Podcasts about Bhutanese

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Important Links: Hmong Innovating Politics: Website | Instagram Asian Refugees United: Website | Instagram Bhutanese American Refugee Rights website Transcript Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on KPFA. My name is Swati Rayasam.  Since the onset of the Trump administration, immigrant and refugee communities have been under increased attack, being kidnapped in broad daylight, detained in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and deported to countries many of them barely know. All without due process or communication to their loved ones and communities. On tonight's episode, we're focusing on a particular segment of our immigrant and refugee community, Hmong and Bhutanese refugees. Both of these targeted communities are stateless with no land to call their own, and their deportation carries the very real danger of disappearance and death. Robin Gurung from Asian Refugees United and Kao Ye Thao from Hmong innovating Politics, discuss their community and personal refugee stories, and talk about the intersection of the US' deeply broken immigration and criminal legal systems, otherwise known as crimmigration. We also get to hear from the wives of two detained refugees, one Bhutanese and one Hmong, who are currently fighting to keep their families together and to protect their loved ones from the dangers of deportation as stateless people. I also want to note because this is a rapidly developing situation, that this episode was recorded on August 13th, 2025, and is being released on August 28th, 2025. For the most recent updates, please go to bhutaneserefugeerights.org or check out the Pardon Refugees campaign. Now, here's Miko. Miko: Welcome to Apex Express. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm so glad to bring you all together in this time. I'm wondering if I could ask you each to introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the community your organization serves and what you do, and let's start with Kao Ye.  Kao Ye: Hello everyone, and thank you for making space- my name is Kao Ye Tao. I use she her pronouns, and I work as the director of policy and partnerships with an organization called Hmong Innovating Politics. We are an organization that serves Hmong youth and families in Sacramento and Fresno, which holds two of our largest Hmong American communities in California. And our work with Hmong youth and families is really about developing their leadership to organize towards social justice and to get the resources that their communities deserve. Miko: Thank you, Kao Ye and Robin, could you please introduce yourself? Robin: Sure. My name is Robin Gurung. I use he, him, his, I'm from the Nepali speaking Bhutanese community. I live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. my role at Asian Refugees United is the co-founder and the co-executive director. We have our program in California and Pennsylvania. California programs are, are serving Asian diaspora and then, Pennsylvania programs are focused serving the Nepal speaking Bhutanese community. We work in the intersection of arts and healing, storytelling, civic engagement, leadership development. Thank you. Miko: Thanks Robin and I am your host Miko Lee, lead producer at Apex Express. And all of us are part of a network called AACRE Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality, which is a network of progressive Asian American groups. So you all work with refugee populations. I'm wondering if you could tell a little bit more about the backstory of your community, and also if you feel comfortable about how you personally came to be a refugee in the United States. And, Robin, I'd love to start with you on that one. Robin: Sure. My community is Nepali speaking, Bhutanese refugee community. And we are ethnically Nepali, which means culture wise and language wise we speak Nepali and follow the Nepali culture tradition. Our ancestors like maybe in 18 hundreds, 19 hundreds migrated from Nepal to Bhutan and became the citizen of that country. And most people don't know about Bhutan, it's a very tiny country between China and India. And, if people know about Bhutan, then people know it through the cross national happiness concept, Bhutan is considered the happiest country in the world. So our ancestors were in mostly in the southern area of Bhutan for generations, they became the citizen. They had their own home, their own land. And then later, 1980s, early nineties, there was a policy by the government of Bhutan, which is the monarchy government system- king rules the country. They brought a policy called One Nation, One People Policy. Which means all different groups of people would have to follow the same culture, same religion, kind of follow the same dress code and because of that policy all people were forced to stay away from following our own culture or our own religion, which, most of our folks were Hindu. Our people protested against it and because of that, the government expelled over a hundred thousand of our community members. And, they expelled to India and then from like India wouldn't allow us to stay and we had to resettle in Nepal in seven different refugee camps under different international agencies like U-N-H-C-R and other agencies. Miko: And then Robin, can you tell a little bit about your personal story and how you came here? Robin: Yeah. Yeah. So 1992 is when my family had to leave Bhutan. And at that time I was three years old. I remember growing up in a refugee camp in Nepal, from three years until I was 23 years. So 20 years of my life I was in a refugee camp in Nepal. And in 2012, I came to US through the refugee resettlement program introduced to our camps in 2008, and through it US agreed to resettle 60,000 of our committee members. By 2017, I think US has resettled about 70 to 80,000 of our Bhutanese community members.   Miko: Thank you so much for sharing. Kao Ye I wonder if you could talk about your community and the refugee resettlement program that your community was a part of. Kao Ye: The Hmong American community, or just the Hmong community overall, is a group that's indigenous to East and Southeast Asia. And through our ancient history, we've always been a stateless, people fighting for our autonomy to live to practice our customs and our culture. And particularly where we come into this history of refugee is during the Vietnam War where many Hmong people, alongside other ethnic groups in Laos, were caught in the crossfire of the United States conflict in Southeast Asia. And so with the Vietnam War. The Hmong as well as many other ethnic communities that lived, in the hills and the mountains were recruited in covert operations by the CIA to fight back against the Vietnamese, the Northern Vietnamese communist forces, as well as the Putet Lao. And so once the US withdrew from Southeast Asia, it created a vacuum of conflict and violence that our people had to escape from in order to survive. And so after the Vietnam War in 1975, we saw the mass displacement of many Southeast Asian ethnic communities, including Hmong families. And that is where my history starts because my parents were born in Laos and because of this war, they fled to Thailand refugee camps and lived there for a few years until they were able to come to the United States in 1992. And I'm actually I'm a child of refugees and so what I know about this part of my history comes from the stories of my grandparents who raised me as well as what little I could learn in the textbooks of public education. And so it wasn't actually until going to college and. Being able to access more of this literature, this history that I really learned about what the United States had done in Southeast Asia and the ramifications of that for myself and my family and so many others, refugees that. Have to have had to resettle in the United States. And so it's definitely a history that runs very close, because we have relatives that live through that refugee experience. And so it is very well and alive. And so as we now approach this conversation around ICE and deportations, it really is a reminder of the trauma that our people face, but are still facing as a people that have been seen as disposable to the United States government. Miko: Thanks, Kao Ye. Let's talk a little bit more about that. But first I wanna say, did either of you ever hear about refugees in your textbooks? I never did. So I'm wondering if, you said you learned a little bit about that from textbooks. Was that something you learned in public education. Kao Ye: I did not learn about refugees or refugees experience. I learned about the war and as a Hmong kid it brought me so much delight to try to scroll through the history books just to see if Hmong people were mentioned. And even then the refugee experience was not ever something that we talked about. I felt like definitely not in, in high school. I think it was college really, that then started to articulate those terms and that Southeast Asian identity, that is really where I think I also became politicized in that. Miko: Yeah, because I think in textbooks there might be a little section on the Vietnam War, but it does not talk about the, all the Southeast Asian ethnic peoples that actually fought in the war. We have to dig that information out on our own, but I wanna move us to what is happening right now. So the Trump administration has created. Culture of fear among immigrants and refugees, these ICE raids and disappearances. It is so intense and using immigrants as a fear tool to prop up white supremacy is so blatant right now. I'm wondering if you can each talk about, how this administration's policies are impacting your communities. And, Robin, let's start with you. What is happening right now? I know since the end of March, can you share a little bit about what's been happening with Bhutanese Americans? Robin: Sure. Sure. So our people were settled to this country with the hope that this is going to be our home. But starting March of this year, with the new policies of this current administration, we started seeing abrupt, ICE arrest in our communities. People were picked up from home, their workplaces, and from their ICE, check-ins. And, since March, within I would say two to three months, more than 72 of our community members were picked up, mostly from Pennsylvania and then Ohio, and also from other states like New York, Georgia, North Dakota. So until now, we have, the records of at least 50 people who have been deported to Bhutan and at least 72 who are detained. So more than 30 people are [at risk] of getting detained. The nature of the ICE arrests that we have seen is we don't know whether the due processes were followed. They made it so hard for the families to look for attorneys, and also to track their family members. Within days family members would find their loved ones disappeared, and then they wouldn't be able to talk to them they wouldn't be able to track them and provide the support that they needed. So for us as a community organization we did not anticipate this and we were not prepared for this. And, and we didn't have the infrastructure to really address this, right? So it became such challenging work for us. Like within days we had to mobilize our people. We had to mobilize our teams to help family members with legal support, emotional support, mobilize our community members to update what's happening with this situation. The rapid response work, know your rights clinics that we had to set up. So on one hand it's the detention and deportation in the US and on the other hand, when our people were deported to Bhutan, what we're seeing is within 24 hours, they are being expelled from Bhutan to India, and then from India because India wouldn't accept them as well, they had to enter Nepal because for most of these Deportee, they're very young, they were born in refugee camps, and for most of them, the only known land is Nepal. Right. And they had to enter Nepal without documentation. And then some of them were found in refugee camps. And most of them are unknown. Like they're, they have disappeared. Miko: So that is so much over the last few months that ARU has had to step in and take a leading, role in this situation that has impacted the Bhutanese community from focusing on wellness and youth development to suddenly translating materials into Nepali, translating, know Your Rights materials into Nepali, hosting all these different events, the work that you have been doing is really powerful. I wonder if you could share with us the story of Mohan Karki, who is a community member that's currently detained in Michigan. Robin: Sure. So, Mohan Karki is now in detention in Michigan and he's a community member member who lived in Ohio. So he was detained by ICE during his regular ICE check-in , I believe in April, they detained him and then he was taken for deportation. And last minute, the families and the community had to come together and then appeal the deportation. Right now he's in Michgan detention center and his wife, who was pregnant and had due date, when Mohan was being deported on June 10, is now fighting day and night to stop the deportation and also to bring Mohan home. Right now, Asian Refugees United and other community partners, like AWPAL, Asian Law Caucus are working together to support Mohan's family, to bring Mohan home and also running a, GoFund me fundraiser, to help the family pay the legal fees. Miko: Thanks Robin. And we're gonna listen to Tikas story right now. Tika Basnet: Hi, my name is Tika Basnet I'm from Ohio and I'm fighting my husband deportation case.  So on April seven, a lot of people told us not to go to the ICE office, but my husband wanna follow the rules, he wanna go there. We went to the Westerville office inside And we sit down, we talk to each other. Nothing will go wrong. And suddenly ICE told us to come inside and they told us that my husband got travel documents from Bhutan. I told them like it is not safe for my husband to get deport in Bhutan, all the Bhutanese people run away in 1990s due to the ethnic cleansing and if my husband get deported in Bhutan, he will either gonna get killed, tortured, disappeared, imprisoned, I don't know what will happen, but they did not listen to me. So they detained my husband and I came at the parking lot and his mom saw me coming alone. So they start crying and I told them like, Mohan is gone and this is the last time I think I'm gonna see my husband. the time that my husband was taken away from Butler County on June 10 I was 41 weeks pregnant. I was supposed to deliver on, June 10. But no, I told the doctor I change my delivery time. I am not gonna go now like I need to fight for my husband. Like, When Bhutanese people started coming here in 2007. Third party promise us that in here in United States, we will get our identity. That identity will never taken away. They promise us that the way Bhutan take our identity, they will not gonna do that. we thought that this is our home. We thought that having a green card, having a citizenship, it is permanently, but no, we are, we all are wrong. And that identity is taken away within a second. And we became stateless again. So, my husband, Mohan Karki he just arrived in the United States he been here less than two years when the incident happened. He did not understand the law. He did not understand the culture. He did not know anything.  My husband he was only 17 years old, high school student coming from school to home. On the way to reach their apartment, there is one private house. They are just trying to go to the shortcut from the backyard. So some neighbor call 9 1 1. And that only one mistake lead to deportation.  The place that we come from, there is no boundaries. In Nepal, we are allowed to go anybody property We are allowed to walk somebody else house and because of the cultural difference, he's paying price right now.  At that time, nobody can speak English. They cannot understand what police were saying and Nepali interpreter told my husband that if you say I'm guilty, you'll out of prison soon. But if you did not say I'm guilty, you'll end up in prison for 20 to 25 years. High school student he's scared he just say, I'm guilty, and he did not know what is deportation mean. He did not know what he was signing. Nobody informed him what he was signing. That signing was deportation. What happened in 2013 is impacting us in 2025 and still he wish he did not cross somebody else backyard at that time. He wish he knew that he wasn't allowed to cross somebody else's backyard. I don't know what will our future is gonna be, but I hope that he gets second chance. His community love him. He love people. He was working as a truck driver. He paid taxes. He was supporting his parent. He was supporting me. My daughter deserve to have a father. You know, she's just one month. But now the dream that I was hoping one day I'm gonna build with my husband that is taken away and I'm left alone with this child. I already went through a lot without him, i'm the only one that fighting for my husband case. The deportation is not only breaking one family, but it is breaking everybody, the community and the family. And I hope that people can support me so I can fight for my husband case. Like I really need so many attorney. I need criminal attorney to open up his 2013 case. And I have wonderful, wonderful attorney, my husband get stay off removal, but that is not guarantee my husband can get deport anytime. The attorney fee are really expensive and he still needs support. The US made bhutanese people a promise of home. We belong here. Stop the detention and deportation. Stop deporting Bhutanese people. We are stateless. We don't have country, don't have a home. This is our home. US is our home. We belong here. Miko: Of the 72 people, Mohan is the first Bhutanese refugee that we actually have a stay of release on, as Robin was saying earlier, most of the folks were moved from state to state, so you can't really get a lawyer in that time. And as we all know, nonprofit immigration lawyers are under a lot of stress because of the attack of this administration. So it makes it incredibly complicated, let alone the legal fees that it costs to help support people going through this. And right now, Mohan has a stay on his, deportation and the lawyer that they do have is drafting up a letter to be able to release him into the community and also overturn his original case that happened as a minor in Georgia, which was a ridiculous case where he was leaving school, early high school, first year in the country, leaving high school early, and walked with his friends across a backyard. And the neighbor that they walked through their yard called the police, and they arrested him along with his friends for trespassing, they gave him paperwork that he didn't even understand. He signed it along with a interpreter they gave him false information to say he'd be locked up for 25 years, or if he signed this papers, that would be fine. He could go and what the papers said was it changed his charge into a felony and had him sign a letter of deportation. So this is part of the failure of our American legal system that we're not providing adequate information. It is a lack of due process. Thankfully, the work that Asian Law Caucus and United States of Stateless and other community activists are doing to call this out and help work with us is really critical. I wanna turn now to Kao Ye how this administrations is impacting Hmong refugees, and how is it similar or different to the experiences that Robin is describing for the Nepali speaking Bhutanese community? Kao Ye: I echoed many of the sentiments and the challenges that Robin shared around what we as nonprofit, grassroots organizations are having to build and grapple with just the limited infrastructure that we have to deal with the current ICE disappearances and deportation and all the support that's needed for the families. And so thank you Robin, for sharing that. I wanted to start broad a little bit because I think that this Trump administration is happening in the backdrop of the 50th year commemoration of the end of the wars in Southeast Asia and the refugee resettlement. We had over 1.1 million Southeast Asians resettle to the United States, the largest immigration resettlement, in American history. And so this year brings so many complexities, I think as a Southeast Asian community where there is a level of looking back at policies that have impacted us and have failed, but also looking forward what is the community that we are building together to move and progress together. And so there are those complexities, I think as the fact that it's the 50th year and like, this is what we're dealing with. This is the trauma that we are grappling with. And so I wanted to put that out front and center because even I think within our communities , there is no necessarily enlightenment in terms of how we talk about what is happening to our people and how they're getting deported unjustly. So that is why it is so important to have this dialogue within our communities as well as the solidarity that we also share with the Bhutanese community and other immigrant groups too. I think that in many of our Southeast Asian communities, their reasons for deportations is very tied to past convictions, and so this is the intersection between criminal law and immigration law. And it makes it complex because our people are now having to consult not just an immigration lawyer, but like criminal attorney so that they could really assess like what kind of relief they can get in order to mitigate, impending deportations. And then also miko you had shared about the lack of adequate legal service or representation because many of these folks, right, that have had these convictions that have now served their time and are simply members of our community that make our community rich. They are now having to revisit removal orders that they signed, thinking that, oh, nothing necessarily was gonna happen because they don't have a repatriation agreement. So, in our community, there was never a thought that we were going to be deported back to our home country because of that policy. And so that is a big contributing factor as to why the Hmong community, we don't have that infrastructure to really support our members who have gone through the criminal justice system and now have those removal orders. And so HIP, as well as many other grassroots. Sadly we did have to scramble to put this know your rights information together because again, I don't think that there was visibility in the need for us in this conversation around immigration Southeast Asians are a segment of our API community and so it just, I think, multiplied the invisibility that we already faced as a group of Southeast Asians. And so the support was definitely not there. And, to Robin's point, we did our best to try to put this information together to our community, starting with the Know Your Rights. And then we also realized like it was more complex than that, and that the legal supports were so necessary because everyone's case was different. I think what we're still dealing with now is that there's always been a lack of trust between our community members and government entities and nonprofit organizations. And so, if someone is dealing with the situation, they wanna go to, a partner that they trust to help them, even if they're not necessarily equipped to do that work, is that they're going to only the people that they trust because there is such a big mistrust. And so I think that, there is still the level of trust building that is needed to be done within our community so that folks feel comfortable to come to us or come to other people for support. And I think what makes me feel emotional is just when I hear about community members feeling hopeless and just feeling like there's nothing that they can do and that level of disempowerment to me, I think is something that is real. And I can't say that we can't combat it, but I think that it is about being able to find different outlets of support for them. Miko: Thank you for lifting that up. And just , in terms of the numbers, over three months, March, April and May, there were about 72 Bhutanese Americans that have been detained. And this is just kind of starting up with the Hmong community. So we had 15 that were detained from Minnesota and another 10 right now are being held in Michigan. And we also see this happening with Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodians, and Myan folks. All of these folks as Kao Ye you're pointing out, have had common threads, which is connections with the system, with the criminal legal/ justice system and crimmigration is something that in the AACRE network we've been talking about and working on, which is really about the education to prison, to deportation pipeline. And one of the things that this administration had talked about is, let's get rid of all the murderers and the rapists. You know, this like scare language about people that are convicted criminals, let's get rid of them all. But the fact of the matter. The vast majority of all of these people are people like Mohan Karki, a cultural misunderstanding that happened when he was a child. Like Lou Yang, who is Hmong refugee detained in Michigan right now. Somebody who was involved in something as a kid, but has since then become a leader in the community. So let's take a moment and listen to the spouse of Lou Yang, a Hmong refugee detained in Michigan in July. Anne Vu: My name is Anne Vu and I come before you today with a heart full of hope. Sorrow and a plea for justice. I am a proud American, a mother of six, the daughter of Hmong refugees who would gain their citizenship, and the wife of a man called Lou Yang, who is now detained and faced with potential deportation from the only country that he's ever known. Lou has lived in Michigan since October, 1979. He was born stateless in a refugee camp in Nongkai Thailand and his family fled Laos due to persecution. His father and like many others, served with the United States force during the Vietnam War as part of the Secret War, recruited by CIA in Laos, a conflict that most Americans do not know has happened. The Hmong were recruited by the CIA as part of the Secret War to help America during the Vietnam War. But when the war ended and the US withdrew, we were as the Hmongs declared enemy of the state. What followed was genocide, polarization and persecution by the state, and it was because of our alliance, the promise made by the US government that the Hmong refugees were legally settled here under certain migration of refugee laws and acts. And Lou arrived here as a young, toddler in infancy. In 1997, he was arrested on an alleged accomplice in an attempt home invasion, second degree. He was in the vehicle at the time. He never entered the home. He literally was still a juvenile at that time. He had a court appointed attorney and was advised to take a plea without being told it would affect his immigration status for the rest of his life. This is the reality of our immigration system – long, complex, confusing and devastating, unforgiving. It is not built for people like us, people like Lou, people who have served their time, rebuilt their lives and have nowhere else to go. We've walked this legal path, we've stayed together in the lines, and yet we are here punished today. Lou has no other charges, no current legal issues, no history of violence. He is not a flight risk. He is not a danger to our public safety. He is a father, my husband, a son, a son-in-law, a grandson and a brother to many, and our leader and a provider to our community, and to my family. He renews his work authorization and follows every rule asked of him no matter how uncertain the future felt. Together, we've raised six beautiful children. They're all proud Americans. Lou has contributed to Michigan's economy for decades working in our automotive industry and now he is gone and all that he is built is unraveling and the community is heartbroken. We didn't come from wealth. We didn't have every opportunity handed to us because we didn't come seeking a land of opportunity. We came here because of survival. We had to build from the ground up. But the most important thing was Lou and I, we had each other. We had our families, our friends, and our neighbors. We had a shared commitment to build a better life, grounded in love, respect, and purpose. And somehow that's still not enough. For years, we were told like other Hmong families that Laos in Thailand would never take us back. And that has changed. In June, 2025 the US imposed a partial travel ban on Laos, citing visa overstays, and lack of deportation cooperation. And in response, Laos began issuing these documents under pressure. Today over 4,800, including Hmong, Myan, and the other ethnic minorities are facing removal to Laos and to many other countries, many have never stepped foot in a country that they are now being sent to. Lou is Stateless like many others that is detained with him. None of these countries recognize him. He was born in the Thailand refugee camp, it does not recognize him nor qualify him for any sort of Thai citizenship and I'll tell you guys right now if forced to return, he will face danger because of his family's deep ties to the CIA and United States military. Deporting him turns him, a civil servant and respected community leader, into a political casualty, it would be a grave and irreversible injustice. To deport him now is to punish him to death. Once again, 50 years later, as we celebrate resilience this year across the nation, we are now celebrating a fight within our own grounds, right here in United States, right here in Michigan. We're now fighting the same fight within our own country. Thousands of Southeast Asian Americans, many that entered legally admitted as refugees are being deported for decade old offenses they've longed paid for. America is our country. All we ask is the right to stay in the home that we've helped to build and work hard to protect. We are not seeking special treatment. We are asking for justice, compassion, and a second chance in this country to claim what we believe in. To Governor Whitmer and members of Congress and all elected officials, please help bring Lou and the many others home. Urge ICE and DHS to release him on humanitarian grounds. Help his case. Help us preserve the integrity of our laws and the dignity of our families. And to the public allies and the media. Please call our elected officials. Please call these offices.  