Elephant Has Two Sets of Teeth: Bhutanese Refugees and Humanitarian Governance

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alice Neikirk

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Place of Publication:

University of Alberta Press (eBOUND) 2023

Summary:

This ethnography follows Bhutanese refugees who fled Bhutan, resided in camps in Nepal, and finally settled in the vastly different culture of Australia. Along the way, they learn the ways that humanitarian compassion is used to oppress, contain, and erode human rights. They also learn, however, that this charitable framework has small cracks that allow for action. The Bhutanese find ways to move between the contradictory expectations of refugee-ness as they strive to become citizens. Their experiences illustrate the complex strands of power that intertwine to limit the scope of people who "deserve compassion." Neikirk also describes how responses to refugee crises have shifted from facilitating the movement of people to enforcing their containment. Readers in refugee studies, anthropology, and development studies will be interested in this rich transnational study.

ISBN:

9781772127300

1772127302