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Nepal

Over 25,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal resettled

KATHMANDU, Dec 09, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- More than 25,000 Bhutanese refugees, who had lived in eastern Nepal for some 16 years, have been resettled in seven western countries during the past two years.

The resettlement program in Nepal, one of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)'s largest, has been going on since November 2007 and is continuing successfully with the strong cooperation between the government of Nepal, UNHCR, International Organization of Migration (IOM) and the resettlement countries to enable a smooth and effective process.

The United States has accepted the largest number followed by Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

In total, 22,060 refugees have left for the U.S., 1,006 for Australia, 892 for Canada, 316 for Norway, 305 for Denmark, 299 for New Zealand, 122 for the Netherlands, a UNHCR release stated here on Wednesday.

"We have been receiving regular feedback from those resettled. They have written to us about their lives, they are learning new languages, their children are in school and they are happy with their new homes. Of course, they miss family and friends, the start of a new life in a new country is never easy," said Diane Goodman, UNHCR Acting Representative in Nepal.

IOM works with UNHCR and the resettlement countries to facilitate refugee departures from Nepal, processing cases for resettlement countries, conducts health assessments and cultural orientation courses in accordance with guidelines of the country of resettlement, and organizes all transportation from the refugee camps to final destination.

According to UNHCR, some 86,739 refugees from Bhutan remain in seven camps in eastern Nepal. Further, 556 are expected to be resettled this year. More than 80,728 refugees have already expressed their interest for resettlement.