Human rights violations among Bhutanese refugees

Article Abstract:

The world community should loudly protest the treatment of residents of Bhutan who have been forced to flee their country. As of the end of 1994, there were approximately 88,000 Bhutanese refugees in the Jhapa and Morang districts of eastern Nepal. They have been forced to leave Bhutan by the king, who decided that the Hindu Lhotshampas of southern Bhutan were overcrowding the Buddhist Drukpas and Sharchops of northern Bhutan. He instituted citizenship requirements which the Lhotshampas could not meet even though they had lived in Bhutan for generations. Those who did not leave voluntarily were forced to leave or imprisoned. There are reports of rape, assault and torture perpetrated on human rights demonstrators. The refugee camps are plagued by measles, cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhea, beriberi and scurvy. Representatives of the Nepali government and the UN High Commission on Refugees have determined that most of the refugees are legitimate citizens of Bhutan.

Political aspects, Refugees, Political, Political refugees, Nepal, Forced migration

---

International notes: surveillance of health status of Bhutanese refugees - Nepal, 1992

Article Abstract:

The public health needs of Bhutanese in Nepalese refugee camps were assessed in Jul 1992. Six refugee camps were set up at the Nepal-India border for refugees of Nepalese origin escaping persecution in Bhutan. The number of deaths among refugee children under five years old was between two and eight times higher than among non-refugee children in Nepal. Fifty-five percent of the deaths that occurred between Jul 3 and Jul 19 were caused by acute respiratory infections; 28% were caused by diarrhea. Many patients with diarrhea were suffering from multidrug-resistant Shigella dysentery. A measles outbreak occurred during the spring of 1992, and patients continue to die from measles despite increased vaccination. New arrivals to the camps often suffer from malaria and may have little resistance to Japanese encephalitis, a disease common in Nepal.

Patient outcomes, Mortality, Emigration and immigration, Nepalese, Refugees

---

Hand grenade injuries among civilians

Article Abstract:

Grenade injuries that affect only the soft tissue and are less than one centimeter in size can be managed without surgical intervention if there is no evidence of organ injury or hematoma. Patients at the Khao I Dang refugee camp on the Thailand-Cambodia border who were injured by hand grenades were treated at a Red Cross hospital. The wounds were classified according to a scheme developed by the Red Cross. Of the 74 patients studied, only 7% were wounded in battle. The others were injured by grenades purchased illegally and used to settle disputes at the camp. Of the 70 wounds that could be categorized, 59% affected only soft tissue and were small. Twenty-four of the patients had no surgery on their wounds. One of these patients required removal of a blood clot five days after admission to the hospital.

Care and treatment, Wounds and injuries, Wound care, Grenades

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Organizational change required for paradigmatic shift in addiction treatment. Avoiding the quality assurance boondoggle in drug treatment programs through total quality management
• Abstracts: Self-esteem and stress in mental health nurses. Do nurses get involved in research?
• Abstracts: Reliability of sexual histories in heterosexual couples. Factors influencing condom use among heterosexual users of injection drugs and crack cocaine
• Abstracts: Pediatric HIV: Australian perspective. Multisite evaluation of four anti-HIV-1/HIV-2 enzyme immunoassays. HIV antibody testing in Australia

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.