Please share Lou's story. We need voices. Voices louder than ours alone. It is hard times you guys. It is real. And I speak to you from the bottom of my heart. Please help me and our families in the many that are suffering. This is our home. These are our children. This is my husband and this is our fight. Let him come home. Let our families be whole again, and let America keep its promise. Thank you guys for hearing me. Miko: Lou Young is a community leader. Michigan, who actually runs a nonprofit in support of Hmong folks in that community, and is targeted and also has a stay of removal. So we're doing a targeted campaign for both of these folks, Lou Yang and Mohan Karki, to be able to get them released to overturn their original convictions and they also have spouses that are telling their stories and telling the impact these detentions have had. Because while this current administration talks about getting rid of criminals, what they are actually doing is breaking apart families and community. Swati Rayasam: You are tuned in to Apex Express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. Coming up is Deporting the Pilgrim from the Anakbayan Long Beach Mayday Mix tape.   Swati Rayasam: That was please be strong, featuring Hushed, loudmouth and Joe handsome. And before that was deporting the pilgrim from the Unec Bayan Long Beach Mayday Mixtape. Now back to the show. Miko:  I wanna shift us a little bit to talking about Asian american representation in the larger fabric of immigration justice in the United States. Mostly many of our Asian communities have been like isolated, not really involved in the broader immigration movement. And I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the difficulty and nuance of bringing your community struggle to the forefront because many of us heard about the Venezuelans and the Mexicans that have been deported and what was going on, but we don't hear as much about these stories of our Asian sisters and brothers. I wonder if one of you could give voice to that. Robin: Before going there can I add something to  Miko: of course.  Robin: crimmigration conversation? So when you all are sharing about that, I was thinking about, the justice system in this country and what we are seeing right now is a broken justice system. Like you said, Miko, where families are separated where families are broken, and what I don't understand is, when, let's say your loved one gets into trouble, makes a mistake, and gets into a trouble, then, as a human being, like, don't you want your loved ones to rebuild their lives? Like Yes, of course there is a system that you have to follow, the laws that you have to follow, but at the end, I think we all want our loved ones to come back, rebuild their lives, right? And what we're seeing in this country is they're constantly breaking the families. And I don't see how we are going to build a better future when we are constantly, hurting the families. And in the cases of detention and deportation, what we're seeing is the double punishment. Like the mistakes that they had made, but then throughout their life, they have to go through that, a continuous cycle of being punished. And not just the individuals, but their family members have also go through the challenges, the suffering, right? And in the case of Bhutanese from double punishment to double expulsion to this, the state of being statelessness. Right? So what kind of future we are imagining when an individual has to go through that continuous cycle of being punished and not having the opportunity to rebuild their lives. So that's a big question mark that I think, we all need to think about. To your later question around my community and the larger Asian American context or the national context. My community is relatively new to this country. We lived, almost two decades in a refugee camp, which was a enclosed camp. And our lives were dependent on foreign aids like UNHCR or ILWF. Pretty much I would say we had our own world over there. And for us to work outside the refugee camp was illegal. There was no laws that gave us the permission to work outside. So we were not pretty much exposed to the outer world. So for us to come to US was a big step. Which means pretty much from basic every day stuffs like, you know, using a bathroom, using a kitchen, taking a bus. All of those were foreign for us. So for our community to really tap into the education system, the political landscape of this country. And also like the experience of being expelled for voicing our, our opinions, for fighting for our rights. Right? So for us, for our community to kind of step in into the politics, it's like re-traumatizing ourselves. I would say there are a lot of barriers, multi-layered barriers for our community members to really tap into the larger political, like socio political landscape, from language barriers to culture barriers to education, to pretty much everything. So right now, the way our committee has been being attacked. It's a surprise to the community. And also it is like kind of traumatizing the community and taking us back to the same place of feeling, insecure, feeling like we don't have a home. And we did hope that this is legally, this is going to be a home. Because after coming to the US most of us became the legal citizens of this country and we started rebuilding our lives. Now it's kind of like going back to the same circle of statelessness. Miko: Thank you for sharing about that. Kao Ye, would you like to add to that? Kao Ye: When I think of the Hmong American community and even the Southeast Asian community and why the narratives of what is happening still feels very invisible. I think of how our community, we were assimilating for survival. And I speak on that as a child of my refugee parents and siblings where growing up we were taught to, listen, not speak out, not cause trouble. Go through the system, listen to authority, listen to law enforcement. And because of that, I feel it's shaped a culture of fear. Fear to dissent and fear to speak out because we care so much about the stability of our families. And we wanted to protect ourselves, because of everything we've gone through with the war. And we are finding that it's been challenging for our community members to come forward with their stories. Honestly, we're still sitting on that and we're still kind of sitting through like, why is there that tension? You know, I feel like folks are going through a lot and even folks have, our impacted loved ones, but they're afraid to tell their story because of fear of of retaliation. And so I think that there is a level of, I think that lack of even psychological safety, but real, physical, real financial safety that people have. And I think that being a factor to the assimilation, but also this facade of like the American dream and like if we don't just disrupt, if we don't speak out, we will be protected. And, white supremacy, right? Like we will be okay. And it's a facade because we know that because our communities are the ones getting kidnapped and getting deported. Right. And so I think there is that fear, but there's also recognition of this now, this facade that the silence doesn't protect us and that there is a real need for us to really, be strong in speaking out, not just for our SEA siblings that are impacted, but for all of our immigrant groups, even the Bhutanese community, right. That's been impacted during this time. And so I, yeah, I think it is that multi-layered experience of being a Southeast Asian refugee community on top of, being part of this AAPI umbrella. AAPI we are not homogenous. We all have very unique histories as to how we have dealt with the systems in this country and how we came into this country. And so I think it's been challenging to make space for those nuances. And at the end of the day, I still see the interconnections that we all have together too. And so, I think it's the willingness to make space for those different stories. And I am finding that more of our ethnic media, our smaller news outlets are more willing to cover those stories as opposed to, these larger mainstream outlets. Like they're not covering those stories, but we are. Miko: Thank you. Oh, both of you have brought up so much today about our failed criminal justice system, about us punishing people as opposed to rehabilitating people and punishing them more than once. We brought up questions around statelessness and the impact that it has, and I just recently learned that the United States does not have any policy on Statelessness. So one of the things that this coalition of folks is trying to do is to get a congressional hearing to help the United States develop policy around statelessness, because it is actually our responsibility and our duty to do that. The other thing I hear you both talking about is this good immigrant, bad immigrant trope, which we've heard of a lot, but I think that's also very much connected to why so many members of our communities don't wanna speak out because this connection with, you know, quote unquote criminal history might be something that's shameful. And I'm wondering if you both see that as a divide mostly between elders in the community and younger folks. Robin, do you wanna talk about that? Robin: Yeah. I mean, initially when we were mobilizing our community members to fight against the the unjust and unfair detention and deportation, this issue around the perception around good immigrants and bad immigrants became one of the main topic of discussion. We had to deal with people, and mostly elders, but I would say some young folks as well, who would pull themselves back on speaking against this issue because for them people who are being deported or detained are criminals and they deserve this kind of mindset. And not being able to see the larger picture of how the administration is targeting the immigrant and the refugee population of this country and really trying to dismantle community power, right? So, yes, it is a challenge that we are, we're going through and I think it's going to be quite a bit of work, to really build solidarity within our own communities. Kao Ye: I feel that the divide in the Hmong community is stemming from class and education. I feel as though when folks are articulating, regurgitating these justifications of the bad immigrant as to why folks should be deported it's folks that maybe kind of made it in their lives and now they're comparing themselves to folks that were not in that situation. And there is this growing within our community as well, where some folks are getting that education, getting, good jobs. But so much of our community, we still suffer from poverty, right? And so, I think that has been really interesting to witness the level of division because of class, because of income and also the education piece. Because oftentimes when folks are feeling this, it comes from a place of ignorance as well. And so that's why I think the education piece is so important. I actually feel though our elders are more understanding because these are their children that are being separated from them. And Robin's point is that when we have loved ones that go through the system, we just want them to rebuild their lives and be self-sufficient. And I feel like those are the values that I grew up in my community where our parents were always about keeping the family together to a fault, you know? And so they don't want separation. They just want us to be well and to do well, and to turn our lives around. And so, I feel strongly that our elders, they do understand that the importance of giving this opportunity for us to, to stay together and turn our lives around. Miko: Thank you so much, both of you for joining me here today to talk about this important conversation. I'm wondering if you could provide our audience with how they could find out more about what is going on and what are next steps for our audience members. Robin, let's start with you. Robin: Yeah. I just wanted to add what, Kao Ye talked about. I do agree the patterns around the divide is based on class. And I do see that in the community, and not just the class, but in our community class and caste, I would say. And in terms of the class, there were some instances where we had to deal with even the highly educated like PhD holders kind of, questioning us like, you know, what we are advocating for, and, I couldn't understand like, I couldn't relate the education, the title, the degree that he holds and the perception around this issue. Right. So, I just wanted to echo that. So, in terms of our work and Asian Refugees United, our website is www.asianrefugees.org And you can find us in our Instagram, Facebook, Asian Refugees United. Miko: And you can also get latest news about what's happening at bhutaneserefugeerights.com. Yeah. And Kao Ye how can folks find out more about your work? Kao Ye: Right now HIP is part of a statewide network in California called the Pardon Refugees Campaign, where we are really pushing Governor Newsom to pardon all refugees, not just Southeast Asians because of everything that we talked about, about how our families, they deserve to stay together. And so, I don't think we have a website up yet, but you can follow this campaign with us. We will be having a rally and press conference, coming up soon, in the next few weeks. And so, I would say that please follow us in that work where we are really moving in coalition with all of our uh, grassroots partners to advocate for our loved ones that are currently being impacted. Miko: Thank you so much, Robin Gurung, Asian Refugees United and Kao Ye Thao from Hmong Innovating Politics. Thank you so much for being with us here today, and I hope you listeners out there take action to keep our families together, to keep our people in the communities as loved ones where they belong. Thank you all. Have a great night. Swati Rayasam: I'm so grateful that Miko was able to talk to Robin and Kao Ye. And for those who missed it, visit bhutanese refugee rights.org for the most recent updates on the Bhutanese refugees. The press conference in rally Kao Ye mentioned took place last week on August 21st, 2025, but check out the Pardon Refugees Campaign for updates from the coalition supporting Hmong, Cambodian Laotian, Myan, and other refugees facing deportation. Thanks so much for tuning in to Apex Express. Please check out our website at kpfa.org/program/apexexpress to find out more about the show tonight and to find out how you can take direct action. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating, and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. Apex Express is produced by  Miko Lee, along with Jalena Keene-Lee, Ayame Keene-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar,  Anuj Vaida, Cheryl Truong, Isabel Li, Ravi Grover, and me Swati Rayasam. Thank you so much to the team at KPFA for their support and have a good night.   The post APEX Express – August 28, 2025 – “And we became stateless again” appeared first on KPFA.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists.   Important Resources: Asian Refugees United: Website | Instagram | Learn about the Disappearances of Bhutanese American refugees: Website | Toolkit Hmong Innovating Politics: Website | Instagram Lavender Phoenix: Website | Instagram Minjoona Music: Instagram   Transcript: Cheryl (Host): Good evening. You're tuned in to Apex Express. I'm your host, Cheryl, and tonight we're diving into the vibrant summer programming happening across the AACRE network. That's the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality Network. AACRE is made up of 11 Asian American social justice organizations working together to build collective power and create lasting movements .  Throughout tonight's show, we'll be spotlighting a few of these groups [00:01:00] and the incredible work they're leading this summer. First up, we're joined by Pratik from Asian refugees United Pratik. Thank you so much for being here. Do you mind introducing yourself and to kick things off in the spirit of tonight's show, maybe share what's something that's been bringing you joy this summer? Pratik (ARU): Hello, namaste everyone. My name is Pratik Chhetri. He, him. I'm the program manager at ARU, Asian Refugees United in Pennsylvania. I'm originally from Nepal. I grew up in Nepal. I am an immigrant, came to the for college long time ago. And I've been working in social justice, health justice field for over 15 years now. Initially it was mostly around advocacy policy relating to access to medicines, issues, especially in lower and middle income countries, and the past six, seven. More than seven [00:02:00] years. I also started an organization, a nonprofit organization in Nepal, that works at the intersection of social, economic and climate justice. And with ARU, I got introduced to ARU back in 2020. So by that time I had some skills that I felt I could bring to the community. Even though I'm not from Bhutanese refugee community, I speak the language, I understand the culture to a certain extent. So I felt with the linguistic skill I could be of some help. I think right around that time COVID happened, everything and end of 2021 is when I reconnected with Robin and started talking about possibilities. For about two years, I was part of the CAMP for Emerging Leaders, the leadership program ARU has, and [00:03:00] starting last year, early this year formally, I am a staff, for ARU. I'm in charge of programs under wellness, education, and civic engagement largely but depending on time and resources, I become available for other programs as well. It's a joy working with ARU. I was just telling Cheryl earlier that it doesn't feel like work ‘ cause I enjoy it, working with people, getting to work on impactful programs, and being a part of an organization that has so much potential, so much responsibility, but also trying to find new ways to become, useful for the community. That's very exciting. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): That's great. I'm glad that your work is what's bringing you joy this summer. That's so special. And before we get into some of that impactful programming that you've been running this summer, could you [00:04:00] tell us a little bit about, ARU, Asian Refugees United  Pratik (ARU): Sure. ARU started back in 2016 in California and back then all of the programs used to be in California. The community that ARU serves since then, and even to this day are Nepali speaking, Bhutanese refugee community and Vietnamese community, Korean and other Pan-Asian community. After the pandemic, there has been a lot of secondary migration of the Bhutanese folks from across the United States to two major locations. One being central PA around Harrisburg area and Pennsylvania, and the second one around Columbus, Ohio, and other major cities in Ohio. The secondary migration mostly to Pennsylvania triggered a, shifting of ARU programs, to Pennsylvania as well in addition to [00:05:00] California. So at this point in 2025, the Pennsylvania side of ARU caters to the Nepali speaking Bhutanese folks. And the California side of ARU works with Vietnamese, Korean, and other Asian communities. I work with the Pennsylvania, ARU, and here we have four different pillars around health and wellness, education, art and storytelling. And the fourth one is civic engagement, and that is the newest one. I can talk about programs under each of the pillars but for summer the programs that is bringing me joy, not only for me, but also ARU's staffs is this longitudinal five month long leadership program called Camp for Emerging Leaders, where we recruit Nepali speaking folks from all across United States, and they go through virtual sessions every other [00:06:00] week on, history to the story of displacement, intergenerational trauma. How it started, how it used to be back in Bhutan, how it used to be in the refugee camps in Nepal, and now how it is in the US and Canada, wherever they are. So end of summer, end of July, early August is when all of those cohort members, the youth leaders will come physically to Harrisburg and we'll spend a few days here connecting with each other, building that trust, but also working together to build projects for the community, addressing community challenges that's happening. And for that I think five or six of the ARU staff from California are also coming. We have guest speakers. I think one of them is coming from all the way from Australia. It's fun. Largely I think [00:07:00] I'm looking forward to meeting with all of these youth leaders who have so much potential to do, so much good, not only for Bhutanese community, Nepali speaking, south Asian community, but also, their potential goes beyond that, yeah.  Cheryl (Host): It is powerful to hear how ARU's work has evolved and now spans across the nation, and also how Camp for Emerging Leaders is creating space for Nepali speaking Bhutanese youth to reflect their community's history, build deep connections, and grow as leaders. You mentioned that during the summer youth leaders gather in Harrisburg to create community projects. Could you share more about what kinds of projects they're working on and what kind of issues they're hoping to address? Pratik (ARU): For education, one of the main ones that we just concluded is, so we started high school success program called First Step Forward. And the interesting thing, the exciting thing about this program [00:08:00] is the concept of First Step forward from one of the Camp for Emerging Leaders cohort from two years ago. And similarly so that's how most of ARU programs have been. The ARU Youth Center, the ARU Office, that concept also started from the camp for emerging leaders. There are a couple other programs ARU does. Youth Wellness Day. That started from the camp as well. For the First Step Forward, what we do is early winter of, I think January or February we accepted a cohort of 10. These were high school juniors and seniors, and largely the purpose of the program is to make sure that they are well equipped for college and for any other professional avenues they end up going even if higher education is not for them. We did a lot of like leadership sessions, public speaking [00:09:00] sessions, like how to write essays, how to apply for different scholarships. We just concluded it literally last Saturday, we went hiking and went to one of the Six Flags amusement parks. But learning from that program, we are scaling it up. We're taking 20 people next year, and we will do it a year long cohort. So starting from September up until May, June. We'll integrate college tours, not only for the kids, but also for their family because in Bhutanese community and Nepali speaking folks a lot of the times the parents do not understand how the system works, even with their best intent and best intention. So along with the students, it is very important for us to work with the family, the parents as much as possible to take them through the process, right? On education, we also do a lot of cultural navigation training to [00:10:00] different county level and different governance agencies. Some of the cultural navigation trainings that we did in the past year that I can think of is we did one for the. Panel of judges from Dauphin County, which is where Harrisburg is. We did similar thing for different school districts in Dauphin and Cumberland County, different nearby counties for juvenile probation unit, child and youth services. And while we do that, as an organization, it gave us a better sense of where the gaps are, especially for parents to run into difficulties. 'cause a lot of times, for example, if a kid is sent home with a sheet of paper, even when it's bilingual, because their movement happened from Nepal to Bhutan, such a long time ago, a lot of the folks in the community speak the language but do not understand how to read or write the [00:11:00] language. So there are double language barrier, right? When a kid is called into a meeting or a disciplinary meeting, the parents a lot of times don't even look at the sheet of paper or don't know where to show up or how to show up or what to expect. Based on those things we're using that knowledge and experience to design further programs in the future. That's just for education. With civic engagement, for example, this 2024 cycle was the first election for our community members to vote in their lifetime. Back in Bhutan they didn't have that opportunity and then they spent decades in refugee camps, and it took most of them some time to get the green cards and five years after Green card to secure their citizenship. So we saw a lot of even elderly folks show up to voting. That was their first time that they were voting. And when that happens, it's not [00:12:00] just generic voter education. It's teaching the community how to register, where to register, where to show up at the precincts. A lot of precincts we were seeing, 30 to 40% of the folks show up to the wrong precincts. So there's a lot of need, but also in 2024 we saw, unfortunately, a lot of folks fall victim to misinformation and disinformation. So there's that need to do something about that part as well in the future. One of the things we started doing under civic engagement work is not just teach folks where to register, how to register on voter education, but also preparing some of the community members to run for office.  Two or three weeks ago, mid-June, we did our first round of run for office training. We partner up with another organization called Lead PA. And even for the folks who showed up, all of us [00:13:00] are politically inclined, educated to a certain extent, and a lot of the things that were shared in that training, it was mostly new to us, especially around local government. Like what are the positions that they are and how so many important positions, people run unopposed and what kind of ramifications that might have for our daily lives. Right. Starting 2026 election cycle, we're hoping some of our trainees run for office as well, starting from school board to all the way, wherever they want to. And there are wellness focused events, youth wellness Day that I talked about, around mental health is one of the great needs for the community. One piece of data might be very important to mention, based on CDCs 20 12 data, there was a report out, the research was conducted in 2012, and the report came out in 2014, basically what it said [00:14:00] was, Bhutanese folks in the US have the highest of suicide in the whole nation, and that's something that has not received a lot of attention or resources because generally those numbers get mixed up with generic Asian data and the numbers get diluted. Right. So one of the things, what, as an organization, what we are trying to do is bring awareness to that number. And the other thing is like, it's been over 10 years since that study happened and there has not been a follow-up study. What we are seeing is previously how mental health and it's ramifications how it was affecting the community, it was mostly about 10 years ago, mostly affecting older folks. Now we are seeing a lot of younger folks commit suicide or suicidal attempts. So there is a lot of work in that respect as [00:15:00] well. These are also some of the very crucial topics to work on. But as an organization, we are taking baby steps toward being able to efficiently address the community needs. I missed some of them, but overall, our organizational goal is to empower the community in one way or the other. And one of the tools that we use is focusing on youths because youths in the community, similar to other immigrant communities, our youths are mostly bilingual, bicultural, and many times they're the translators and system navigators for their whole family. And in many cases their extended family as well. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Wow. There are so many layers to the work that you all do. From developing leaders to run for office, to supporting mental health, to helping folks navigate voting and helping folks access higher education or career pathways.[00:16:00]  That's such a wide scope, and I imagine it takes a lot to hold all of that. How do you all manage to balance so much, especially with a small team, is that right?  Pratik (ARU): Yes. Technically we only have one full-time staff. Most are part-time, but ranging from. 10% to 80%. Largely we rely on the community members, volunteers, and we pay the volunteers when we can. And other times, I think it speaks to how much time and effort and how genuinely, folks like Robin, who is the co ED of ARU and Parsu who is the office manager, and other folks in Harrisburg, connected with different community leaders, folks of different subgroups over the years. So. When ARU moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania post pandemic, it took them a while to get the hang of the community, the growing community. Back then it used to [00:17:00] be 10, 20,000 max in central PA and now our estimation is like 70, 80,000 in central PA. It took them a while to create space of trust, that ARU are people that they can come for when they run into problems. And even when we don't have a lot of resources, people show up. People volunteer. People volunteer their time, their spaces for meetings and events. Yeah. And that's how we've been running it. I feel like we do five or 10 x amount of work with the resources that we have, but that's largely because of the perception the community has about Robin, about Parsu, about other individuals, and about the organization.  