10,000 Bhutanese refugees resettled so far, Netherlands takes 33
Dutch humanitarian organisations welcomed 33 Bhutanese refugees in Amsterdam, Netherlands on February 16, the largest group of refugees landing in the European country since the resettlement process began early last year.
Two Bhutanese refugees already taking asylum in the Netherlands, Ram Bahadur Karki Chhetri and DP Mainali, along with head of Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service, officials from COA (the Dutch agency responsible for taking care of refugees), officials from International Office of Migration of the Dutch government and a representative from Global Human Rights Defense received the refugees upon arrival.
"Welcome to The Netherlands, in spite of expecting good lives you should also be ready to expect many challenges and obstacles in The Netherlands on the way to make your lives better", a statement issued by a refugee (after welcoming new refugees) quoted head of Dutch Immigration Department as saying.
“You all have made a good choice for opting Netherlands as your future home, and your dream to make your and your children’s life better will definitely come true", said Karki welcoming his countrymen.
They have been kept at temporary transit accommodation at Amersfoort, a nearby city. Shortly the government will settle them in various parts of the country.
According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), over 10,000 refugees have been resettled so far in various countries.
In a statement, IOM said 9,032 of them are resettled in United States, 520 in Australia, 186 in New Zealand, 140 Denmark, 109 in Norway, 55 in The Netherlands, 33 in Canada and 3 in Sweden.
According to a refugee run news site, bhutannewsservice.com, US will absorb 60,000 while Australia and Canada said they would take 5,000 each but other countries have not specified the number of refugees they will be taking. nepalnews.com ia Feb 19 08
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