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New freedoms and customs -- and connections to home


June 22, 2010
By Misha Cohen

Pratiska finds a sticker that she places on her forehead as a vermillion Tikka, a red paste that Nepali women wear to symbolize that they are married.

Photo: Misha Cohen/The IRC

Customs new and old

  • <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>
Launch Slideshow

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.
 

All IRC Slideshows >
All United States, US - New York, NY Slideshows >

Customs new and old

  • <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>
Launch Slideshow

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.
 

All IRC Slideshows >
All United States, US - New York, NY Slideshows >

Freelance photographer and IRC volunteer Misha Cohen has been telling the story of the Bhutanese Timsina family’s first months in the U.S. in pictures. Follow the odyssey of Chet Nath, his wife, Uma, and their five-year-old son, Kushal, as they begin their new life in New York City, following 17 years living in exile in Nepal. For a recap, catch Misha’s blog in the Huffington Post.

Since their arrival in the US, 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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1 comment

Comments

I'm a Bhutanese Refugee

Submitted by Akrant siwakoti (not verified) on June 22, 2010 - 6:02pm.

I'm a Bhutanese Refugee Immigrant from Atlanta, Georgia. The story about Timsina family doesn't represent the real Bhutanese stories.In timsina's case,both of them speak good English and were aware of many changes in this new country.My point is major percentage of Bhutanese refugees coming to America are illiterate.They even don't speak limited English.It would be better if you had tried to put in to pictures the stories of those refugees who are Illiterate and are finding hard time adjusting in this new society.I don't support the Timsina's story as refugee's generalize story in this new society and new land.

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