A village headman

(from Nowhere to turn: Bhutanese refugees in Nepal, The Refugee Council, UK (1998))

When they introduced registration they told me (as a village headman) to tell the people to leave the country. When I protested they beat me and put me in prison. A headman from another district was beaten to death in front of me. Local courts issued orders directing people to leave. Soldiers stole cattle and harassed women.

Out of 445 houses in my area, 440 households were driven out. I spent seven months in jail and another four months in Thimphu prison. They took me to the border with 40 rupees and left me there.