Cheryl (Host): That's so amazing. ARU clearly has such deep community roots, not just through the incredible work that of course Robin, [00:18:00] Parsu and so many others you have named have done to build lasting relationships that now sustain the work in the organization, but also I think it's also evident in the examples you've shared through Camp for Emerging Leaders, how you all really listen to youth and learn from their experiences. And you all shape programs that respond directly to the needs that you're seeing. And in that same spirit of care and commitment that is reflected in ARU's amazing staff and volunteers. I'm curious, are there any moments or memories from camp for emerging leaders that stand out to you? I imagine there must be so many.  Pratik (ARU): Yeah. Many stories. I started attending and facilitating the sessions for the camp I from 2022 cohort and maybe even 23 cohort. I think this is the third one that I'm doing. I'll talk about Kamana. [00:19:00] Kamana joined the 23 cohort and at that time she was still in high school. But you know, she was bubbly, full of energy and she was one of the pretty active members of the cohort and eventually after the cohort, she ended up joining ARU as initially, I think as an intern, and now she is the lead of the education program. She will be a sophomore or rising junior, starting this fall. But now she'll be running the education program, First Step Forward. Primarily it was internally us staff, we see the growth in them with experience. But also I think one of the things that ARU does is we create a sort of non-hierarchical structure within our office space in the sense that anyone can [00:20:00] design a program or any idea, and they do not feel intimidated to speaking up. I think because of that, people like Kamana, I can talk about other folks like Nawal. Them growing within ARU space shows not just with experience, but also I think the kind of open and inclusive and non hierarchical space that we create they feel comfortable enough in leading. A lot of times when we have , X, y, and Z needs to be done in the group chat, people just volunteer. Even when they don't get paid, we see our staff, our volunteer base just show up time and time again. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Wow. ARU is such a special container. You've created this beautiful space where people can grow and then also have agency to shape that container in whatever way that they want. That is so special. How can listeners support your work this [00:21:00] summer? Whether that's showing up or donating or volunteering or spreading the word.  Pratik (ARU): One of the things is for the listeners, I feel like not a lot of folks know about Bhutanese community much. So yes, they speak Nepali. They sometimes they identify as Nepali because it's just easy. , Bhutanese folks normally identify as either Bhutanese or Nepali or American or any combination of those three identities. A lot of folks do not know, including folks from Nepal about the atrocity, the trauma that the community went through had to go through the forced persecution out of Bhutan and then living under very limited means while in the refugee camps in Nepal and even the number of challenges the community still [00:22:00] faces. I talked a little bit about mental health needs. There's. There are needs around, health seeking behavior and similar to other immigrant communities as well, but also, on education. Because of the historical division around caste and class and other demographic details, certain folks in the community are geared towards success versus others aren't. And we see that. We see the pattern quite distinct by their indigeneity, by their caste, by their last names. In our community you can tell what their caste is, what their ethnic background is with their last names. So I would invite the audience to learn a little bit more about this community and if you have that space and resources [00:23:00] to be, if you're a researcher, if you want to do some research studies, if you want to bring some programs. If you have scholarship ideas, if you want to create any scholarship for the kids in the community, or if you have means, and if you can donate, either or. It doesn't have to be just, financial resources. It can be sometimes being available as mentor to some of the kids to show them these are the possibilities. To summarize, learn more about the community if you don't know already including some of the new atrocities, the community's facing right now with ICE detention and deportation, even when the community was brought in to this country after years and years of approval through the process. And if you have resources and means help with knowledge sharing, being available or with [00:24:00] financial means either or. I just wanted to mention that I work with ARU and I work with the Bhutanese community, but like I said, I'm not from the Bhutan community. I grew up in Nepal. I speak the language, I understand the culture to a certain extent, but I definitely cannot speak for the experience of going and living as a refugee. So,, if you have any question, if you want to learn more about that, Cheryl and I, we are happy to put you in touch with folks with incredible stories, inspiring stories of resilience in the community. Cheryl (Host): Thank you so much. All of the links, whether to learn more, donate or get involved, as well as information about the disappearances impacting the Bhutanese American community will be included in our show notes. A huge thank you to Pratik from Asian Refugees United for joining us tonight. We're deeply grateful for the work you do and the love you carry for our [00:25:00] communities. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. We're going to take a quick music break and when we come back we'll hear more about the summer programming happening across the AACRE network with folks from Lavender Phoenix, and Hmong innovating politics. So don't go anywhere. Next up, you're listening to a track called “Juniper” by Minjoona, a project led by Korean American musician, Jackson Wright. This track features Ari Statler on bass, josh Qiyan on drums, and Ryan Fu producing. Juniper is the lead single from Minjoona's newest release, the Juniper EP, a five track p roject rooted in indie rock, 60 throwback vibes, and lyric forward storytelling. You can follow Minjoona on Instagram at @minjoonamusic or find them on Spotify to keep up with upcoming releases. We'll drop the links in our show notes. Enjoy the track and we'll be right back. [00:26:00] [00:27:00] [00:28:00] [00:29:00] [00:30:00]  And we're back!!. You're listening to APEX express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley. 88.1. KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. That was “Juniper” by Minjoona.  Huge thanks to Jackson Wright and the whole crew behind that track [00:31:00] Before the break, we were live with Pratik from Asian Refugees United, talking about the powerful summer programming, supporting the Nepalese speaking Bhutanese community in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now I'm joined by from Blair Phoenix. From Lavender Phoenix, who's here to share about her experiences as a summer organizer In Lav N'S annual summer in Lav N's annual summer organizer in Lav N'S annual summer organizing program. Hi Mar. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for being here. Do you mind introducing yourself to our listeners? Okay. Mar, do you mind for our listeners out there who are just tuning in, do you mind introducing yourself? Mar (LavNix): Yes. Thank you, Cheryl. Hi, y'all. My name is Mar Pronouns, [00:32:00] she/siya/any! I come from the lands of the Ibaloi people in the Philippines or “Maharlika”. I am a queer Muslim and yeah, I'm just happy to be here. Cheryl (Host): Yay. We're so happy to have you here, mar! For those who might not be familiar, Mar is joining us from Lavender Phoenix as part of this year's summer organizing program. Mar,, could you start by giving our listeners a quick introduction to Lavender Phoenix? And then could you tell us a little bit about the summer organizing program and what it's all about? Mar (LavNix): Yeah, of course. Cheryl. Let's start with Lavender Phoenix. Lavender Phoenix is a really awesome nonprofit over here in the Bay Area who focus on trans queer, API. Work basically. I really love Lavender Phoenix because of their unwavering commitment to collective liberation [00:33:00] and the very specific focus and centering around trans queer API leadership because our leadership is often underrepresented and because there's so many intersections there, we need to have trans queer API leadership to be able to move the work. And so really fond of lavender Phoenix's ethos and mission values. This year for the summer 2025, I'm part of their summer organizer program, which is a cohort of organizers both emerging, established and wanting to learn, and we learn a lot of transformative interpersonal organizing skills, but also building our more technical skill sets alongside with that. So we're actually three weeks from graduation [00:34:00] nooooooooo!. Anyways, yeah, just really happy to be in this cohort. I'm feeling really aligned in that I am here and it is transforming me in the way I had intentions for when I applied for it. Cheryl (Host): Wow. It sounds like this was a really impactful program for you. I wanna know what kinds of projects are you all working on?  Mar (LavNix): Yeah, so it's really beautiful because it's not just like a single project the cohort works on, it's kind of a myriad of things. We have two folks who are doing projects with other organizations, and then we have the rest of the folks working on two projects within Lavender Phoenix's programming. And so for my group, my very awesome group, we are doing the River of Life Project, and the River of Life Project is a five week long cohort where we practice storytelling in a very vulnerable and honest way, and this is for the [00:35:00] purpose to really witness one another and to cultivate our storytelling skills because our stories and narratives is so important. There's whole states and governments trying to take that away from us, and so our project is to guide and facilitate this project and meet with members across rank. It's super cool seeing the different facets of lavender Phoenix come together and be down, to be in the act of vulnerability and honesty and that is their praxis for collective liberation. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Yeah. Yeah. That's so well said. And it's so important that we have these spaces to practice that vulnerability because we are so often punished for being who we are. Right. So, mm-hmm. These programs are so crucial as you have uplifted for us. I am so curious to learn more about this River of Life project, but [00:36:00] also before we even get to that, I wanna zoom out a little bit and focus on your growth and who are you now as you get closer three weeks from graduation?  Mar (LavNix): Ooh, that is such a beautiful question, Cheryl. Yeah. I've been really reflecting on how this program transformed me this summer and to bring us back to when I first applied. I first applied sometime in March, I believe. I remember 'cause it was around Ramadan. I was at a point in my life where I felt stagnant in my organizing journey. I would attend all these workshops, I would keep reading, but there was a disconnect in how my mind wanted to move next. So here we are in 2025, I was accepted into the program. I was like, yay, my people. And you know, [00:37:00] my expectations was met. In fact, it was exceeded. Very exceeded because I didn't know these things that i'm learning now. I didn't know how much I needed them until I learned them. In my time with Lavender Phoenix, as I'm reflecting to this point, graduation being three weeks out, I realized that before joining this cohort, my heart and my spirit was in a really bad place, and I think a lot of people could resonate. There's genocides, ethnic cleansings, and just terrible things happening all over the world, and there's like a dichotomy of people who are trying so hard and then there's a dichotomy of people who are unaffected by it. And so my spirit and my heart was so broken down seems really dramatic, but it wasn't being rejuvenated for sure. And so, being in this space and being in a [00:38:00] container that's just honesty and vulnerability and it's all rooted in each other's liberation really replenish that cup. The teachings and the knowledge and the wisdom that I'm getting, it's helping me add more to my North Star, which I'm really thankful of because I didn't know this is what I needed in March. Cheryl (Host): That is so beautiful. So much of what's going on right now by the systems that be, the powers that be, it's meant to isolate us and to make us feel exactly what you said. Capitalism isolates us and keeps us in that place because that's how it benefits . So Lavender Phoenix is summer organizing program, what I'm hearing from you is this revolutionary space that is counter to that. It's filled with hope and dreaming for a better world. So how is that being informed in River of Life, in the storytelling leadership development that you are developing within Lavender Phoenix's membership?  Mar (LavNix): Oh, yes. I'm [00:39:00] understanding the responsibility on how I move in this space. And so before the cohort of the River of Life project presents, it's actually gonna be me and another facilitator going to share our stories. And so we're also in the act of being vulnerable and honest and really wanting the others to witness us as we will witness them. We've removed kind of that superiority in that space. When I think of this, it brings me back to Freire's idea of an engaged pedagogy, but not necessarily like an educator and a student, but like removing hierarchies, which I think is really, a value that's rooted in, or lavender Phoenix is rooted in that value. There's no hierarchy, but there is ranks and we all see each other as equals. It's really beautiful to be able to see that and then know how I move in this [00:40:00] space to prepare our cohort. I hope that my storytelling, I can only hope, I do not know how it's gonna be received inshallah it's received super well. But I really do hope that they see how vulnerable I also get and how I'm doing this so that I could build deeper relationships with these people as I continue my journey with Lavender, Phoenix and to them as well. I hope these values, if not already present in our people, this project helps them cultivate that even further.  Cheryl (Host): I wanna ask what is something you want to share with our listeners who were in a similar space as you who felt lost and that they wanted something to grow in. What advice would you give?  Mar (LavNix): This is a really beautiful question [00:41:00] and So many things flooded my brain as you were asking this question, but i'm feeling more pulled and called to share this one thing . As I'm going through the summer organizer program, I really realized the importance of tending to myself so that I could show up for others. I have to be able to know how to advocate for my needs and what I need so that I can be in spaces with other people. It's so important that I know how to acknowledge my shame or whatever pain points I'm experiencing and let that not be a hindrance to the work, but integrate it in a way that I will tend to it, and by tending to it, I can continue doing the work. And I know it's really [00:42:00] hard to prioritize yourself when it feels like you should prioritize everything else in the world right now, but I am really learning that that's what I needed to do. When I say prioritize myself, I'm not saying oh, I need to go do this and I need to go drink all my water. Yes, also care for our physical bodies and our mental bodies, but also taking time to know who I am as a person and what I could offer to the movement, and knowing how to communicate to others in the movement so that I could show up as a better organizer. And so the final words that I will have to share is I hope everyone who's hearing this shows the love that they have for other people to themselves [00:43:00] too.  Cheryl (Host): That was so beautiful. What you just shared right now about tending to yourself that's part of the work too. And that's so counterintuitive, I feel. This project that you're leading, the river of life where the focus is so much on your story and honoring who you are, I think that is the true essence of what it means to be trans and queer. Showing up with your whole self and embracing that. And in turn, by doing that, you are holding everybody else too, that very practice. To find out more about Lavender Phoenix Mar, how can our listeners plug into Lavender Phoenix's work?  Mar (LavNix): Follow us on Instagram or check out Lavender, Phoenix website. We post a lot. Sign up for the newsletter. Volunteer. We're really cool. Or just look at the staff and see if anybody calls you and you wanna hit them up. We're so awesome. Cheryl (Host): Thank you for joining us on tonight's show, Mar, and for sharing your experiences on Lavender Phoenix's [00:44:00] summer organizing program with all of All of the links that Mar mentioned on how to stay in touch with Lavender Phoenix's work be available in our show notes as per usual. We are so grateful, thank you again, Mar! Next up, we're joined by Katie from Hmong Innovating Politics. Katie. Welcome, welcome. I'm so happy to have you on our show tonight. Would you mind introducing yourself to our listeners? Katie (HIP): Hi everyone. My name is Katie. I use she her pronouns. My Hmong name is ING and I mainly introduce myself as ING to my community, especially elders because one ING is my given name. Katie is like a self-assigned name. In my work with HIP I've been trying to figure out what feels more natural when, but I do catch myself introducing myself to my Hmong community. And yeah, I'm totally cool if folks referring to me as Katie Oring and my ask is just pronouncing my name correctly. Who are my people? Who's my community? I would say my community is my family. And then the young people that I work [00:45:00] with, the elders in my community, the ones who would like to claim me, my team. I would say Hmong women that I've met through some of the work that I do at my volunteer org, and oh my goodness, there're so many people. My friends, oh my gosh, if my friends are listening to this, my friends are my community, they're my people. They keep me grounded, alive and fun. My siblings. All of the folks in Fresno and Sacramento that have been a part of the spaces that I've shared at HIP and the spaces that we've created together.  Cheryl (Host): You are a community leader through and through . For folks who are listening and don't know, Hmong Innovating Politics is one of the AACRE groups and it has two different hubs basically in Central California, one in Sacramento, and one in Fresno. Katie, do you mind sharing a little bit about HIP and the work that you all do? Katie (HIP): Yeah. So, we are a power building organization and what does that mean, right? One is that we are [00:46:00] a part of empowering and supporting our community to become active change makers in their community. We believe that those who are most impacted by issues should also be the ones that receive resources and training to lead solutions and design, the dreams of their community. A framework that we use is called Belong Believe Become. We want to create space where young people feel their belongingness, know that they are rooted here in their community, and that they have a place. The believing part of our framework is that we want young people to also see themselves and see themselves as leaders. In their community and leadership can mean many forms, right? There's like passive and active leadership, and we want young people to know that there is enough space in this world for everyone in whichever capacity, they're choosing to show up in their community. The important piece of believing is that, believing that you also like matter and that your decisions are also impactful. And then become is that. [00:47:00] we share this framework and it's circular because we notice that some people can come into our space feeling like I know exactly who I'm gonna be. I know exactly what I wanna do, and feel really disconnected from their history and their, and the multiple parts of their identities. belong, believe become is cyclical and it's wherever you're at. And in this third piece of becoming it is that our young people know that they are leading the charge and transforming systems. That they are shifting the narratives of our community, that they get to own the narratives of our community, and that they are a part of the Power building our community as well. Cheryl (Host): Yeah, I love that . As we're talking, I'm noticing that you talk so much about young people and how so much of your work's framework is centered around young people. Do you mind giving context into that? So much of HIP's programming is on youth leadership, and so I'm wondering what does that look like programming wise and especially right now in the summer? Katie (HIP): Yeah, so it's more [00:48:00] recently that HIP has been identifying ourselves as a power building organization. Before we had claimed our work as base building, and this is through our civic engagement work for voter engagement and empowerment, and turning out the vote that, that is like what we, our organization was like centered on. Through that work, what we noticed was that like cycles and seasons after season, it was young people coming back and then they started asking are you all gonna have like consistent programming space for us, or is it just gonna always be around the election cycle? Through our civic engagement work, a framework that we use is the IVE model, integrated voter engagement. And that is that you are relationship building year after year, even outside of the election season. And so then it was how do we be more intentional about centering the people who are coming to us and centering the people who are shifting and challenging and pushing our leadership. And that was to [00:49:00] then move and prioritize the young people in our community. I think it's been maybe four or five years since this shift where we've really prioritized young people and really centered our work around youth justice. So then we had to create these spaces. Civic engagement work had primarily consisted of phone banking and canvassing and through that I think a lot of young people were then getting firsthand experience of this is like what it's like to be angry about these issue in my community. This is also what it's like to hold space for other people to go through and process their emotions. And then it was like, how do we train and skill up our young people to not only listen to their community, but be able to strategize and lead and take their ideas and dreams and put 'em into action. At the time folks working in our civic engagement programs were high school youth, college transitional age, young adults who are not in college. And we even had parent [00:50:00] age folks in our programs as well. In figuring out how do we better support our young folks was that a lot of young people were asking for more like designated space for youth that are in high school. The other request was can you all not be college based because not all young adults go to college in our community, yet we still wanted to access the programs. We had to strategize around these pieces. Also at the time when we were running civic engagement program, we were also building up our trans and queer work in the Central Valley and figuring out like what is HIP's place in this work? So that landed us into three programs. We have a program called Tsev which is TSEV. Um, and that means House in Hmong, but it's an acronym. It stands for Transforming Systems, empowering Our Village, and the reason why we named our youth program that is in the Hmong community, we refer to our community a lot “lub zos” which means village in English. And so that is why we wanted to name our program with something around the word village and then also [00:51:00] home, belongingness, right? We wanted our program to signify belonging. And so that is what landed us in this program. This program is based at a high school and we train cohorts of youth and the curriculum that we cover in all of our programs are pretty similar, but they are adjusted to be more relevant to the age group and the experiences that we are serving. So we have our high school program. We have our trans and queer young adult program called QHIP, queer Hmong intersectional Pride. And then we also have a young adult program called the Civic Engagement Fellowship, but I feel like we're gonna be revamping next year, so we might have a new name next year. And that one is, open to all young adults of all gender and sexuality. The projects that is focused in that is what's coming up on the election. So specific propositions and measures or whatever we are bringing to the ballot. And then with QHIP, it is very focused on intentionally building up leadership in the trans and queer community. [00:52:00] Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): You all tackle power building in so many different intersections, and I think that's so brilliant. You really tailor these spaces to the needs of your community and you're always listening to your community. That is honestly such a theme within the AACRE network. Could you tell us how these groups stay active during the summer?  Katie (HIP): Yeah! During the summer, we close off the cohort in June when the school year ends. And so we're actually in the assessment phase of this program right now. Our seniors throughout the summer go through a one-on-one exit with one of the staff in Fresno or Sacramento. After the senior exit closes out, then we'll be doing a overall annual assessment with all of the young people that were in the program this year. We're actually closing both these pieces out next week. We try to make things fun, right? So for the one-on-ones, we'll all come to the office and we'll have the one-on-one exit interviews and after that we'll go get lunch. somewhere cute, somewhere fun. Then with the end of the year evals, after we complete them for everyone, we'll just hang out. This [00:53:00] year we're planning to do like a paint by numbers night. And then we always somehow end up karaoking. For QHIP, our trans and queer young adult program we actually partner with Lavender Phoenix and have them attend the leadership exchange program that's happening right now. We did our own onboarding and then we celebrated the month of pride. And we also celebrated the trans march. Then after that transition into the leadership exchange program at Lavender Phoenix. After that program, I believe our lead members are going to be designing some projects this summer. And then they'll have the rest of the summer and hours to do their projects, and then we'll eventually close out with a retreat with them. Cheryl (Host): And for our listeners out there, do you mind giving a quick a preview on what lavender, Phoenix's leadership exchange program is and how you all work in tandem with each other?  Katie (HIP): Yeah. Okay. I know in the past, we've sent our more new to organizing leaders [00:54:00] to the leadership exchange program. This year the intention is that we wanted to send leaders from our community who might already have some organizing experience who have some experience in social justice and movement work. And so, during this I think some of my favorite things from the leadership exchange program is teaching folks how to ask for help. I think a lot of our young adults navigate their lives not knowing who to turn to for help and how to formulate and ask that is clear and supportive of their needs. So that's something that we really appreciate through the leadership exchange program. And another piece is mutual aid funding. Lavender Phoenix trains up leaders around fundraising support and that's something I'm really looking forward to our young people gaining. The other piece is ultimately training of trans and queer leaders in our community so that we can continue to sustain this movement and this lifelong work of trans and queer liberation. The leadership exchange program has been able to equip folks with very necessary skills so that they can continue to sustain trans and queer [00:55:00] leadership. I bring in the fundraising piece because, I think a lot of young people that I work with, they're so scared to ask for resource support, especially money. And I think a lot of it comes with our own family trauma around finances, right? So, I'm excited to see what they debrief about and what they reflect on.  Cheryl (Host): That's so amazing. It really sounds like all of these programs that you all do are really building up leaders for the long term of our movements. Asking for help is so related to navigating money, trauma and is so key in shaping liberatory futures. For folks out there who wanna get plugged into some of HIP's programming work, how can we stay in touch with you all? Katie (HIP): Our Instagram is the best spot. And then on our Instagram you can click on the little short link to sign up for our newsletter. We have some volunteer opportunities coming up in the month of August so if folks in the Central Valley wanna support with one of our community engagement [00:56:00] surveys, either to partake in the survey or to support us in doing the outreach and getting the word out so that folks complete the survey. There's two ways that you can participate with us. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Thanks, Katie, and of course all of those links will be available in our show notes. Thanks so much for coming on our show tonight, Katie, and thank you to our listeners for tuning in. We'll see you next time. [00:57:00] [00:58:00]  The post APEX Express – August 21, 2025 Sumer Programming in the AACRE Network appeared first on KPFA.

