Comments on: From Bhutan to Chicago

By: simon kashama

simon kashama — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 17:11:21 +0000

Dear Rabbi Rosen,

Thank you for everything you are doing to make a difference in people’s lives. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to participate at your service last Friday, and to sing a few songs with our choir. This was a historic moment in my life. May the Lord of David, the Lord of Isaac, the Lord of Abraham bring us everlasting peace, and stop all the suffering around the world. I pray and believe this is possible in our broken world.

Blessings to you and your congregation.

Simon

By: Eric Selinger

Eric Selinger — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:17:02 +0000

“In the early 1990s, the Bhutanese government began expelling ethnic Nepalese, regarding them as a demographic and cultural threat. …the Bhutanese government still has not allowed any to return.”

Well, heck, Brant. The Israeli government still has not allowed Palestinians who fled in ’48 to return; indeed, even folks in the peace camp say that those refugees have no right to do so because they would constitute a “demographic and cultural threat.”

No doubt there are other instances, but that one does come to mind–and it’s a bit closer to home than most.

I’m very proud of this IRIM resettlement project, and I wish, wish, WISH I didn’t have to think that other thought every time I read this blog-post. But I do. The cognitive dissonance is painful, and seems to get worse for me every year.

*Sigh*

–E

By: Edie Canter

Edie Canter — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:38:32 +0000

I was particularly moved last night by the moments of cross-cultural exchange. We all gathered around the ark to see the Torah, then all gathered around the Torah to see the Hebrew letters and hear a passage. The Khatiwoda family members seemed so interested and engaged. And there was the wonderful moment when the smiling little 8-year-old Bhutanese girl sang into the sanctuary microphone a song about ducks in her native tongue. Quack, Quack translates well in any language!

By: Bikram Adhikari

Bikram Adhikari — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:15:43 +0000

It has been really a long journey.
I know Mr. Khatiwoda, he served the community as a teacher for very long time. I am indeed one of his students. He was my science teacher and taught us with his full energy. I really appreciate his dedication and now I am very happy to see him resettled.
I wish him all the best of luck for his coming days. Lets hope it is not too late for us all to start a new life. It is really hard for people like him who has just started new life as I did. He was my teacher but we are starting life at almost same time.
I wish him go much higher than all of us, because he deserves.

I would like to thank JRC for taking care of my teacher and other people of our community. I am resettled in Australia and we all have the same story to share. We hope nobody to be in our shoes and become refugee anymore. The dark 17 years is something which we will never get back.

If you can please share my contact with Mr. Khatiwoda.