The story of the Mainali family's success in the USA is impressive, but the bigger story, the expulsion of people of Nepali origin from peaceful Bhutan has received much less attention. These people had lived in Bhutan for generations. Apparently the expulsion happened because the Bhutanese were getting concerned that the Nepalese would opt to join India, like the Nepalese majority of Sikkim had done during the times of Indira Gandhi.
Direct expulsion and expulsion by indirect means of the ``other'' has become routine in South Asia since then. Pakistan has no minority left and blasphemy laws targeting non Sunni Muslims are still operative. More than half the Hindus of Bangladesh have left for India. Myanmar has committed genocide of the Rohingyas. India has just determined that 4 million of the people in Assam may be noncitizens and ``infiltrators'' from Bangladesh.
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Sad to see the kids become American by becoming obese. Never saw obese Nepalis before.
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Obese?
But alive, and in a place they can call their home, their very own home.
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@Raj and Rohit: Yes, it's a shame that they became obese. Great that they are alive, but with obesity: watch that they don't get diabetes!!
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Wonderful photos, great article. Such is a great story. Reminds me of an artistic, powerful book, or graphic novel, "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan. Worth a look. Thank you, NYT!
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this is a fine example of immigrants. They work hard and believe in the American dream. They were helped at the beginning but soon found their stride. Good for them!
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There are refugees all over the world. But this is now Trump's America. We don't want any more refugees. They will vote for Democrats. They won't accept America's Jesus. They are taking jobs away from real Americans. They won't help Make America Great Again -- unless they don't become Americans.
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Thank you so much for this article. Many people are unaware of the forced expulsion of the Hindu Bhutanese community and their struggles as refugees. Thank you to the United States for taking in the Mainali family. Beautiful pictures!
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