The Trans Bhutan Trail is more than just a hiking path; it is a rich historical and cultural corridor that connects the heart of Bhutan. This trail, which spans 250 miles from Ha in the west to Trashigang in the east, has been recently restored after being abandoned for decades. Originally a vital route for monks, traders, and royal messengers, the trail offers a unique opportunity to walk through stunning landscapes while experiencing the deep traditions of Bhutanese culture. As we explore this extraordinary trek, we will discuss its significance and the wildlife that can be encountered along the way, including the elusive clouded leopard and the charming red panda. Join writer Chin Liang Teh as we delve into the journey of revitalizing this sacred path, guided by insights from Dorji Draj, former Director General of Bhutan's Tourism Council.Chin Liang TehTeh Chin Liang is a long-time travel journal contributor to Dave's Travel Corner and Global Travel Insider. Besides travel journals, he loves writing prose and poetry. When he is not writing, he enjoys reading and traveling to get inspiration for his writing. He lives in Penang, Malaysia, a scenic island city that is also a UNESCO heritage site.

Born in Bhutan and raised in Nepal's refugee camps for two decades, Meg Nath and Durga Prasad Rimal eventually made their way to Australia, where they now represent the Bhutanese community in Albury, a regional town in NSW bordering Victoria. SBS Nepali spoke with the Rimal brothers about their journey, challenges, mental health, autism, and the challenges faced by second-generation Bhutanese in Australia on the occasion of Refugee Week (June 15 to 21). - न्यु साउथ वेल्स र भिक्टोरियाको सिमानामा रहेको अब्री निवासी मेघनाथ रिमाल र दुर्गाप्रसाद रिमाल दुवै जना भुटानमा जन्मेर नेपालमा २० वर्ष लामो शरणार्थी शिविरको बसाइ पछि संयुक्त राष्ट्रसङ्घ अन्तर्गतको शरणार्थी उच्च आयोग, युएनएचसीआरको पहलमा पुनर्वासका लागि झन्डै दुई दशक अगि अस्ट्रेलिया आइपुगेका शरणार्थी हुन्। शरणार्थी सप्ताह (जुन १५ देखि २१)को अवसरमा रिमाल दाजुभाइसँग साहित्य, मानसिक स्वास्थ्य, अटिजम् र अस्ट्रेलियामा भुटानी शरणार्थीका दोस्रो पुस्ता बारे एसबीएस नेपालीले गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

