Archive - Oct 8, 2009
Bhutanese immigrants face up to realities in the Land of Dreams
![Immigrants arriving in the U.S. in the middle of a recession are finding it very difficult to find a job. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hondapanda/2768608665/in/set-72157606969677695">[ d i e g o ] (flickr)</a>](http://www.globalenvision.org/files/2768608665_a455029536.jpg "Immigrants arriving in the U.S. in the middle of a recession are finding it very difficult to find a job. Photo: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hondapanda/2768608665/in/set-72157606969677695\">[ d i e g o ] (flickr)</a>")
I came across the story of Tul Bahadur Tiwari, a Bhutanese refugee from Nepal, on National Radio Project. Tul is looking for work after moving with his family to Oakland, California this year. But unemployment is at 11.7 percent in his county and the competition for decent jobs is tough.
Immigrants like Tul have an added disadvantage because often their years of schooling and even college diplomas aren't recognized in the U.S. Damanta Kharel, another Bhutanese immigrant interviewed by National Radio Project, was a graduate student in Nepal. In Oakland, she needs to take her high school exams all over again, before she can find a better position than her part-time job at a Mexican restaurant.
Despite such challenges, Bhutanese immigrants are considered very competitive because they're highly educated. Most of them, like Tul and Damanta, can already read and write in English when they arrive. And that's a great asset, according Don Clement, a staffer for the International Rescue Commission. He tells the National Radio Project that being literate is crucial for landing a decent job.
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