processing plant.

One family’s journey

United States, US - New York, NY
02.04.2011

Refugees have been fleeing Myanmar for decades to escape civil strife, political upheaval and economic stagnation. IRC volunteers Steven Carbó and Jaya Jiwatram share the story of one family's first days in the United States after 20 years in a refugee camp in Thailand.

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Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City
Chet Nath and family, Bhutanese refugees celebrate Diwali in New York City

Celebrating Diwali

US - New York, NY
11.04.2010

Though far from their families and without access to many traditional items used in Diwali celebrations, dozens of Bhutanese refugees gathered in the small Bronx apartment of Chet Nath Timsina’s cousin Yamuna to celebrate the festival of lights. It was the Timsina family’s first time observing the holiday in the United States. They were recently resettled in the Bronx by the IRC, after nearly two decades in a refugee camp in Nepal.

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<p>The ethnic Nepalese in Bhutan were prohibited from roaming around freely. The government of Bhutan forced all Nepali speaking people to carry citizenship cards with them when they were outside of their homes. The authorities had checkpoints and if any Nepali speaking Southern Bhutanese were found without their citizenship cards they were interrogated and could be held for days. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>Uma attends to a chili plant she planted on her fire escape. &ldquo;I love plants. I was raised on a farm. My father was a wealthy man with a lot of land, but that was taken from us by the Bhutanese government,&rdquo; says Uma. &ldquo;When I was younger my father gave me one orange tree from our orchard, and I loved that one. Now whenever I peel the skin of an orange I recall my plant and I feel sad.&rdquo; Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>Kushal shows off his Michael Jackson dance moves, which he learned in Nepal when he and his uncle, Om Kanta, would spend hours watching Jackson&rsquo;s music videos and studying his style. In Bhutan the government restricted access to outside media and suppressed exposure to foreign culture. The Internet and television were banned until 1998. In Nepal, the government did not have tight restrictions on media, so they were exposed to American pop stars such as Jackson. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>Shuffling through the dresser drawers, Pratiksha found a sticker that she places on her forehead in the style of a vermillion tikka, the red paste that Nepali women wear to symbolize that they are married. In Bhutan it was a violation of the government&rsquo;s &ldquo;One Nation One People&quot; policy for women of Nepali descent to wear tikkas. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>&ldquo;My classmates told me, &lsquo;You&rsquo;re a girl. You&rsquo;re a girl,&rsquo;&rdquo; says Kushal, referring to the small gold hoop earrings that he used to wear in both ears. Chet Nath and Uma gave him the jewelry on his first birthday. For Bhutanese of Nepali descent it is customary to give young boys gold earrings that they wear until they near their teenage years. After being teased by the other children in his Head Start program about his earrings, Kushal insisted that his parents take them out. &ldquo;I was surprised when Kushal said he wanted to take out his earnings. In our culture we don&rsquo;t distinguish the dress between boys and girls like they do here in America,&rdquo; says Uma. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>&ldquo;I have never squeezed my husband in public before,&rdquo; Uma says, standing at the pier in front of the Statue of Liberty. The couple spent a day off together &ndash; the first in months since their schedules began filling up with work and family responsibilities &ndash; at Battery Park and riding the Staten Island Ferry. This is a favorite activity for the couple because they can look out onto the ocean, something they had never done before resettling in America. &ldquo;I had never seen the ocean, I had just read about it. In school, my teachers told me that it was a large mass of water, so I was crazy to see it,&rdquo; says Uma. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>On August 30 the family celebrated Teez, a Nepali holiday in which all of the women go back to their parents&rsquo; home to receive blessings from their elders. Chet Nath and Uma invited Chet Nath&rsquo;s cousin and another friend who don&rsquo;t have other family in New York to join them for a special meal. Chet Nath was unable to share the celebration with any of his four sisters, though. &quot;I really feel sad,&rdquo; says Chet Nath. &ldquo;Every daughter would feel sick if they missed Teez because it&rsquo;s when the whole family is together again. Because of the bad policies of the Bhutanese government our family is scattered around the globe making it virtually impossible to meet again. Now we are in 5 different countries.&rdquo; Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>
<p>On September 9, Uma took Kushal to his first day of kindergarten, just a few blocks from their home. &ldquo;The teachers here seem very serious and have many teaching materials that engage all of the senses. I feel that Kushal will get a good education,&rdquo; says Chet Nath. Pratiksha was not enrolled in the same school because of lack of space. Instead she has to catch a bus outside Kushal&rsquo;s school that takes her to her elementary school and drops her off again an hour after Kushal&rsquo;s classes let out. Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC</p>

Customs new and old

United States, US - New York, NY
06.22.2010

Since their arrival in the United States, the Timsina family is able to enjoy freedoms that were stripped from them in Bhutan. They have also adapted to different customs, while retaining traditions from home.
 

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