Tasmanian voters are heading to the polls for the fourth time in seven years. Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Tasmanian Opposition Leader Dean Winter are set to go head-to-head in the election on Saturday, July 19. SBS Nepali spoke to Nepali and Bhutanese community members in the island state about their priorities for this election. - टास्मेनियामा पछिल्लो सात वर्षभित्रको चौथो राज्य निर्वाचन शनिवार, जुलाई १९ मा हुँदैछ। सन् २०१४ देखि सत्तामा रहेको राज्यको लिबरल पार्टीका वर्तमान प्रिमियर जेरेमी रक्लिफको प्रमुख प्रतिस्पर्धीका रूपमा टास्मेनियन लेबर पार्टीका डीन विन्टर उठेका छन्। यसपालिको निर्वाचनमा कस्ता प्राथमिकताहरूलाई ध्यानमा राखेर भोट हाल्दै हुनुहुन्छ र नयाँ सरकारबाट रहेका अपेक्षाहरूबारे राज्यका नेपाली र भुटानी समुदायका सदस्यहरूसँग एसबीएस नेपालीले गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists.   Important Resources: Asian Refugees United: Website | Instagram | Learn about the Disappearances of Bhutanese American refugees: Website | Toolkit Hmong Innovating Politics: Website | Instagram Lavender Phoenix: Website | Instagram Minjoona Music: Instagram   Transcript: Cheryl (Host): Good evening. You're tuned in to Apex Express. I'm your host, Cheryl, and tonight we're diving into the vibrant summer programming happening across the AACRE network. That's the Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality Network. AACRE is made up of 11 Asian American social justice organizations working together to build collective power and create lasting movements .  Throughout tonight's show, we'll be spotlighting a few of these groups [00:01:00] and the incredible work they're leading this summer. First up, we're joined by Pratik from Asian refugees United Pratik. Thank you so much for being here. Do you mind introducing yourself and to kick things off in the spirit of tonight's show, maybe share what's something that's been bringing you joy this summer? Pratik (ARU): Hello, namaste everyone. My name is Pratik Chhetri. He, him. I'm the program manager at ARU, Asian Refugees United in Pennsylvania. I'm originally from Nepal. I grew up in Nepal. I am an immigrant, came to the for college long time ago. And I've been working in social justice, health justice field for over 15 years now. Initially it was mostly around advocacy policy relating to access to medicines, issues, especially in lower and middle income countries, and the past six, seven. More than seven [00:02:00] years. I also started an organization, a nonprofit organization in Nepal, that works at the intersection of social, economic and climate justice. And with ARU, I got introduced to ARU back in 2020. So by that time I had some skills that I felt I could bring to the community. Even though I'm not from Bhutanese refugee community, I speak the language, I understand the culture to a certain extent. So I felt with the linguistic skill I could be of some help. I think right around that time COVID happened, everything and end of 2021 is when I reconnected with Robin and started talking about possibilities. For about two years, I was part of the CAMP for Emerging Leaders, the leadership program ARU has, and [00:03:00] starting last year, early this year formally, I am a staff, for ARU. I'm in charge of programs under wellness, education, and civic engagement largely but depending on time and resources, I become available for other programs as well. It's a joy working with ARU. I was just telling Cheryl earlier that it doesn't feel like work ‘ cause I enjoy it, working with people, getting to work on impactful programs, and being a part of an organization that has so much potential, so much responsibility, but also trying to find new ways to become, useful for the community. That's very exciting. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): That's great. I'm glad that your work is what's bringing you joy this summer. That's so special. And before we get into some of that impactful programming that you've been running this summer, could you [00:04:00] tell us a little bit about, ARU, Asian Refugees United  Pratik (ARU): Sure. ARU started back in 2016 in California and back then all of the programs used to be in California. The community that ARU serves since then, and even to this day are Nepali speaking, Bhutanese refugee community and Vietnamese community, Korean and other Pan-Asian community. After the pandemic, there has been a lot of secondary migration of the Bhutanese folks from across the United States to two major locations. One being central PA around Harrisburg area and Pennsylvania, and the second one around Columbus, Ohio, and other major cities in Ohio. The secondary migration mostly to Pennsylvania triggered a, shifting of ARU programs, to Pennsylvania as well in addition to [00:05:00] California. So at this point in 2025, the Pennsylvania side of ARU caters to the Nepali speaking Bhutanese folks. And the California side of ARU works with Vietnamese, Korean, and other Asian communities. I work with the Pennsylvania, ARU, and here we have four different pillars around health and wellness, education, art and storytelling. And the fourth one is civic engagement, and that is the newest one. I can talk about programs under each of the pillars but for summer the programs that is bringing me joy, not only for me, but also ARU's staffs is this longitudinal five month long leadership program called Camp for Emerging Leaders, where we recruit Nepali speaking folks from all across United States, and they go through virtual sessions every other [00:06:00] week on, history to the story of displacement, intergenerational trauma. How it started, how it used to be back in Bhutan, how it used to be in the refugee camps in Nepal, and now how it is in the US and Canada, wherever they are. So end of summer, end of July, early August is when all of those cohort members, the youth leaders will come physically to Harrisburg and we'll spend a few days here connecting with each other, building that trust, but also working together to build projects for the community, addressing community challenges that's happening. And for that I think five or six of the ARU staff from California are also coming. We have guest speakers. I think one of them is coming from all the way from Australia. It's fun. Largely I think [00:07:00] I'm looking forward to meeting with all of these youth leaders who have so much potential to do, so much good, not only for Bhutanese community, Nepali speaking, south Asian community, but also, their potential goes beyond that, yeah.  Cheryl (Host): It is powerful to hear how ARU's work has evolved and now spans across the nation, and also how Camp for Emerging Leaders is creating space for Nepali speaking Bhutanese youth to reflect their community's history, build deep connections, and grow as leaders. You mentioned that during the summer youth leaders gather in Harrisburg to create community projects. Could you share more about what kinds of projects they're working on and what kind of issues they're hoping to address? Pratik (ARU): For education, one of the main ones that we just concluded is, so we started high school success program called First Step Forward. And the interesting thing, the exciting thing about this program [00:08:00] is the concept of First Step forward from one of the Camp for Emerging Leaders cohort from two years ago. And similarly so that's how most of ARU programs have been. The ARU Youth Center, the ARU Office, that concept also started from the camp for emerging leaders. There are a couple other programs ARU does. Youth Wellness Day. That started from the camp as well. For the First Step Forward, what we do is early winter of, I think January or February we accepted a cohort of 10. These were high school juniors and seniors, and largely the purpose of the program is to make sure that they are well equipped for college and for any other professional avenues they end up going even if higher education is not for them. We did a lot of like leadership sessions, public speaking [00:09:00] sessions, like how to write essays, how to apply for different scholarships. We just concluded it literally last Saturday, we went hiking and went to one of the Six Flags amusement parks. But learning from that program, we are scaling it up. We're taking 20 people next year, and we will do it a year long cohort. So starting from September up until May, June. We'll integrate college tours, not only for the kids, but also for their family because in Bhutanese community and Nepali speaking folks a lot of the times the parents do not understand how the system works, even with their best intent and best intention. So along with the students, it is very important for us to work with the family, the parents as much as possible to take them through the process, right? On education, we also do a lot of cultural navigation training to [00:10:00] different county level and different governance agencies. Some of the cultural navigation trainings that we did in the past year that I can think of is we did one for the. Panel of judges from Dauphin County, which is where Harrisburg is. We did similar thing for different school districts in Dauphin and Cumberland County, different nearby counties for juvenile probation unit, child and youth services. And while we do that, as an organization, it gave us a better sense of where the gaps are, especially for parents to run into difficulties. 'cause a lot of times, for example, if a kid is sent home with a sheet of paper, even when it's bilingual, because their movement happened from Nepal to Bhutan, such a long time ago, a lot of the folks in the community speak the language but do not understand how to read or write the [00:11:00] language. So there are double language barrier, right? When a kid is called into a meeting or a disciplinary meeting, the parents a lot of times don't even look at the sheet of paper or don't know where to show up or how to show up or what to expect. Based on those things we're using that knowledge and experience to design further programs in the future. That's just for education. With civic engagement, for example, this 2024 cycle was the first election for our community members to vote in their lifetime. Back in Bhutan they didn't have that opportunity and then they spent decades in refugee camps, and it took most of them some time to get the green cards and five years after Green card to secure their citizenship. So we saw a lot of even elderly folks show up to voting. That was their first time that they were voting. And when that happens, it's not [00:12:00] just generic voter education. It's teaching the community how to register, where to register, where to show up at the precincts. A lot of precincts we were seeing, 30 to 40% of the folks show up to the wrong precincts. So there's a lot of need, but also in 2024 we saw, unfortunately, a lot of folks fall victim to misinformation and disinformation. So there's that need to do something about that part as well in the future. One of the things we started doing under civic engagement work is not just teach folks where to register, how to register on voter education, but also preparing some of the community members to run for office.  Two or three weeks ago, mid-June, we did our first round of run for office training. We partner up with another organization called Lead PA. And even for the folks who showed up, all of us [00:13:00] are politically inclined, educated to a certain extent, and a lot of the things that were shared in that training, it was mostly new to us, especially around local government. Like what are the positions that they are and how so many important positions, people run unopposed and what kind of ramifications that might have for our daily lives. Right. Starting 2026 election cycle, we're hoping some of our trainees run for office as well, starting from school board to all the way, wherever they want to. And there are wellness focused events, youth wellness Day that I talked about, around mental health is one of the great needs for the community. One piece of data might be very important to mention, based on CDCs 20 12 data, there was a report out, the research was conducted in 2012, and the report came out in 2014, basically what it said [00:14:00] was, Bhutanese folks in the US have the highest of suicide in the whole nation, and that's something that has not received a lot of attention or resources because generally those numbers get mixed up with generic Asian data and the numbers get diluted. Right. So one of the things, what, as an organization, what we are trying to do is bring awareness to that number. And the other thing is like, it's been over 10 years since that study happened and there has not been a follow-up study. What we are seeing is previously how mental health and it's ramifications how it was affecting the community, it was mostly about 10 years ago, mostly affecting older folks. Now we are seeing a lot of younger folks commit suicide or suicidal attempts. So there is a lot of work in that respect as [00:15:00] well. These are also some of the very crucial topics to work on. But as an organization, we are taking baby steps toward being able to efficiently address the community needs. I missed some of them, but overall, our organizational goal is to empower the community in one way or the other. And one of the tools that we use is focusing on youths because youths in the community, similar to other immigrant communities, our youths are mostly bilingual, bicultural, and many times they're the translators and system navigators for their whole family. And in many cases their extended family as well. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Wow. There are so many layers to the work that you all do. From developing leaders to run for office, to supporting mental health, to helping folks navigate voting and helping folks access higher education or career pathways.[00:16:00]  That's such a wide scope, and I imagine it takes a lot to hold all of that. How do you all manage to balance so much, especially with a small team, is that right?  Pratik (ARU): Yes. Technically we only have one full-time staff. Most are part-time, but ranging from. 10% to 80%. Largely we rely on the community members, volunteers, and we pay the volunteers when we can. And other times, I think it speaks to how much time and effort and how genuinely, folks like Robin, who is the co ED of ARU and Parsu who is the office manager, and other folks in Harrisburg, connected with different community leaders, folks of different subgroups over the years. So. When ARU moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania post pandemic, it took them a while to get the hang of the community, the growing community. Back then it used to [00:17:00] be 10, 20,000 max in central PA and now our estimation is like 70, 80,000 in central PA. It took them a while to create space of trust, that ARU are people that they can come for when they run into problems. And even when we don't have a lot of resources, people show up. People volunteer. People volunteer their time, their spaces for meetings and events. Yeah. And that's how we've been running it. I feel like we do five or 10 x amount of work with the resources that we have, but that's largely because of the perception the community has about Robin, about Parsu, about other individuals, and about the organization.  Cheryl (Host): That's so amazing. ARU clearly has such deep community roots, not just through the incredible work that of course Robin, [00:18:00] Parsu and so many others you have named have done to build lasting relationships that now sustain the work in the organization, but also I think it's also evident in the examples you've shared through Camp for Emerging Leaders, how you all really listen to youth and learn from their experiences. And you all shape programs that respond directly to the needs that you're seeing. And in that same spirit of care and commitment that is reflected in ARU's amazing staff and volunteers. I'm curious, are there any moments or memories from camp for emerging leaders that stand out to you? I imagine there must be so many.  Pratik (ARU): Yeah. Many stories. I started attending and facilitating the sessions for the camp I from 2022 cohort and maybe even 23 cohort. I think this is the third one that I'm doing. I'll talk about Kamana. [00:19:00] Kamana joined the 23 cohort and at that time she was still in high school. But you know, she was bubbly, full of energy and she was one of the pretty active members of the cohort and eventually after the cohort, she ended up joining ARU as initially, I think as an intern, and now she is the lead of the education program. She will be a sophomore or rising junior, starting this fall. But now she'll be running the education program, First Step Forward. Primarily it was internally us staff, we see the growth in them with experience. But also I think one of the things that ARU does is we create a sort of non-hierarchical structure within our office space in the sense that anyone can [00:20:00] design a program or any idea, and they do not feel intimidated to speaking up. I think because of that, people like Kamana, I can talk about other folks like Nawal. Them growing within ARU space shows not just with experience, but also I think the kind of open and inclusive and non hierarchical space that we create they feel comfortable enough in leading. A lot of times when we have , X, y, and Z needs to be done in the group chat, people just volunteer. Even when they don't get paid, we see our staff, our volunteer base just show up time and time again. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Wow. ARU is such a special container. You've created this beautiful space where people can grow and then also have agency to shape that container in whatever way that they want. That is so special. How can listeners support your work this [00:21:00] summer? Whether that's showing up or donating or volunteering or spreading the word.  Pratik (ARU): One of the things is for the listeners, I feel like not a lot of folks know about Bhutanese community much. So yes, they speak Nepali. They sometimes they identify as Nepali because it's just easy. , Bhutanese folks normally identify as either Bhutanese or Nepali or American or any combination of those three identities. A lot of folks do not know, including folks from Nepal about the atrocity, the trauma that the community went through had to go through the forced persecution out of Bhutan and then living under very limited means while in the refugee camps in Nepal and even the number of challenges the community still [00:22:00] faces. I talked a little bit about mental health needs. There's. There are needs around, health seeking behavior and similar to other immigrant communities as well, but also, on education. Because of the historical division around caste and class and other demographic details, certain folks in the community are geared towards success versus others aren't. And we see that. We see the pattern quite distinct by their indigeneity, by their caste, by their last names. In our community you can tell what their caste is, what their ethnic background is with their last names. So I would invite the audience to learn a little bit more about this community and if you have that space and resources [00:23:00] to be, if you're a researcher, if you want to do some research studies, if you want to bring some programs. If you have scholarship ideas, if you want to create any scholarship for the kids in the community, or if you have means, and if you can donate, either or. It doesn't have to be just, financial resources. It can be sometimes being available as mentor to some of the kids to show them these are the possibilities. To summarize, learn more about the community if you don't know already including some of the new atrocities, the community's facing right now with ICE detention and deportation, even when the community was brought in to this country after years and years of approval through the process. And if you have resources and means help with knowledge sharing, being available or with [00:24:00] financial means either or. I just wanted to mention that I work with ARU and I work with the Bhutanese community, but like I said, I'm not from the Bhutan community. I grew up in Nepal. I speak the language, I understand the culture to a certain extent, but I definitely cannot speak for the experience of going and living as a refugee. So,, if you have any question, if you want to learn more about that, Cheryl and I, we are happy to put you in touch with folks with incredible stories, inspiring stories of resilience in the community. Cheryl (Host): Thank you so much. All of the links, whether to learn more, donate or get involved, as well as information about the disappearances impacting the Bhutanese American community will be included in our show notes. A huge thank you to Pratik from Asian Refugees United for joining us tonight. We're deeply grateful for the work you do and the love you carry for our [00:25:00] communities. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. We're going to take a quick music break and when we come back we'll hear more about the summer programming happening across the AACRE network with folks from Lavender Phoenix, and Hmong innovating politics. So don't go anywhere. Next up, you're listening to a track called “Juniper” by Minjoona, a project led by Korean American musician, Jackson Wright. This track features Ari Statler on bass, josh Qiyan on drums, and Ryan Fu producing. Juniper is the lead single from Minjoona's newest release, the Juniper EP, a five track p roject rooted in indie rock, 60 throwback vibes, and lyric forward storytelling. You can follow Minjoona on Instagram at @minjoonamusic or find them on Spotify to keep up with upcoming releases. We'll drop the links in our show notes. Enjoy the track and we'll be right back. [00:26:00] [00:27:00] [00:28:00] [00:29:00] [00:30:00]  And we're back!!. You're listening to APEX express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley. 88.1. KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. That was “Juniper” by Minjoona.  Huge thanks to Jackson Wright and the whole crew behind that track [00:31:00] Before the break, we were live with Pratik from Asian Refugees United, talking about the powerful summer programming, supporting the Nepalese speaking Bhutanese community in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now I'm joined by from Blair Phoenix. From Lavender Phoenix, who's here to share about her experiences as a summer organizer In Lav N'S annual summer in Lav N's annual summer organizer in Lav N'S annual summer organizing program. Hi Mar. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for being here. Do you mind introducing yourself to our listeners? Okay. Mar, do you mind for our listeners out there who are just tuning in, do you mind introducing yourself? Mar (LavNix): Yes. Thank you, Cheryl. Hi, y'all. My name is Mar Pronouns, [00:32:00] she/siya/any! I come from the lands of the Ibaloi people in the Philippines or “Maharlika”. I am a queer Muslim and yeah, I'm just happy to be here. Cheryl (Host): Yay. We're so happy to have you here, mar! For those who might not be familiar, Mar is joining us from Lavender Phoenix as part of this year's summer organizing program. Mar,, could you start by giving our listeners a quick introduction to Lavender Phoenix? And then could you tell us a little bit about the summer organizing program and what it's all about? Mar (LavNix): Yeah, of course. Cheryl. Let's start with Lavender Phoenix. Lavender Phoenix is a really awesome nonprofit over here in the Bay Area who focus on trans queer, API. Work basically. I really love Lavender Phoenix because of their unwavering commitment to collective liberation [00:33:00] and the very specific focus and centering around trans queer API leadership because our leadership is often underrepresented and because there's so many intersections there, we need to have trans queer API leadership to be able to move the work. And so really fond of lavender Phoenix's ethos and mission values. This year for the summer 2025, I'm part of their summer organizer program, which is a cohort of organizers both emerging, established and wanting to learn, and we learn a lot of transformative interpersonal organizing skills, but also building our more technical skill sets alongside with that. So we're actually three weeks from graduation [00:34:00] nooooooooo!. Anyways, yeah, just really happy to be in this cohort. I'm feeling really aligned in that I am here and it is transforming me in the way I had intentions for when I applied for it. Cheryl (Host): Wow. It sounds like this was a really impactful program for you. I wanna know what kinds of projects are you all working on?  Mar (LavNix): Yeah, so it's really beautiful because it's not just like a single project the cohort works on, it's kind of a myriad of things. We have two folks who are doing projects with other organizations, and then we have the rest of the folks working on two projects within Lavender Phoenix's programming. And so for my group, my very awesome group, we are doing the River of Life Project, and the River of Life Project is a five week long cohort where we practice storytelling in a very vulnerable and honest way, and this is for the [00:35:00] purpose to really witness one another and to cultivate our storytelling skills because our stories and narratives is so important. There's whole states and governments trying to take that away from us, and so our project is to guide and facilitate this project and meet with members across rank. It's super cool seeing the different facets of lavender Phoenix come together and be down, to be in the act of vulnerability and honesty and that is their praxis for collective liberation. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Yeah. Yeah. That's so well said. And it's so important that we have these spaces to practice that vulnerability because we are so often punished for being who we are. Right. So, mm-hmm. These programs are so crucial as you have uplifted for us. I am so curious to learn more about this River of Life project, but [00:36:00] also before we even get to that, I wanna zoom out a little bit and focus on your growth and who are you now as you get closer three weeks from graduation?  Mar (LavNix): Ooh, that is such a beautiful question, Cheryl. Yeah. I've been really reflecting on how this program transformed me this summer and to bring us back to when I first applied. I first applied sometime in March, I believe. I remember 'cause it was around Ramadan. I was at a point in my life where I felt stagnant in my organizing journey. I would attend all these workshops, I would keep reading, but there was a disconnect in how my mind wanted to move next. So here we are in 2025, I was accepted into the program. I was like, yay, my people. And you know, [00:37:00] my expectations was met. In fact, it was exceeded. Very exceeded because I didn't know these things that i'm learning now. I didn't know how much I needed them until I learned them. In my time with Lavender Phoenix, as I'm reflecting to this point, graduation being three weeks out, I realized that before joining this cohort, my heart and my spirit was in a really bad place, and I think a lot of people could resonate. There's genocides, ethnic cleansings, and just terrible things happening all over the world, and there's like a dichotomy of people who are trying so hard and then there's a dichotomy of people who are unaffected by it. And so my spirit and my heart was so broken down seems really dramatic, but it wasn't being rejuvenated for sure. And so, being in this space and being in a [00:38:00] container that's just honesty and vulnerability and it's all rooted in each other's liberation really replenish that cup. The teachings and the knowledge and the wisdom that I'm getting, it's helping me add more to my North Star, which I'm really thankful of because I didn't know this is what I needed in March. Cheryl (Host): That is so beautiful. So much of what's going on right now by the systems that be, the powers that be, it's meant to isolate us and to make us feel exactly what you said. Capitalism isolates us and keeps us in that place because that's how it benefits . So Lavender Phoenix is summer organizing program, what I'm hearing from you is this revolutionary space that is counter to that. It's filled with hope and dreaming for a better world. So how is that being informed in River of Life, in the storytelling leadership development that you are developing within Lavender Phoenix's membership?  Mar (LavNix): Oh, yes. I'm [00:39:00] understanding the responsibility on how I move in this space. And so before the cohort of the River of Life project presents, it's actually gonna be me and another facilitator going to share our stories. And so we're also in the act of being vulnerable and honest and really wanting the others to witness us as we will witness them. We've removed kind of that superiority in that space. When I think of this, it brings me back to Freire's idea of an engaged pedagogy, but not necessarily like an educator and a student, but like removing hierarchies, which I think is really, a value that's rooted in, or lavender Phoenix is rooted in that value. There's no hierarchy, but there is ranks and we all see each other as equals. It's really beautiful to be able to see that and then know how I move in this [00:40:00] space to prepare our cohort. I hope that my storytelling, I can only hope, I do not know how it's gonna be received inshallah it's received super well. But I really do hope that they see how vulnerable I also get and how I'm doing this so that I could build deeper relationships with these people as I continue my journey with Lavender, Phoenix and to them as well. I hope these values, if not already present in our people, this project helps them cultivate that even further.  Cheryl (Host): I wanna ask what is something you want to share with our listeners who were in a similar space as you who felt lost and that they wanted something to grow in. What advice would you give?  Mar (LavNix): This is a really beautiful question [00:41:00] and So many things flooded my brain as you were asking this question, but i'm feeling more pulled and called to share this one thing . As I'm going through the summer organizer program, I really realized the importance of tending to myself so that I could show up for others. I have to be able to know how to advocate for my needs and what I need so that I can be in spaces with other people. It's so important that I know how to acknowledge my shame or whatever pain points I'm experiencing and let that not be a hindrance to the work, but integrate it in a way that I will tend to it, and by tending to it, I can continue doing the work. And I know it's really [00:42:00] hard to prioritize yourself when it feels like you should prioritize everything else in the world right now, but I am really learning that that's what I needed to do. When I say prioritize myself, I'm not saying oh, I need to go do this and I need to go drink all my water. Yes, also care for our physical bodies and our mental bodies, but also taking time to know who I am as a person and what I could offer to the movement, and knowing how to communicate to others in the movement so that I could show up as a better organizer. And so the final words that I will have to share is I hope everyone who's hearing this shows the love that they have for other people to themselves [00:43:00] too.  Cheryl (Host): That was so beautiful. What you just shared right now about tending to yourself that's part of the work too. And that's so counterintuitive, I feel. This project that you're leading, the river of life where the focus is so much on your story and honoring who you are, I think that is the true essence of what it means to be trans and queer. Showing up with your whole self and embracing that. And in turn, by doing that, you are holding everybody else too, that very practice. To find out more about Lavender Phoenix Mar, how can our listeners plug into Lavender Phoenix's work?  Mar (LavNix): Follow us on Instagram or check out Lavender, Phoenix website. We post a lot. Sign up for the newsletter. Volunteer. We're really cool. Or just look at the staff and see if anybody calls you and you wanna hit them up. We're so awesome. Cheryl (Host): Thank you for joining us on tonight's show, Mar, and for sharing your experiences on Lavender Phoenix's [00:44:00] summer organizing program with all of All of the links that Mar mentioned on how to stay in touch with Lavender Phoenix's work be available in our show notes as per usual. We are so grateful, thank you again, Mar! Next up, we're joined by Katie from Hmong Innovating Politics. Katie. Welcome, welcome. I'm so happy to have you on our show tonight. Would you mind introducing yourself to our listeners? Katie (HIP): Hi everyone. My name is Katie. I use she her pronouns. My Hmong name is ING and I mainly introduce myself as ING to my community, especially elders because one ING is my given name. Katie is like a self-assigned name. In my work with HIP I've been trying to figure out what feels more natural when, but I do catch myself introducing myself to my Hmong community. And yeah, I'm totally cool if folks referring to me as Katie Oring and my ask is just pronouncing my name correctly. Who are my people? Who's my community? I would say my community is my family. And then the young people that I work [00:45:00] with, the elders in my community, the ones who would like to claim me, my team. I would say Hmong women that I've met through some of the work that I do at my volunteer org, and oh my goodness, there're so many people. My friends, oh my gosh, if my friends are listening to this, my friends are my community, they're my people. They keep me grounded, alive and fun. My siblings. All of the folks in Fresno and Sacramento that have been a part of the spaces that I've shared at HIP and the spaces that we've created together.  Cheryl (Host): You are a community leader through and through . For folks who are listening and don't know, Hmong Innovating Politics is one of the AACRE groups and it has two different hubs basically in Central California, one in Sacramento, and one in Fresno. Katie, do you mind sharing a little bit about HIP and the work that you all do? Katie (HIP): Yeah. So, we are a power building organization and what does that mean, right? One is that we are [00:46:00] a part of empowering and supporting our community to become active change makers in their community. We believe that those who are most impacted by issues should also be the ones that receive resources and training to lead solutions and design, the dreams of their community. A framework that we use is called Belong Believe Become. We want to create space where young people feel their belongingness, know that they are rooted here in their community, and that they have a place. The believing part of our framework is that we want young people to also see themselves and see themselves as leaders. In their community and leadership can mean many forms, right? There's like passive and active leadership, and we want young people to know that there is enough space in this world for everyone in whichever capacity, they're choosing to show up in their community. The important piece of believing is that, believing that you also like matter and that your decisions are also impactful. And then become is that. [00:47:00] we share this framework and it's circular because we notice that some people can come into our space feeling like I know exactly who I'm gonna be. I know exactly what I wanna do, and feel really disconnected from their history and their, and the multiple parts of their identities. belong, believe become is cyclical and it's wherever you're at. And in this third piece of becoming it is that our young people know that they are leading the charge and transforming systems. That they are shifting the narratives of our community, that they get to own the narratives of our community, and that they are a part of the Power building our community as well. Cheryl (Host): Yeah, I love that . As we're talking, I'm noticing that you talk so much about young people and how so much of your work's framework is centered around young people. Do you mind giving context into that? So much of HIP's programming is on youth leadership, and so I'm wondering what does that look like programming wise and especially right now in the summer? Katie (HIP): Yeah, so it's more [00:48:00] recently that HIP has been identifying ourselves as a power building organization. Before we had claimed our work as base building, and this is through our civic engagement work for voter engagement and empowerment, and turning out the vote that, that is like what we, our organization was like centered on. Through that work, what we noticed was that like cycles and seasons after season, it was young people coming back and then they started asking are you all gonna have like consistent programming space for us, or is it just gonna always be around the election cycle? Through our civic engagement work, a framework that we use is the IVE model, integrated voter engagement. And that is that you are relationship building year after year, even outside of the election season. And so then it was how do we be more intentional about centering the people who are coming to us and centering the people who are shifting and challenging and pushing our leadership. And that was to [00:49:00] then move and prioritize the young people in our community. I think it's been maybe four or five years since this shift where we've really prioritized young people and really centered our work around youth justice. So then we had to create these spaces. Civic engagement work had primarily consisted of phone banking and canvassing and through that I think a lot of young people were then getting firsthand experience of this is like what it's like to be angry about these issue in my community. This is also what it's like to hold space for other people to go through and process their emotions. And then it was like, how do we train and skill up our young people to not only listen to their community, but be able to strategize and lead and take their ideas and dreams and put 'em into action. At the time folks working in our civic engagement programs were high school youth, college transitional age, young adults who are not in college. And we even had parent [00:50:00] age folks in our programs as well. In figuring out how do we better support our young folks was that a lot of young people were asking for more like designated space for youth that are in high school. The other request was can you all not be college based because not all young adults go to college in our community, yet we still wanted to access the programs. We had to strategize around these pieces. Also at the time when we were running civic engagement program, we were also building up our trans and queer work in the Central Valley and figuring out like what is HIP's place in this work? So that landed us into three programs. We have a program called Tsev which is TSEV. Um, and that means House in Hmong, but it's an acronym. It stands for Transforming Systems, empowering Our Village, and the reason why we named our youth program that is in the Hmong community, we refer to our community a lot “lub zos” which means village in English. And so that is why we wanted to name our program with something around the word village and then also [00:51:00] home, belongingness, right? We wanted our program to signify belonging. And so that is what landed us in this program. This program is based at a high school and we train cohorts of youth and the curriculum that we cover in all of our programs are pretty similar, but they are adjusted to be more relevant to the age group and the experiences that we are serving. So we have our high school program. We have our trans and queer young adult program called QHIP, queer Hmong intersectional Pride. And then we also have a young adult program called the Civic Engagement Fellowship, but I feel like we're gonna be revamping next year, so we might have a new name next year. And that one is, open to all young adults of all gender and sexuality. The projects that is focused in that is what's coming up on the election. So specific propositions and measures or whatever we are bringing to the ballot. And then with QHIP, it is very focused on intentionally building up leadership in the trans and queer community. [00:52:00] Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): You all tackle power building in so many different intersections, and I think that's so brilliant. You really tailor these spaces to the needs of your community and you're always listening to your community. That is honestly such a theme within the AACRE network. Could you tell us how these groups stay active during the summer?  Katie (HIP): Yeah! During the summer, we close off the cohort in June when the school year ends. And so we're actually in the assessment phase of this program right now. Our seniors throughout the summer go through a one-on-one exit with one of the staff in Fresno or Sacramento. After the senior exit closes out, then we'll be doing a overall annual assessment with all of the young people that were in the program this year. We're actually closing both these pieces out next week. We try to make things fun, right? So for the one-on-ones, we'll all come to the office and we'll have the one-on-one exit interviews and after that we'll go get lunch. somewhere cute, somewhere fun. Then with the end of the year evals, after we complete them for everyone, we'll just hang out. This [00:53:00] year we're planning to do like a paint by numbers night. And then we always somehow end up karaoking. For QHIP, our trans and queer young adult program we actually partner with Lavender Phoenix and have them attend the leadership exchange program that's happening right now. We did our own onboarding and then we celebrated the month of pride. And we also celebrated the trans march. Then after that transition into the leadership exchange program at Lavender Phoenix. After that program, I believe our lead members are going to be designing some projects this summer. And then they'll have the rest of the summer and hours to do their projects, and then we'll eventually close out with a retreat with them. Cheryl (Host): And for our listeners out there, do you mind giving a quick a preview on what lavender, Phoenix's leadership exchange program is and how you all work in tandem with each other?  Katie (HIP): Yeah. Okay. I know in the past, we've sent our more new to organizing leaders [00:54:00] to the leadership exchange program. This year the intention is that we wanted to send leaders from our community who might already have some organizing experience who have some experience in social justice and movement work. And so, during this I think some of my favorite things from the leadership exchange program is teaching folks how to ask for help. I think a lot of our young adults navigate their lives not knowing who to turn to for help and how to formulate and ask that is clear and supportive of their needs. So that's something that we really appreciate through the leadership exchange program. And another piece is mutual aid funding. Lavender Phoenix trains up leaders around fundraising support and that's something I'm really looking forward to our young people gaining. The other piece is ultimately training of trans and queer leaders in our community so that we can continue to sustain this movement and this lifelong work of trans and queer liberation. The leadership exchange program has been able to equip folks with very necessary skills so that they can continue to sustain trans and queer [00:55:00] leadership. I bring in the fundraising piece because, I think a lot of young people that I work with, they're so scared to ask for resource support, especially money. And I think a lot of it comes with our own family trauma around finances, right? So, I'm excited to see what they debrief about and what they reflect on.  Cheryl (Host): That's so amazing. It really sounds like all of these programs that you all do are really building up leaders for the long term of our movements. Asking for help is so related to navigating money, trauma and is so key in shaping liberatory futures. For folks out there who wanna get plugged into some of HIP's programming work, how can we stay in touch with you all? Katie (HIP): Our Instagram is the best spot. And then on our Instagram you can click on the little short link to sign up for our newsletter. We have some volunteer opportunities coming up in the month of August so if folks in the Central Valley wanna support with one of our community engagement [00:56:00] surveys, either to partake in the survey or to support us in doing the outreach and getting the word out so that folks complete the survey. There's two ways that you can participate with us. Yeah.  Cheryl (Host): Thanks, Katie, and of course all of those links will be available in our show notes. Thanks so much for coming on our show tonight, Katie, and thank you to our listeners for tuning in. We'll see you next time. [00:57:00] [00:58:00]  The post APEX Express – July 17, 2025: Summer Programming in the AACRE Network appeared first on KPFA.

Dasho Dechen Wangmo is a prominent Bhutanese public health leader and former Minister of Health, she has championed universal health coverage, mental health, and disease prevention, and gained international recognition as President of the 74th World Health Assembly, advocating for vaccine equity and global health solidarity. Dechen played a pivotal role in navigating Bhutan through the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her leadership, Bhutan achieved a 94% vaccination rate within four days and maintained one of the world's lowest death rates.Keep up to date with Peter on SubstackKeep up to date with Kasia!If you would like to support the podcast please consider our PatreonExecutive Producer: Rachel BarrettThanks to our volunteer researchers Hendrik Dahlmeier and Mihika Chechi, and Chris van Ryn!And special thanks to Suzi Jamil! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch here: https://oliviaclementine.com/kunzang-choden-bhutanese-nobility-museum-temple-tour-part-two/ ~ Kunzang Choden, one of Bhutan's most well-known authors, brings us on a tour of her ancestral home in Bhumtang's Tang Valley, which was turned into museum. This space offers a first-hand view of daily life for Bhutanese religious nobility during the 19th and 20th centuries. We then go to the main temple and see some of the chapels held in this two-story space dedicated to different deities. ~ If you missed Part One:  An Interview with Kunzang Choden https://oliviaclementine.com/kunzang-choden-bhutanese-heritage-dorji-linga-part-one/ ~ Tour Time Notes: Museum Tour 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:26 Weaving, textiles, ghos and kiras 00:14:46 Trading & Tools 00:17:30 Rice room 00:18:28 Alcohol distillation 00:27:41 Traditional medicine 00:29:27 Altar room 00:30: Origin and History of Ogyen Choling 00:32:00 Printing place 00:34:00 Library of rare books 00:37:45 Masks, Ritual instruments and dress 00:40:00 Family temple   Temple Tour 00:42:00 Tara Temple 00:51:46  Main Temple 00:53:00 Longchenpa, Dorji Lingpa, and geomancy   ~   The Ogyen Choling https://www.oling.bt   Podcast website & transcripts https://oliviaclementine.com/podcasts

Dr. Pema Gyamtsho is a Bhutanese environmentalist and Director General of ICIMOD, the first South Asian to hold the role. A longtime advocate for mountain sustainability, he brings science and diplomacy together to address the climate crisis in the fragile Hindu Kush Himalaya. He stands for the fact that mountain voices must shape global climate action.

