Suchergebnisse

"This ethnography of Bhutanese refugees reveals how the language of compassion in humanitarianism is used to oppress vulnerable communities and erode their rights. Alice Neikirk conducted fieldwork with Bhutanese who fled Bhutan, resided in camps in Nepal, and finally settled in the vastly different culture of Australia. She observes that in accepting the role of humanitarian subjects, refugees must abandon their role as contributors to the nation state and become satisfied with the position of guests. Yet this charitable framework has sufficient cracks to allow for action. The Bhutanese found ways to move between the contradictory expectations of refugee-ness as they strive to become citizens. The experiences of the Bhutanese illustrate the complex strands of power that intertwine to limit the scope of people who "deserve compassion." The well-meaning discourse of humanitarianism has become the accepted means to absolve the conscience of global powers as they face increasing evidence of the injustices that nation building causes and that national boundaries sustain. Readers in refugee studies, anthropology, and development studies will be interested in this unique ethnography."--

"This ethnography of Bhutanese refugees reveals how the language of compassion in humanitarianism is used to oppress vulnerable communities and erode their rights. Alice Neikirk conducted fieldwork with Bhutanese who fled Bhutan, resided in camps in Nepal, and finally settled in the vastly different culture of Australia. She observes that in accepting the role of humanitarian subjects, refugees must abandon their role as contributors to the nation state and become satisfied with the position of guests. Yet this charitable framework has sufficient cracks to allow for action. The Bhutanese found ways to move between the contradictory expectations of refugee-ness as they strive to become citizens. The experiences of the Bhutanese illustrate the complex strands of power that intertwine to limit the scope of people who "deserve compassion." The well-meaning discourse of humanitarianism has become the accepted means to absolve the conscience of global powers as they face increasing evidence of the injustices that nation building causes and that national boundaries sustain. Readers in refugee studies, anthropology, and development studies will be interested in this unique ethnography."--

Refugee camps are generally conceived as an indication of ongoing conflict. As refugee generating conflicts become increasingly complex and protracted, however, camps become sites of post-conflict reconstruction. This has been the experience for the Bhutanese refugees who have lived in camps for close to thirty years, and are subject to numerous efforts to reconstruct their lives, community and economy. The international organizations that fund and manage the camps have directed their attention to the society of victims, rather than the state that perpetrated the crimes. Yet because the population lacks citizenship and their camps exist within another post-conflict state, these reconstruction efforts have contributed to corruption and exploitation. This article highlights that when post-conflict reconstruction is used to transform populations rather than states, these efforts may foster corruption because they allow the original perpetrating state to act with impunity.

Abstract
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention was established to recognize and protect non-material aspects of culture. Through an analysis of the experience of Bhutanese refugees, we argue that the Convention could be used to aid, protect, and acknowledge refugees in the absence of other mechanisms. Bhutanese refugees began living in camps in 1991, and a population remains in camps without formal international or national support. During this residency, the culture and identity of the Bhutanese refugees were transformed. As sites of cultural meaning and transformation for the refugees, the camps should be protected. Unfortunately, the current state-centric process for nominating intangible cultural heritage for protection excludes stateless and minority groups, such as refugees. Consequently, the nomination process should be amended to allow for bottom-up, community-led nominations.