Kunzang Choden is one of Bhutan's most legendary authors. We meet in Bhutan in the Tang Valley, where Kunzang's family has lived since the 15th century, land that is tied to the Tibetan yogic master Longchenpa and treasure revealer Dorji Linga.  This is part one of two. To watch the video version, you can visit the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8T0ZqtrBM ~ Time notes: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:41 Lineage land and Kings 00:03:47 Treasure revealer Dorji Lingpa 00:10:18 Intense childhood recollections 00:15:00 Intergenerational homelife 00:19:50 Seasonality 00:28:42 Kunzang's way of writing 00:30:00 Recording dreams 00:32:00 Kuzang's new memoir   Ogyen Choling https://www.oling.bt   Podcast website & transcripts https://oliviaclementine.com/podcasts  

The Unfrozen crew hit the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale with all the furious energy our 100th episode deserved. A rollicking roundup of robots, pans, picks, porches and pavilions, with special guest interviews: Michele Champagne, Kate Wagner, Marisa Moran Jahn, Bekim Ramku, Rafi Segal, Jeanne Gang, and Mark Cavagnero. And finally, while Rome picked a pontiff, we had our own mini-conclave in Venice and humbly offered up our picks for the 20th Biennale curator. Join us for this extra special centenary episode.--Intro/Outro: “Bounder of Adventure,” by The Cooper Vane--Discussed:-      Olly Wainwright: Can robots make the perfect Aperol spritz? – Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 review | Architecture | The Guardian-         Rowan Moore: Venice Architecture Biennale review: ‘a hot mess of pretension' | The Observer-         The New York Architecture Review crew: Nicolas, Chloe and Sammy-         International Exhibition in the Arsenaleo  Robots, hemp, bio-concrete, 8-point font with AI-assisted summarieso  Kate Crawford and Vladan Joier's megascale text: Calculating Empireso   Bjarke Ingels Group's entry: Ancient Future, with Bhutanese carvers paced by an ABB roboto  Christopher Hawthorne's Speaker's Cornero  Shades of Rem Koolhaas' 2014 Fundamentals edition-         Kate Wagner's review:o  Dated techno-optimismo  Cannibalism of architecture by art and exhibition design-         National Pavilions:o  Austria: “Agency for Better Living”o  Canada: “Picoplanktonics” by The Living Room Collectiveo  Denmark: “Build of Site”o  Estonia: “Let Me Warm You”o  Romania: “Human Scale”o  Saudi Arabia: “The Um Slaim School: An Architecture of Connection”o  Slovenia: “Master Builders”o  South Korea: “Little Toad, Little Toad”, but mainly this cato  Spain: “Internalities: Architectures for Territorial Equilibrium”o  UAE: “Pressure Cooker”o  USA: “Porch: An Architecture of Generosity”§  Curators: ·        Peter MacKeith, Fay Jones School of Architecture, University of Arkansas·        Rod Bigelow, Executive Director, Crystal Bridges Museum of Art·        Marlon Blackwell, Marlon Blackwell Architects·        Susan Chin, Design Connects·        Stephen Burks, Man Made§  Shades of the timber-themed 2021 exhibit, but with a twist§  Interview with Mark Cavagnero, Mark Cavagnero Associates, on participation in Porch and his work updating the original 1969 design of the Oakland Museum of California by Kevin Roche and Dan Kiley o  Uzbekistan: A Matter of Radiance-         Interview with collaborators on Art-Tek Tulltorja, conversion of former brick works into a tech hub and community center, Pristina, Kosovo:o  Rafi Segal, Associate Professor, Architecture & Urbanism, MITo  Marisa Moran Jahn, Director, Integrated Design,Parsons School of Designo  Bekim Ramku, OUD+ Architectso  Nol Binakaj, OUD+ Architects-         Interview with Jeanne Gang, amidst a Bio-Blitz powered by the iNaturalist app and featuring a “disco ball for bees”-         Unfrozen's nominations for 2027 Biennale curator:o  Carolyn Whitzman, Senior Housing Researcher, Schoolof Cities, University of Toronto and author of Home Truths: Fixing Canada's Housing Crisiso  Diane Longboat, Senior Manager, StrategicInitiatives, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto§  See: Sweat lodge at the Centero  Patrick Bellew, Chief Sustainability Officer, Surbana Jurong (Atelier Ten)§  Gardens by the Bay cooling system,powered by incinerated tree trimming wasteo  Peter Barber, Peter Barber Architectso  Eyal Weizman, Forensic Architecture-         Stafford Beer: “The purpose of the system is what it does.”

Firefighters are making steady progress fighting a pair of wildfires in Cumberland County... despite gusty winds over the weekend. The fires cover more than 27-hundred acres in Michaux State Forest, between 30-50 miles from Harrisburg. At least 12 Bhutanese refugees and former Pennsylvania residents are now stateless people in India and Nepal after U-S deportations. WITF’s Jordan Wilkie reports the men were sent to Bhutan, despite the fact that they are not considered citizens of the Himalayan nation. Meantime, a suburban Philadelphia sheriff's office is teaming up with US Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Emily Neil from our friends at WHYY reports, if the agreement goes into effect, ICE will provide training to Bucks County sheriff’s office deputies to assist with and carry out arrests for immigration violations and more. It was exactly a week ago... last Monday... when we received the news that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. The leader of the Harrisburg Catholic diocese attended Saturday’s funeral services for Pope Francis. WITF’s Rachel McDevitt reports the bishop is reflecting on the legacy of the late pontiff. Following Pope Francis’s death, a mural in Philadelphia commemorating his visit to the city of brotherly love nearly a decade ago has become a memorial site. Cory Sharber from our friends at WHYY has more. And the Philadelphia Eagles will visit the White House today. Bernie Sanders is coming to Central Pennsylvania this week as part of his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour. And Selinsgrove would become more walkable, pedestrian and bike-friendly, under a trail connectivity plan. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Important Links [URGENT] ICE Is targeting Nepali-speaking Bhutanese Americans: Learn more Asian Refugees United: Website  |  Instagram Hamro Katha: When the Lotus Blooms:  Instagram  | Spotify |  Youtube Minjoona Music instagram | spotify Transcript: Cheryl Truong: Hey everyone. You're tuned into APEX Express at 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB Berkeley, 88.1 KFCF Fresno, and online at kpfa.org. This is your host, Cheryl, here. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to start with some important context. This conversation was recorded a few months ago before the recent and deeply distressing wave of ice [00:01:00] enforcement targeting the Nepali speaking Bhutanese community. Since March 26, over 20 Nepali Bhutanese refugees have been deported. Many without legal representation and some moved between detention centers so quickly that they couldn't even contact their family or attorneys. The fear, disruption and trauma that is being inflicted is real and ongoing and raises serious concerns about due process. This is part of a larger ICE operation that is already detained over 60 Bhutanese Americans. This is a rapidly unfolding crisis, and the numbers continue to shift as more people are detained and more impacted families come forward to share their stories. Asian Refugees united is calling for justice, demanding an end to these deportations and immediate protections for their communities. For the latest data and development, or to learn more and take action, please visit Asian Refugees United's website. It will be linked in our show notes.  Now onto today's show. I had the joy and privilege of sitting down with the youth podcast team behind Hamro Katha: When the Lotus Blooms, [00:02:00] a show created by young leaders from Asian refugees United. Asian Refugees united or ARU is a grassroots art and healing leadership center led by and for Asian refugees. We'll hear more about their powerful work later on in the show. One of their programs, the Camp for Emerging Leaders, brings together refugee youth to build community, explore their histories, and grow into their leadership. That's where this podcast team first came together, and they'll of course share more about that as well. They've created something really special and I'm so excited for you all to hear from them. So let's get started. Do you all mind just going around and introducing yourselves? Nawal Rai: Yeah, for sure. Hello, everyone. I'm Nawal Rai. My pronouns are he, him, and I currently live in the East Coast in New Jersey. I'm currently a student studying environmental and urban studies. And right now I currently volunteer and do some work with Asian Refugees United here in the Harrisburg area, and I'm also from the Nepali speaking Bhutanese Refugee community.   Manju Gurung: Hi everyone, I am [00:03:00] Manju Gurung My pronouns are she and hers. I also live and work here in Harrisburg. I work full time as a home care manager but I also do some work with AARU, Asian Refugee United. So glad to be here.  Susmita Tamang: Hi everyone. My name is Susmita Tamang. I am a sophomore majoring in chemistry and I'm from Harrisburg. I interned over the summer at Asian Refugees United and that's how I'm connected. I learned a lot of new skills and got to meet new people. Today we're here mostly to talk about our podcast, Hamro Katha: When the Lotus Blooms, which is under Asian Refugees United.  Sarada Tamang: Hi, everyone. My name is Sarada Tamang. My pronouns are she and her. I currently live in Charlottesville, Virginia, and I'm a student taking classes to enter the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program. And first met my podcast team members through Asian Refugee United's Camp for [00:04:00] Emerging Leadership Program.  Cheryl Truong: Awesome. And our listeners out there, I'm sure you're wondering, what is Asian Refugees United? Nawal, do you want to give us a little introduction on what ARU is about? .  Nawal Rai: Yeah, of course. Again, Cheryl, thank you for having us tonight. Asian Refugees United was born in 2016 in the Bay Area. There was a big influx of Nepali speaking Bhutanese refugees after the third resettlement started for our community.  We had a bunch of community members that resided in Bay Area. And when you look at Bay Area, Bay Area is very diverse. And when you look at the history of Bay Area, there's a lot of social movement and activism that has happened throughout the history. And that kind of gave birth to this organization to unite refugees from different parts of Asia. We as Asian Refugees United here in Harrisburg currently work specifically with Nepali speaking Bhutanese community here since a lot of our population has now moved here. Asian Refugee United started with the focus on connecting our stories with the land that we now [00:05:00] live on and also acknowledging the stolen land that we stand on and also focusing on healing our communities and highlighting the stories of many refugees communities that are often overlooked by the medias and different political agenda. It was a way to find solidarity across communities and also how do we heal. And with that, we use art as a tool to heal and through storytelling where we come together to write stories and perform that stories in front of audience and community members. So we do various different work through Asian Refugees United. Our podcast hamro Katha When the Lotus Bloom is also under Asian Refugees United. So you can tell, there's different things that happens with our org. Cheryl Truong: Thank you so much for sharing all of that. It's so clear how much storytelling and healing are at the heart of ARU work. And one of the ways that it really shows I think that really shows up is through one of ARU's community building projects. Camp for emerging leaders, which brings together refugee youth from all [00:06:00] over and it's actually where this amazing podcast team first met. Can you all share what that space was like for you? What do you remember feeling or learning during that time?  Susmita Tamang: I can go ahead. By the way, I think the first time we all met each other was way before CAMP for Emerging Leaders, but that's when our idea grew. But Camp for Emerging Leaders is a program that Asian Refugees United organized. It was for the Bhutanese Nepali speaking youth in Harrisburg area, but then it also branched to basically across the states, whoever was available because we met virtually, on Zoom every week or so, and we talked about what it means to have our identity as Bhutanese Nepali, our journey from Nepal to America, we talked about our experiences, acceptance, and then ways of connecting to each other. Anything else that you guys want to mention?  Nawal Rai: Yeah. And with the leadership camp, we also focus on different factors that is focused on our, community health and wellness [00:07:00] and also, identity, belonging and um, education. Manju Gurung: Yeah. We had three groups within camp called wellness, education, and identity and belonging, and then. Under identity and belonging there was also storytelling who did more of art and performance, but we divided into those three groups and we created activities to share with each other when we met in person in August.  That was Camp for Emerging Leaders. We got to learn new skills, such as working with each other, being compassionate towards each other, open minded. Yeah,, it was great.   Cheryl Truong: Oh, whoa. I didn't know that camp was mostly virtual apart from that last in-person session, but that makes a lot of sense now, how Sarada could join from Virginia. Nawal from New Jersey. That's so cool. It really shows just how spread out the Nepali Bhutanese refugee community is and how something like camp can bring folks together across distance, and it makes me think about what that means to feel connected. Do you feel like camp was the first [00:08:00] space where you got to meet other people from your community in that kind of way? Or have you felt that sense of community where you're from, even before camp?  Sarada Tamang: When I first moved to America, within a few years, in the city that I live in right now, we had a bigger population of Bhutanese Nepali people compared to now. Back then we did have a strong community to the point where we would host Losar programs which, can someone explain what that is? Susmita Tamang: Oh yeah, Losar means New Year in Nepali but also in our ethnic language. So in Tamang as well as Gurung and maybe other languages in Nepal. It's somewhat like the Chinese Lunar New Year because it's connected to the, lunar calendar. I'm actually also from Charlottesville. We used to live in the same neighborhood, Sarada and me. And back then, we did have a large community, but then people started moving to Ohio, Harrisburg, and then those areas became more of the [00:09:00] hub for Bhutanese Nepali people. And so, now, I do have some family there, Sarada lives there, some of my cousins live there, but compared to 2011, it's very, very low in terms of population, so they don't really have large events compared to Harrisburg.  Cheryl Truong: What was that like for all of you growing up in such conservative states as refugees? I,  Manju Gurung: Yeah, I can share one. So I moved to Concord, New Hampshire back in 2012 from Nepal. And, even back then when we were talking about communities, we did have a lot of Bhutanese refugees living there by the time that my family moved and settled there.  Unfortunately, one of the incidents that happened to my family was some sort of like… Hate crime? It's like,  Nawal Rai: definitely racial, racial racial hatred.  Sarada Tamang: We just received this in a very hateful letter saying, go back to your country. You don't belong here. All of that. We don't really know exactly what we did to make that [00:10:00] person very upset about us being there. So that was one thing that I had to deal with as a young teenage girl who had just moved into a new city, new country with my family and who barely spoke English back then as well. So that was a very difficult experience to go through. But, with that incident, what came was our community showed up, not just the Bhutanese community back then, but other communities that were from different part of the world, basically, you know. They really showed up and let us know that we were in the right place. We're welcome. And there's no space for hate for anybody. That was really nice. After joining ARU and storytelling group, I was actually able to share that story through performance alongside Nawal, which definitely helped me heal some of those traumas that I had to experience back then. So, yeah, very grateful.  Susmita Tamang: Their performance was amazing. They did it in person during the ARU camp In person [00:11:00] summit. We also had people from our community, like uncles and community leaders there and they were all moved by her performance. Surada and I, we were crying. It was so good. So I'm really glad that one day you were able to share your story. As well as everyone else who performed. Manju Gurung: No, we had cried a lot. I think Nawal knows how many times I cried when we were practicing and rehearsing before. Because we started a couple months before we were meeting up in August for the Emerging Leaders camp session.  I remember being in this room and just sharing my stories and not being able to share all of it because I was just crying and I had to let that emotion out. So I think that really helped me get over that traumatic past. I think that I was holding it on for so long. So that's something. I was very grateful for the storytelling group that, you know, that ARU has created. Nawal Rai: Yeah, the talking circle is part of the process of our storytelling and identity and belonging, so we try to focus on sharing each other's [00:12:00] story and trying to create that space to be vulnerable. And I think that's the work that we're also trying to do with our podcast that is kind of extending toward our community and not just us youth and highlighting a lot of personal stories and our community stories. Cheryl Truong: Thank you for sharing that. I love what you said that in telling our stories, especially when it carries themes of pain, it doesn't just help the audience understand and relate, but it also helps you process and heal too.  We are going to take a quick music break, don't go anywhere  Cheryl Truong: More on the power of storytelling when we return. Next up, you're listening to a track called “Juniper” by Minjoona, a project led by Korean American musician, Jackson Wright. This track features Ari Statler on bass, josh Qiyan on drums, and Ryan Fu producing. Juniper is the lead single from Minjoona's newest release, the Juniper EP, a five track p roject rooted in indie rock, 60 throwback vibes, and lyric forward storytelling. You can follow Minjoona on Instagram [00:13:00] at @minjoonamusic or find them on Spotify to keep up with upcoming releases. We'll drop the links in our show notes. Enjoy the track and we'll be right back. [00:14:00] [00:15:00] [00:16:00] [00:17:00] [00:18:00]  Welcome back. You're tuning in to Apex Express at 94.1 KPFA 89.3 KPFB, 88.1 KFCF Fresno, and online@kpfa.org. Before the break, we were talking about the power of personal storytelling and how sharing our own experiences, especially around identity, can be both healing and powerful. Now I want to dig into how that turned into Hamro Katha: when the Lotus Blooms, what inspired you all to start a podcast? Susmita Tamang: So within our Identity and Belonging group, we divided again to different groups. One was podcast, one was an identity wheel activity we had to do in front of everyone in the summit. So that was when the idea initiated, but then, after we were done with our summit we talked again [00:19:00] altogether. Sarada brought up the idea of podcast because her inspiration drew from the Moth podcast. Sarada Tamang: Yeah. Thank you for filling it in. I was in the subdivision of the podcast from Identity and Belonging, and I thought, we should do something. And I was really moved by the Moth podcast, which I was first introduced to in freshman year of high school. I thought maybe this would be a great way for each person in our community to share their individual stories and experiences so that, you know, it's out there for people to hear and in a way it's preserved because of lack of media coverage in our history,  Susmita Tamang: I agree. Bhutanese Nepali people, not a lot of people even know who we are. And usually when people are like, Oh, where are you from? We say Nepal, but we never explain or go into depth. We're actually not really from Nepal, but at the same time we are. Our parents were born in Bhutan, but then they fled, and therefore, blah, blah, blah. There's not a lot of coverage, so that was definitely one of the main ideas that all of us agreed on. [00:20:00] We want to speak about our issues, about our history, our story, so that people know that we do exist, and acknowledge, us. Cheryl Truong: That's such a great point on the lack of representation and coverage. Sarada, I would love to know more about the Moth and what that is for our listeners out there who don't know what the Moth is.  The moth is where they have stories from thousands of people and it's recorded live. You can hear the audience's reaction to the storyteller as they talk about their journey or talk about a core memory. The stories, they don't have to be serious all the time. Sometimes they're just a funny moment from your life or a little snippet of a journey from your life. I, wanted to incorporate that into our podcast. And one of our team members suggested that maybe we should also have a conversational type of podcast that we all listen to nowadays where we cover important topics in our community that are often overlooked. I hope that, from talking about these issues [00:21:00] as a community, we can grow and connect with each other.  Thank you so much for sharing that. I also wanna take a moment to talk about the history that shaped so many of these stories. For folks who may not know, can you, can one of you share a little bit about the history of the Nepali Bhutanese refugee community?  Nawal Rai: Yeah. We were forced to leave our country, basically stripping our citizenship overnight by the Bhutanese government, and obviously it was not overnight, but it was a progress through putting in policies like one people, one nation act which kind enforced one language, one religion, one cultural costume, one way of practicing and worshipping. That became an issue. A lot of Nepali speaking community, a majority who are Hindu, started to resist toward that policies. Then the people were started to labeled as terrorists and anti nationalist. And so a lot of those caused for us to leave. Some families were given notice to leave by certain dates. And if you're not, then you're either going to be evicted or your house are burned [00:22:00] down or you're forced through violence. Some folks left because of scared of this violence from the government, but also some people after seeing those violence that was perpetuated against the people that resisted. Right. So that kind of became mass migration toward Nepal and that's where we ended up. Some people stayed in India, got stuck in India and in between borders with Bhutan and India and then more than 100, 000 people then resettled in the Seven Refugees Camp in Eastern Nepal.  Cheryl Truong: Yeah. This is a really dark and painful history one that often doesn't get told and, and it really pushes back against that popular narrative of Bhutan being the quote unquote happiest country in the world. You all have touched on how important storytelling is not just for healing, but also for connecting with others and building understanding. So I'm curious when you're all recording, when the Lotus blooms. Who do you imagine listening? Who is the audience you have in mind when you share these stories?  Manju Gurung: I think it is for everybody from our [00:23:00] community or the elders who have not been able to share their stories and struggles that they had to go through. And for our parents people our age and younger than us, the next generation. Anybody who wants to share their stories. It doesn't have to be only about their struggles, if they have something funny or happy stories or anything that they want to write and share, we have created the space for them to use and amplify their voices so we can inspire more people or at least their stories can kind of let others know that, Oh, there are people who have gone through similar stuff like I have, or they have, so yes, it's. I would say it's for everybody.  Susmita Tamang: Yeah, I would say our primary audience is definitely our own community. But also outside of our community, people who support us or don't know about us so that again, our main message that our stories are heard and we are acknowledged. Our identity is Shown and talked about. I think that's also [00:24:00] definitely our target.  Cheryl Truong: And your podcast name is Hamro Kata, When the Lotus Blooms. I totally butchered that. Now, could you tell me the symbolism? What, where does this name come from? Susmita Tamang: We actually made a post on Instagram about our name– when the lotus blooms is our username. We couldn't fit the whole entire podcast name because it was too long. So, yeah, please follow us. Hamro Katha, by the way, means our story in Nepali. That's the direct translation. Our name signifies the perseverance of the Bhutanese Nepali refugees. The lotus. I think many know, it's a symbol of how a lotus prospers from muddy waters. Despite our adverse origins, we continue to flourish by learning and sharing our experiences, trying to inspire others along the way.  Cheryl Truong: What are the kind of stories that you're able [00:25:00] to hear from your elders? Are they open to sharing?  Nawal Rai: Yeah, that's a really good question. And are they open to sharing? I think our community is pretty open to sharing those stories. And I think that also comes from not having anyone to listen for them before, right? At least my grandparents are always like ask me questions. I grew up listening to a lot of the stories from Bhutan and of growing up in Bhutan and the impact of migration. So I have had a lot of those conversations with my grandparents, so they always, at least my grandpa, he can be really buggy with our family because some of our family members doesn't ask him questions like that. Not everyone is interested in the political and the social world like I am in the family. So he's always upset that our uncles or our family members is not asking him enough questions. So from my understanding, there's that part of them that wants to share their stories, because of their struggles that has never been really spoken on and I feel they have never been able to share those stories with anyone. I see that in my family coming out in the structural where he started to be upset with us you know, you guys are [00:26:00] not even trying to learn anything about our stories and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, I got you, grandpa.   Susmita Tamang: Without even asking my dad usually when there's a family gathering of any sort, they're always talking about how their life was back in Bhutan. So from their anecdotes and narratives, I'm always able to listen to what happened. I think usually most of the people I've asked about how their life was in Bhutan, or if they have anything they'd like to share, they're always open to sharing and talking more about it.  Sarada Tamang: I was a big yapper growing up when I was small, especially. So I would be like, grandma, where are you from? Oh, what is, what was that? What was this? And so, I would hear a lot of stories from her and I would also hear a lot of stories about Bhutan and even life in camp from my mom and my relatives when they're reminiscing about old times. I heard the quote when your grandparents pass away, it's like a whole library crashes down or something along the lines of [00:27:00] that. Ever since I heard that I was like, oh my goodness I need to know everything that my grandma has been through. Every time we talk on the phone i'm always asking her about Her life and her journey. Cheryl Truong: Wow. This is actually so different from my experience growing up. Like I remember growing up super ashamed. I would tell my parents don't speak Vietnamese. I don't want everyone to hear it I wanted to fit in.  Susmita Tamang: I did experience what you just talked about, trying to assimilate with the American society because early on when we first immigrated here, being in this space where everyone is Very different from you and more of like you're the one who's different from everyone else. You just wanted to hide or how do you say fall into their group so that you're not singled out as a refugee. I did have that crisis where I was ashamed of myself It was only till high school [00:28:00] When I accepted, I am Bhutanese Nepali, I am a refugee, and I'm proud of that, and that's actually when I started asking questions. So, I wasn't always very curious, but then later on learned more about myself, and that's when things actually started going. Was it like that for you guys?  Nawal Rai: Yeah, Cheryl, I was gonna say, you are definitely not alone. I think we've all been through that phase of running away from our community and everything, and we're trying to reach for that whiteness and the validation of white people. And I think even in the structural way. In college, as a freshman, and after Covid and after George Floyd, that's when those were the moments that really looking into politics and like also looking at the systematic racism and how it has embedded in us in our consciousness and the way that we go on about life. Those moments and those phase of life has definitely made me start the process of decolonization and really explore who am I? And those [00:29:00] curiosities became strong. I found ARU at a perfect moment in life and I'm still exploring and I'm still learning. ARU gave me the space and that people and that community. I'd never seen an organization like ARU in our community that really focuses on healing and talking about social and political issues that is impacting people, and not just about about it, but also how do we take action and getting our communities involved in those conversations. Obviously, we're not where we want to be and I think it's a constant everyday process and work that we're constantly trying to do and trying to build and give something back to the movement and to our people.  Cheryl Truong: Yes. Healing is such a powerful part of this work and of course everyone in this room knows that healing and storytelling is really political too, especially as racialized people. So I wanna ask, what radicalized you? Was there a moment in experience or a story that made you start to see the world differently or made you wanna speak out and organize?  Sarada Tamang: [00:30:00] For me, it was seeing other Bhutanese Nepali youth on social media embracing our culture. And I realized, wow, the clothes that we wear, the language that we speak, it's actually really beautiful. And That's when I started digging more into my culture and trying to understand why I was the way I was growing up. And so, yeah, I think seeing my community, but in different states through social media was definitely a way that moved me, pushed me to accept my culture.  After I was able to get over my insecurities or the desire to fit into certain categories in high school, I was like, Well, I had always been dancing ever since I was small and I enjoyed it even more as I grew up and I would perform if I could at school during our talent [00:31:00] show or diversity program and a lot of people complimented me and they were like, wow, you dance so well. Sarada Tamang: And when people are like, how many languages do you speak? And I say two, they're like, what? I can only speak English. And then after that, I was like, you know what? Yeah, I should embrace this because I love everything about our culture, especially the dance part of it. Cheryl Truong: And how did you get into dancing? Was that something you did with your family?  Sarada Tamang: Growing up, I would see my sister practicing with her friends. And that heavily influenced me because I was like, wow, they were so good at dancing. I want to be just like my sister. And so, I continued practicing and improved. Susmita Tamang: I actually have a story about that.  When we were very young, like when we were around eight years old. I'm pretty sure It was our first performance together, but we did dance in front of, what was it? Wasn't it, Kerelama Arubakotoma? Monks Arubakotoma?  Sarada Tamang: Oh yeah, it was [00:32:00] at a Buddhist temple.  Susmita Tamang: Yeah, and we got five dollars as our, I don't know why we got five dollars, but there was an envelope and I opened it and it was money. I was like, oh my god, maybe I could do this for life, you know? But no, no, no. And we actually performed another time too, it was during Losar, a New Year's event. This was in middle school. That was really fun. And I think that was the last time where our community actually got together. Because afterwards, Charlottesville, it became dry. But I have a lot of good memories of dancing with Sarada.  Cheryl Truong: Wow, five dollars. When you're young, five dollars is a lot. Do y'all do the red envelopes, too?  Susmita Tamang: We don't do red envelopes, but we do get money during our holidays, Dashain and Tihar.  From our last October and November GoHolidays, Dashain and Tihar. DR, I made around 800 and I saved that up and I paid my tuition with it.  So I'm always happy when it's around, you know, holiday season. [00:33:00]  Nawal Rai: Also, in our system, the man doesn't get the money.  Yeah, our family often just gives money to a woman in our family Because they often see our women often gets married and lives with husbands, right? And I think there's that respect of showing more appreciation towards that, at least that's what I heard going on, and I was  like, that's kind of cool. I  Susmita Tamang: In my family, they do get money, but obviously lesser than the girls, but for Tihar is when the guys, if they have siblings or cousins, they get gifts, and in return, the girls get money.  Manju Gurung: But  then about that too, guys, I think for in Hindu religion, there is a one goddess who kind of represents wealth and money and all of that. So people who celebrate, our practice Hinduism at least at my household, we practice both Buddhism and Hindu, like holidays and all of those. So, since there is a goddess who people actually pray for wealth and all of that, I think one of the reasons why a [00:34:00] lot of times women in households get a little bit of extra attention and money as a blessing, so. Susmita Tamang: Yeah, it's a bonus point, I guess.  The gender dynamic, I feel in Bhutanese Nepali community is like in most South Asian immigrants community, where the male kind of dominates the household and The females are the ones who are supposed to stay home, do the majority of the housework, look after the kids. So it's very traditional roles, but having come to America, I think those ideas of it being super dichotomous has been lowered because we know what it is. Susmita Tamang: Individualism is.. People are able to kind of work towards that, whether you're a male or a female or any other genders. So I think being in an American society has definitely influenced now our idea of those dynamics. It's much more [00:35:00] free. But there are definitely, communities within our community that still hold on to the older ideals. Yeah.  Nawal Rai: Yeah, like I would say in terms of a lot of gender roles, I will say like our communities pretty progressive and again, I also don't want to under undermine a lot of the violence that happens against women in our community, right? There's still that imbalance in power in different households, right? But I think when I do, look at our community as a whole, I will say like majority of it's like a more progressive learning, I would say in terms of a lot of issues as well. And if we're looking at men and women, I will say our women in our community are a little bit more progressive than men, I would say. And I think that also plays a big dynamic in our community and how women plays a role in society, even at my household, was very much of a on and off of the power dynamic with my mom and dad. I feel like there was a lot of things I knew that my mom [00:36:00] was and like, even my from my grandparents to see what's this, the oldest, daughter in law, she was, her opinion was always needed there and without her presence or without her saying, no family decision could be made. And that was respected by our grandparents and that was implemented in this. But there, I know there are also my friend's family, right, where there is that dynamic of really, uh, oppressive kind of dynamic.  Manju Gurung: I think within my family to what I've seen growing up between my parents when it comes to gender roles and all that. I think we'll just speaking from experience. I think I've had. This is not me like talking bad about my father or anything. He's a great father and husband and brother son all all, He's an amazing man. But I've had in past two, three years I've had conversations with him where he would say Oh, women should learn to cook. He would heavily focus on those words, which didn't really Sit right with me as I grew older and learned from [00:37:00] experience and around the world. And the thing is, his message was not really entirely wrong. Not just to make women be all prepared for their marriage and stuff, but he was just saying in a way as a concerned father would be like, in case if you , get married off and then go to your in laws homes, we don't want to hear your in laws making you feel bad about not knowing how to cook, clean, all of that, you know.  I always argued with him by saying I don't need to be perfect before I get married or, because I think it's a life skill that a man and women should know. The way that My parents have raised me. I would question them and be like, well, have you taught your son how to cook and clean. It's not only my responsibility to cook and clean and provide. I think after that conversation that I've had with him over and over again, he does kind of pause before he speaks to me about those things because he knows since I'm the oldest one from my home. He knows that, it's going to backfire on him. And so it's a lovely conversation to have with parents and I think even with grandparents too, about gender roles and [00:38:00] dynamics and what we are expecting of women specifically in our communities.  Susmita Tamang: By the way, what I love about what Manjutimi just said is that I feel like our generation is the one who's kind of asking them so that they're aware of what they're actually saying. And a lot of our parents are like that. But then I also realize. It's because their parents were like that and then their parents, grandparents were like that. So it's a lot of these things are passed down and I feel like we're here to break that and say, hey, stop, pause. That's not it. And then actually explain why it shouldn't be like that. Nawal Rai: Yeah, and I want to add a little bit because a lot of our listeners are going to be people who grew up in America, most likely, right? And I think I want to, and why I said that, our community is a little progressive is because I compared our community to a general conservative man of the West. And I feel like a lot [00:39:00] of those views about women and what you just mentioned about like your dad About your dad saying that right? It's not coming from like a woman should do this It is something that culturally passed down to that that's what they're used to and what's Susmita said you know, I think we are the ones To break that. And I feel like when break into those conversation, I feel like a lot of the elders often are pretty open to at least listening in my instances and I know it's not the same for everyone. Again, like the talk, speaking from my experience and with a lot of elders, I have been able to break that crack doing those conversation and I feel like they have been open to welcoming those different views and listening and I've been able to do that in my family, quite a bit. So I think that's something that, yeah, we can do.   Cheryl Truong: Yeah, that's so real. Challenging those cultural norms, especially when they've been passed down for generations, isn't easy. It takes a lot of care and courage, and you're all doing that through your stories, and I think that really shows in your first episode! So for all of our listeners out there, the first episode of [00:40:00] Ro Kata, when the Lotus Blooms is available using the links in the show notes. How was your experience recording your first episode?  Susmita Tamang: It was so nerve wracking at first because we wanted to keep it conversational, like we're just talking with our friends, but at the same time people are going to be watching this, so it's like, do we talk to the audience? How do we still retain our natural tone? It was a lot of just talking to ourselves, hey, it's gonna be okay. We can edit this out later, you know? But it was such a fun experience because everybody was on it. They had the same emotions as I did. But as we were talking about each topic, it kind of just naturally flowed. We had so much to say. Seems like all of us are big yappers so it was nice. What about you guys?  Manju Gurung: Yeah, well, definitely, we had to restart so many times just because everybody was so nervous. When we knew that it was recording, I think it really made all of us a little bit nervous, yeah. Sarada Tamang: [00:41:00] definitely a learning experience. This was a trial and error kind of, but I think overall we did great. I think as the more we do this, the more comfortable we'll get. During this process, we're doing our best to improve as we go and we've also been receiving a lot of feedback and we will definitely incorporate them on our following episodes. I  Nawal Rai: yeah, I wasn't on the podcast, but I did the editing. I think it was, it was a really good experience and I watched them while I was editing. I think overall for the first time, no one has ever done a podcast in our group, this was all like new, something new for all of us. And Yeah, putting that in mind, I think it was a very successful. I would say it was a successful first episode and, even for the edit, while I was editing too, there was a lot of things that I was learning as I was editing and there was a lot of things That are also group were incorporating that we were helping each other to produce that. So I wasn't the only editing. My groups were sharing their ideas and how we can really make that product look the way that it came out, you know? It was a lot of teamwork and [00:42:00] learned to take criticism, then how do we implement that in practice?  I think especially being virtual, it's difficult to do all the things. , it's a process. So we're trying to do a different recording in a different method next time and try, if that would make our screen much clearer or just play around with us. It's as we go, I think it's going to be an experience.  Cheryl Truong: Thanks for sharing your reflections with me, everyone. I'm glad to hear that it was overall a good experience. Well, we are at time, but before we close, I want to ask you all one last question. If you could go back and tell your younger self something, something you know now, after being part of this podcast, this community, this journey, what would you tell yourself?  Susmita Tamang: I think for me, it would be, don't try too hard to fit in, because my whole entire elementary to middle to early high school year, it was always trying to do these activities that like trying to get into musicals, and ballet, I did so many, I mean, these were actually really good opportunities, but [00:43:00] it was so that I looked like my peers, my interests and hobbies were the same as theirs, so that they took me in, kind of. They were fun though, I did get into musicals, it was fun, but that was definitely my time where I tried my hardest to be in that group. But I guess I would tell myself, don't try too hard to fit in because you will find your people. Just be yourself and that will help you move on through life.   Manju Gurung: For me, I think I would tell my younger self to be brave. I'm still telling myself to be a little bit brave and be confident. And I think that's a work in progress, but yeah Be a little brave and don't be afraid to share your voice. And I think that's something that I have struggled with, being confident in my own voice. And, thankfully enough at this age and day that I have ARU and this amazing team that we have. So that has allowed me to share my voice and not be scared.  Sarada Tamang: For me, advice I would give to [00:44:00] my younger self. Is that I would tell her to don't be afraid to speak and initiate a conversation because I feel like because I did that. Now I'm more afraid to speak to people. And embrace your culture. Nawal Rai: Yeah, for me, I would say. You didn't have to be a parent. I feel like, that's a sound depressing. I feel like I'm saying that because I feel like I had a lot of little siblings. And a lot of the time. My parent didn't force me to be, but being the oldest, I tried to put that habit of being an adult and being a parent figure. Now I'm 23 and living alone, trying to figure life out, and I'm like, I am still a child and I don't know how to be an adult. I feel like I didn't get time to be a child back then, because I was trying to be an adult so much, now I'm like, okay, I want to be a child now, so , I'm trying to figure out how do I also be a child and also [00:45:00] figure this world out, and I think that's the phase I am in life right now, trying to figure that out.  Cheryl Truong: Well, I'm so excited to see more of y'all. Thank you all so much for coming on the show for our listeners out there. Can you remind me one more time, how can we listen and tune into your podcast and how can we stay updated on all things?  Susmita Tamang: So majority of the things we're going to be posting is going to be on our Instagram, whenthelotusmoons, that is our username. And then we have a YouTube account, Spotify, as well as TikTok, where we're going to be posting more of our materials. So if you guys go there, you can check us out.  Nawal Rai: I think the best way to stay connected would be following on Instagram. That's where I feel like we'll post a lot of the things that will be , updated, and I think a lot of the announcement will come there.  Cheryl Truong: Thank you all so much for sharing your stories, your honesty, and your hearts with us today. Once again, this is the incredible team behind Asian refugees United's new podcast. It's really clear that Hamro [00:46:00] Katha isn't just a podcast. It is a space for healing, for truth telling, and for imagining something better. To our listeners. If you wanna learn more about Asian Refugees United and the work that these incredible youth leaders are doing, please check out Asian Refugees United's website.  It's currently linked in the show notes. And as always, thank you for tuning in to Apex Express. We'll catch you next time.  Cheryl Truong (she/they): Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. [00:47:00] Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong   Cheryl Truong: Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening! [00:48:00] [00:49:00] [00:50:00] [00:51:00] [00:52:00] [00:53:00] [00:54:00] [00:55:00] [00:56:00] [00:57:00] [00:58:00]  The post APEX Express – April 17, 2025 – When the Lotus Blooms appeared first on KPFA.

At least two more Pennsylvania residents have been deported to Bhutan. That brings the total to eight Bhutanese refugees from Pennsylvania and 20 from across the country who have been deported back to Bhutan, according to leaders from those communities who have been tracking cases. In early March, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began arresting members of the Bhutanese refugee community in Central Pennsylvania. The first deportation flight came on March 26, less than three weeks after the initial arrests, with the next flights on March 28 and April 10. On this special episode of The Spark, Democracy Reporter Jordan Wilkie spoke with Bhutanese refugee community leaders Narad Adhikari in Pennsylvania and Sudarshan Pyakurel in Ohio, Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, veteran immigration attorney and former Department of Homeland Security appointee Kerry Doyle, Nepal-based human rights activist Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, and Craig Shagin, a lawyer for one of the recently deported men. If you want to read the full story, check out Jordan's article here.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly 2,000 top scientists, engineers and medical researchers signed a letter saying that the Trump administration is decimating the nation’s scientific enterprise. Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas is calling for a pause in deportations of Bhutanese refugees until their safety can be guaranteed upon return to Bhutan. The EPA announced it will finalize water quality standards that aim to protect fish in a portion of the Delaware River. Over the past two years, nearly $18 million flowed to Pennsylvania’s top lawmakers from major players such as casino operators and charter school backers. What are they getting in exchange?Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The owners of a recently demolished coal-fired power plant say the site will become a data center powered by the largest natural gas plant in the country. Youth advocates met in Pittsburgh to discuss the end of a decade-long legal battle for the environment. Pennsylvania health care experts say they’re worried what will happen to already struggling rural hospitals if there are cuts or changes to Medicare and Medicaid. Schuylkill County Commissioners unanimously approved a $3.2 million settlement in the federal sexual harassment and assault lawsuit involving a former Schuylkill County Commissioner. The family of a student-athlete who died in July filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bucknell University. An environmental group has filed a lawsuit against the operators of the Brunner Island coal-and-natural-gas-fired power plant. The whereabouts of six Pennsylvania residents are unknown after being deported to Bhutan at the end of March. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Journalist Roundtable conversation for March 28 included LancasterOnline/LNP’s Brett Sholtis and Pennlive's Ivey DeJesus. This week we discussed their reports on the six Bhutanese men who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a Pike County Prison. This interview was recorded on Thursday March 27 at 1:30 p.m. Since the recording, A spokesman for the Bhutanese community in the Harrisburg area confirmed reports that at least four men in ICE detention had been deported. Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation. WITF’s Jordan Wilkie has reported extensively on this situation. CLICK HERE, to read his article.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A special election in Lancaster County saw a Democrat clinch a narrow win in a historically Republican state legislative district. Democrats retained their one seat majority in the state House, thanks to a special election win in western Pa. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more Bhutanese refugees living in Pennsylvania, bringing the count of those in custody to at least ten. The Trump administration is no longer funding legal services to unaccompanied minor immigrants. The Reading School Board was expected to approve the hiring of former state Education Secretary Dr. Khalid Mumin as the district’s new superintendent. Harrisburg City Council has approved Eden Village of Harrisburg’s plan to help the city’s homeless get permanent shelter. Volunteer firefighters in Shrewsbury are trying to save a historic bell that hung in the old firehouse for 145 years. Pennsylvania is challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cancellation of a $13 million contract that helps local farmers supply food to people in need.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leaders of the local Bhutanese refugee community say immigration officials arrested six legal permanent residents, but they don't know why. A Pennsylvania nonprofit has lost federal grant funds as part of the Trump administration’s large-scale government spending cuts. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is urging the Penn State's leadership to consider long-term community impacts to branch closures. A conservative political action committee asked school board candidates it endorsed to sign a pledge to uphold the PAC’s policies while serving on the boards. State Senate Republican leaders are lobbying the Trump administration to rescind Medicaid waivers that expand social services for low-income mothers and children, the homeless, and individuals set to leave incarceration. School districts crack down on vapes. Sunbury Revitalization Inc. has hired a downtown ambassador to promote the city.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana products may soon get more state oversight. Solar advocates in Pennsylvania are cheering Monday’s first-round vote in the state legislature to accept millions in federal money for the Solar for All program. Environmental groups are ramping up their opposition to a hydroelectric project near the Susquehanna River with a new legal challenge. Arts organizations react to the National Endowment for the Arts change in its funding guidelines. Five members of Harrisburg’s Bhutanese community were detained last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 2025 State of Education report shows student mental health issues, inadequate funding and staffing shortages are top challenges facing Pennsylvania public schools. York city Mayor Michael Helfrich is out of the running for a third term and has endorsed former city council president Sandie Walker.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The BanterThe Guys discuss keys to having a great restaurant experience. Find out what happens when one is missing.The ConversationThe Restaurant Guys host ground-breaking (literally) wine guy Michael Juergens who has championed wine-making in Bhutan. Hear the story of how that has come to fruition as well as the future and impact of Bhutanese wines.  They also discuss his edgy book and the “right” way to experience wine. The Inside TrackThe Guys met Michael through a long-time college friend of theirs and co-worker of Michael's. After spending some time together hearing about his exciting project, they knew they had to have him on the show!This how Michael describes our profound relationship with wine.“I believe that wine is an intrinsic part of the human experience. It's wired into our DNA,” Michael Juergens on The Restaurant Guys Podcast 2025BioMicheal Juergens is prominently known as a Senior Partner at Deloitte Consulting, running the “Wine Solutions Practice.” He is a certified sommelier, a certified wine specialist and is on the way to becoming a Master of Wine. He and his wife Ann Cross created Bhutan Wine Company in 2017, and planted the first vines ever to be planted in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2019.  He has written eight books about wine under the pen name Micheal Amon and publishes a weekly newsletter Drinking and Knowing Things. InfoMichael's Site                                                  https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/Bhutan Wine Company                                                                  https://www.bhutanwine.com/His Books (Under Michael Amon)        https://www.drinkingandknowingthings.com/who-am-iFriday, March 14 is the first Restaurant Guys LIVE with Chef Rocco DiSpirito at the NBPAC in New Brunswick, NJ (next to The Guys' restaurants!)Restaurant Guys' Regulars get a discount code for VIP tickets. Become an RG Regular today!https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribeGet tickets here.https://secure.nbpac.org/rocco-dispirito/22947Our Sponsors The Heldrich Hotel & Conference Centerhttps://www.theheldrich.com/ Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/ Withum Accountinghttps://www.withum.com/ Our Places Stage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/ Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/ Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/ To hear more about food, wine and the finer things in life:https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/restaurantguysReach Out to The Guys!TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com**Become a Restaurant Guys Regular and get two bonus episodes per month, bonus content and Regulars Only events.**Click Below! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2401692/subscribe

The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, sandwiched between China and India, is perhaps best known around the globe for its unconventional measure of national development: Gross National Happiness. The concept was introduced back in 1972 by the fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It assesses the country's overall wellbeing on the basis of sustainable and equitable socio-economic development; environmental conservation; preservation and promotion of culture; and good governance. But the Bhutanese are now finding that their cautious approach to balancing economic growth with the well-being of their citizens, is proving difficult to sustain in light of mounting economic problems. The country which has a population of less than 800,000, is experiencing high levels of youth unemployment and many young people and skilled workers are leaving for countries like Australia and Canada. To try and counter this brain drain and to attract new investment into the country to help the economy grow, Bhutan has plans to create a ‘Mindfulness City'. This multi-million dollar project is being spearheaded by the current monarch. At its core will be a scaled up, less cautious version of Bhutan's key concept, which the Bhutanese Prime Minister has called Gross National Happiness 2.0. So on this week's Inquiry we're asking ‘Can Bhutan retain its happiness?' Contributors: Dr Ha Vinh Tho, Founder and President, Eurasia Learning Institute for Happiness and Well-Being, Switzerland.Dr Rishi Gupta, Assistant Director, Asia Society Policy Institute, New Delhi, IndiaDr Lhawang Ugyel, Senior Lecturer, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.Jan Eeckhout, Professor of Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, SpainPresenter: Charmaine Cozier Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Matt Toulson Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: James Bradshaw Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley and Liam Morrey

Part 1 of the episode. Don't miss Claudia Senik's interview in Part 2.What really drives happiness in the 21st century? The UN designates March 20 as “International Day of Happiness” to celebrate the importance of happiness and well-being as “universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings worldwide and in public policy objectives".Join Kokou Agbo-Bloua as he delves into the dynamics of happiness economics and the pursuit of genuine well-being in today's globalized world. Kokou questions the conventional metrics of success and prosperity, pondering whether the path to true happiness lies beyond material wealth and economic growth. Could sustainability, ESG principles, and ethical finance pave the way for a more meaningful existence, transcending traditional measures of prosperity?Through an engaging discussion with esteemed guest Claudia Senik, professor at the Paris School of Economics, Kokou confronts the pressing issues of intergenerational equity, societal well-being, and the imperative to balance present gratification with future sustainability.Delving into the Bhutanese philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), we discover a holistic approach to societal progress that transcends mere economic indicators, emphasizing the importance of cultural, environmental, and psychological well-being. As we contemplate the future landscape of happiness amidst the challenges of climate change and socio-economic disparities, we seek to redefine prosperity in terms of collective welfare and sustainable flourishing.Ultimately, this episode serves as a poignant reminder that true happiness is not merely a fleeting emotion but a conscious pursuit of harmony, purpose, and interconnectedness. Join us to unlock the keys to lasting fulfillment.About this showWelcome to 2050 Investors your monthly guide to understanding the intricate connections between finance, globalisation, and ESG.Join host Kokou Agbo-Bloua, Head of Economics, Cross-Asset & Quant Research at Societe Generale, for an investigation of the economic and market megatrends shaping the present and future, and how these trends might influence our progress to meeting 2050's challenging global sustainability targets.In each episode, Kokou deep dives into the events impacting the economy, financial markets, the planet, and society. Through a magical blend of personal anecdotes, in-depth research and narratives overlaid with music, sound effects, and pop culture references, there's certainly something for everyone.Kokou also interviews industry-leading experts, personalities, entrepreneurs and even Nobel prize winners! You will learn from the best on a wide range of subjects on current affairs, market shifts, and economic developments.If you like 2050 Investors, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And subscribe now to stay informed!Previous episodes of 2050 Investors have explored ESG-influenced financial assets, climate change, AI, greenflation, smart cities, globalization, plastic pollution, food, health care, biodiversity, the energy transition, and more.CreditsPresenter & Writer: Kokou Agbo-Bloua. Editor: Vincent Nickelsen, Jovaney Ashman. Production Designer: Emmanuel Minelle, Radio K7 Creative. Executive Producer : Fanny Giniès. Sound Director: Marc Valenduc. Music: Rone. Graphic Design: Cédric Cazaly.Whilst the following podcast discusses the financial markets, it does not recommend any particular investment decision. If you are unsure of the merits of any investment decision, please seek professional advice. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Part 2 of the episode. We recommend you listen to Part 1 if you haven't already.What really drives happiness in the 21st century? The UN designates March 20 as “International Day of Happiness” to celebrate the importance of happiness and well-being as “universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings worldwide and in public policy objectives".Join Kokou Agbo-Bloua as he delves into the dynamics of happiness economics and the pursuit of genuine well-being in today's globalized world. Kokou questions the conventional metrics of success and prosperity, pondering whether the path to true happiness lies beyond material wealth and economic growth. Could sustainability, ESG principles, and ethical finance pave the way for a more meaningful existence, transcending traditional measures of prosperity?Through an engaging discussion with esteemed guest Claudia Senik, professor at the Paris School of Economics, Kokou confronts the pressing issues of intergenerational equity, societal well-being, and the imperative to balance present gratification with future sustainability.Delving into the Bhutanese philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), we discover a holistic approach to societal progress that transcends mere economic indicators, emphasizing the importance of cultural, environmental, and psychological well-being. As we contemplate the future landscape of happiness amidst the challenges of climate change and socio-economic disparities, we seek to redefine prosperity in terms of collective welfare and sustainable flourishing.Ultimately, this episode serves as a poignant reminder that true happiness is not merely a fleeting emotion but a conscious pursuit of harmony, purpose, and interconnectedness. Join us to unlock the keys to lasting fulfillment.About this showWelcome to 2050 Investors your monthly guide to understanding the intricate connections between finance, globalisation, and ESG.Join host Kokou Agbo-Bloua, Head of Economics, Cross-Asset & Quant Research at Societe Generale, for an investigation of the economic and market megatrends shaping the present and future, and how these trends might influence our progress to meeting 2050's challenging global sustainability targets.In each episode, Kokou deep dives into the events impacting the economy, financial markets, the planet, and society. Through a magical blend of personal anecdotes, in-depth research and narratives overlaid with music, sound effects, and pop culture references, there's certainly something for everyone.Kokou also interviews industry-leading experts, personalities, entrepreneurs and even Nobel prize winners! You will learn from the best on a wide range of subjects on current affairs, market shifts, and economic developments.If you like 2050 Investors, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your support will help us spread the word and reach new audiences. If you're seeking a brief and entertaining overview of market-related topics and their business and societal implications, subscribe now to stay informed!Previous episodes of 2050 Investors have explored ESG-influenced financial assets, climate change, AI, greenflation, smart cities, globalization, plastic pollution, food, health care, biodiversity, the energy transition, and more.CreditsPresenter & Writer: Kokou Agbo-Bloua. Editor: Vincent Nickelsen, Jovaney Ashman. Production Designer: Emmanuel Minelle, Radio K7 Creative. Executive Producer : Fanny Giniès. Sound Director: Marc Valenduc. Music: Rone. Graphic Design: Cédric Cazaly.Whilst the following podcast discusses the financial markets, it does not recommend any particular investment decision. If you are unsure of the merits of any investment decision, please seek professional advice. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Bhutanese king's 2-day India trip comes as Thimphu & New Delhi look to boost their energy partnership. India had announced it would double its financial support to Bhutan over the next 5 yrs.  

Twenty-three years later, over a thousand families are still waiting for news of loved ones lost in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. Correspondent Scott Pelley looks at how efforts to search for and identify their remains have never stopped, driven by the promise made by the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Pelley visits their laboratory, which is using new advancements in DNA research and breakthrough techniques to provide answers for families holding on to hope. This is a double-length segment. Correspondent Jon Wertheim reports on a phenomenon that has long captured Hollywood: the outsized presence of Australians earning top billings and awards on the American silver screen – in front of and behind the camera. Wertheim interviews Aussie actress Sarah Snook and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann about the country's renowned training grounds for the dramatic arts, their pathways to international theater, film and television and the Australian mindset on stardom. Correspondent Lesley Stahl travels to the remote, Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, a tiny country that has fiercely protected its unique culture, declaring that within its borders, Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product. But today, the country is facing a crisis — 9% of its population has left Bhutan for higher-paying jobs abroad, so the government has launched a high-stakes plan to help the economy and lure young Bhutanese back by developing an entirely new city from scratch — what the King is calling a "mindfulness" city. This is a double-length segment.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2021. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL's in these archive episodes are still relevant. Michael is a wine expert, author, professor, drummer, international business consultant, founder Bhutan Wine Company, owner SoCal Rum, and Drinking and Knowing Things. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. Only do epic stuff with cool people or you won't be able to maximize the ROI of the time you have on this planet. 2. Bhutanese have a concept called “Gross Domestic Happiness” instead of “Gross Domestic Product.” They give importance to the happiness of their citizens over any arbitrary economic success. 3. You can't let the risk get in the way of moving forward. What you have to do is monitor the risk and try different ways. Become the go-to wine person in your friends group in six months - Drinking And Knowing Things Sponsor HubSpot Making your life easier. Getting you results faster. And better connecting you to all your data, all in one place. Start making major moves with HubSpot. Visit HubSpot.com/marketers to learn more

From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2021. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL's in these archive episodes are still relevant. Michael is a wine expert, author, professor, drummer, international business consultant, founder Bhutan Wine Company, owner SoCal Rum, and Drinking & Knowing Things. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. Only do epic stuff with cool people or you won't be able to maximize the ROI of the time you have on this planet. 2. Bhutanese have a concept called “Gross Domestic Happiness” instead of “Gross Domestic Product.” They give importance to the happiness of their citizens over any arbitrary economic success. 3. You can't let the risk get in the way of moving forward. What you have to do is monitor the risk and try different ways. Become the go-to wine person in your friends group in six months - Drinking And Knowing Things Sponsor HubSpot Making your life easier. Getting you results faster. And better connecting you to all your data, all in one place. Start making major moves with HubSpot. Visit HubSpot.com/marketers to learn more

With almost 90% of people in Bhutan identifying as Buddhists, those who follow Christ are a tiny minority. Pastor Rajiv, a church planter and leadership trainer in South Asia, works to reach Bhutanese people for Christ and knows what happens when someone follows Jesus in this restricted nation. In Bhutan, the king is seen as both a political and religious leader. One of his duties is defending Buddhism in the nation. Becoming a Christian is seen as being a traitor to the country and the king. It's also against the law, so Christians who gather together must do so in secret. Yet being in fellowship with other believers is crucial to spiritual growth and perseverance. Pastor Rajiv reveals his heart for young people and shares how vital it is for them to meet together to study the Bible and pray with one another. Over the last ten years, God has made Pastor Rajiv's prayers reality: there are now Christian groups that meet on all the college campuses in Bhutan. Rajiv will share his own story of coming to Christ and how he was called into missions. He will also share stories of Bhutanese who have come to faith along with the pressure and Christian persecution they face from the government if they do not renounce Christ. “When you want to live a radical life for Christ, you'll be willing to pay the cost,” Rajiv says. As you learn how to specifically pray for Bhutan and for Pastor Rajiv, pray with Christians all over the world for the persecuted church this month as part of the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. Also, be inspired by this year's IDOP video, which features the Martinez family in Colombia. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.

Fellow footy travelers experience the game outside their hometowns all the time, but have you ever wondered what it's like to be a globe-trotting footy fan with multiple once-in-a-lifetime experiences? In this episode, Matthew Eide of Far Away Football takes us on an absolute journey! From a 10-goal spectacle in a Bhutanese stadium fit for a king, to two unforgettable footy moments in the Seychelles, this is one episode you won't want to miss. With professional soccer connections stretching as far as the Solomon Islands, Matthew might even have a surprise for you at the end of this one (wink wink)! Foot(y)notes: SPOILER ALERT: If you want to listen to the BONUS Episode with Matthew before its release next week, simply head to footytravelers.com/podcast If you're planning a trip to Bhutan, know before you go. Show your love for the global game with an Icarus FC kit of your own! Follow Thimphu City FC on Instagram and tell them that you heard about them in this episode.   *RATE & REVIEW* Wherever you're listening, be sure to hit 'Follow' or 'Subscribe', leave us a star-rating, and if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, leave us a proper review to let others know what you think of the show! PLUS YOU CAN WIN A FOOTY TRAVELERS SWAG BAG... If you email us (footytravelers@gmail.com) a screenshot of your recent review, and your mailing address, we'll send one your way!

The King of Bhutan is in Australia, meeting national leaders and some of the 35,000 members of the Bhutanese diaspora. The Buddhist-majority country enjoys a reputation as the happiest country on earth — but it also faces economic and human rights challenges.

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football around the world: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper   In Part 1, we take a look at one of the world's most remote footballing outposts with Faraway Football blogger Matthew Eide, who has just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Bhutan courtesy of football kit designers Icarus. Which footballing figure flew the plane that transported him from Kathmandu to Paro? How did a 10-goal thriller have more drama after the final whistle than in the game itself? Which endangered species are Thimphu City fighting to help save? And how could YOU join the Overseas Board of a football club in Asia?   Part 2 is dedicated to the best stories from the international game in the October window. Why was oxygen being provided on the sidelines at Bolivia's World Cup qualifier against Colombia? Who holds the longest ongoing winless run in international football now that Liechtenstein and Andorra have both won? Why did Turkmenistan's government deny their national football team permission to travel to Malta? And for what unusual reason did the Turks & Caicos goalkeeper miss the CONCACAF Nations League clash with Anguilla?   If you don't want to wait another fortnight for our next episode, join us on Patreon for our bonus podcasts in the in-between weeks at patreon.com/SweeperPod. The next patron-only episode will hit the airwaves on Wednesday 23 October. Subscribers can also read our bonus blog about our trip to Lugano, join several hundred other patrons on our Discord chat community, enter our regular shirt giveaway contests and get a sneak preview of each podcast on the weekend before it is released. Follow Matthew Eide's Faraway Football account: Twitter: x.com/FarAwayFootball Instagram: Instagram.com/farawayfootball RUNNING ORDER: 00:00 – Intro 00:31 – Lee & Paul's travel disasters 02:57 – A groundhop to beautiful Bhutan 18:24 – FIFA+: South America & Oceania 26:58 – A golden era for Europe's micro-states 34:57 – Country vs. club in Turkmenistan 38:36 – Poolside viewing in the Caribbean Editor: Ralph Foster

This week we sit down with Helena Puolakka and Saku Tuominen of Savoy in Helsinki to learn about their new publishing project. Also: we hear from chef Bleu Tshering Dorji, who is looking to bring Bhutanese cuisine to the world stage. Plus: Chiara Rimella explores the intertwined history of religion and food at Catarina Bistrot in Turin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode I am once again joined by Damo Mitchell author, teacher, and student of the internal arts of Asia including Tai Chi and Daoist Inner Alchemy. Damo draws on his background in the qi arts, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western psychology to reveal the causes and symptoms of various types of qi and meditation related problems, including dragon sickness, nihilism and depression, scorched nervous system, entity possession, and more. Damo explains the two most common triggers for qi illnesses, expresses warnings about working with spirits and reservations about tantric practices of deity and guru yoga, and differentiates true meditation from mere mental cultivation. Damo shares his own spiritual encounters, considers whether or not it is wise to explain mystical experiences to students, and offers recommendations for those facing energetic or existential upset. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - Damo comments on Dr Willoughby Britton's work 03:04 - Is meditation dangerous? 04:31 - Mediation vs qigong illnesses 06:15 - The illness threshold 07:06 - Why qigong illnesses are common 07:38 - Hunting sensation and hyper-stimulation of the nervous system 11:12 - Releasing the nerves 11:45 - Teachers who disclose vs those who withhold 1534 - Making progress or losing ground? 19:19 - Combining Eastern and Western psychological methods 23:00 - Meditation vs mere mental work 26:27 - Fascination with one's own psychology 27:12 - Damo's definition of mental illness 28:07 - Is mental work a preliminary to or distraction from meditation? 30:39 - Chinese terms for meditation vs mental work 32:23 - Comparisons with Patanjali's 8 limbs of yoga 34:10 - Identity attachment 34:55 - Why teaching hurts your training 35:55 - Freedom vs negligence as a teacher 38:01 - Psychiatry vs traditional medical and religious models 41:03 - Two common triggers for qi deviations 42:34 - The dangers of going inside 43:32 - Qi side effects 44:14 - Advice for qigong teachers 45:19 - Scorching the nervous system 46:37 - Dragon sickness 47:43 - A case of dragon sickness that ended in suicide 50:04 - 5 types of qigong illness 51:38 - Entering into fire to encourage demons 52:39 - Nihilism from meditation 53:05 - Poison fire infecting the heart 54:19 - Criticism of sexual practice 58:06 - Contamination of the heart mind 01:00:25 - Love in the spiritual arts 01:01:49 - Demon possession or psychological disorder? 01:03:51 - How entity possession happens 01:06:27 - Lighting up the body 01:07:22 - A story about possession 01:08:58 - Seeking contact with entities through Falun Gong and tantra 01:11:56 - Don't trust spirits 01:15:07 - Evolution away from shamanism 01:17:15 - Tulkus, dead gurus, and terma 01:20:05 - The cult of Avalokiteśvara and the Dalai Lama 01:21:07 - Risks associated with contacting ascended masters 01:23:42 - Reflections on deity yoga 01:25:15 - Quan Yin worship and personification of deities 01:27:52 - Premature ejaculation and sexual imbalances 01:31:36 - Damo's mystical experience in a Bhutanese temple 01:35:19 - Questioning one's own position 01:36:39 - Kundalini syndrome vs qi sickness 01:38:40 - What is kundalini syndrome? 01:39:55 - Commenting on Gopi Krishna's kundalini account 01:41:26 - Karmic illnesses 01:43:39 - Pilgrimage and confession 01:44:30 - How to fix qi deviations 01:46:28 - Complicated cases and overpowering the incorrect patterns 01:47:22 - How extreme cases develop 01:48:43 - Scaremongering and the value of lineage 01:52:02 - Combining psychedelics with qigong practices 01:55:24 - Potency and risk … Previous episode with Damo Mitchell: - https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep174-daoist-inner-alchemy-damo-mitchell To find out more about Damo Mitchell, visit: - https://damomitchell.com/ For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

Little known Bhutanese club Paro FC shot to international fame recently with the signing of Japanese legend Keisuke Honda. While only a short term deal for their AFC Challenge League preliminary playoff against Nepal's Church Boys United, the signing has generated an unprecedented level of excitement in Bhutan and across South Asia. So how did the deal come about? Paro FC president, Karma Jigme, talks exclusively to The Asian Game about how it came about and the impact it is having on the club. Follow Paro FC on X: https://x.com/Paro_FC  Follow Paro FC on IG: https://www.instagram.com/parofc/  Be sure to follow The Asian Game on all our social media channels: X: https://twitter.com/TheAsianGame IG: https://instagram.com/theasiangame Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheAsianGamePodcast 

Sangay Tsheltrim, a former Captain of Bhutan's Royal Bodyguard, has made a name for himself as a prominent Bhutanese actor, gaining recognition in films like Jawan and Radhe. Now, he's stepping into the Nepali film industry, solidifying his reputation as a significant figure in the entertainment world.

We all want to be happier, but our brains often get in the way. When we're too stuck in our heads we obsess over our inadequacies, compare ourselves with others and fail to see the good in our lives.In The Science of Happiness, world-leading psychologist and happiness expert Bruce Hood demonstrates that the key to happiness is not self-care but connection. He presents seven simple but life-changing lessons to break negative thought patterns and re-connect with the things that really matter.Bruce Hood is an award-winning Professor of Developmental Psychology at Bristol University and the author of several books including SuperSense, The Self Illusion, The Domesticated Brain and Possessed. His course, The Science of Happiness, is the most popular course at Bristol University. He has appeared extensively on TV and radio, including co-hosting the BBC podcast The Happiness Half Hour in 2021. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the British Psychological Society.The film Bruce and Adrienne discuss is Agent of Happiness. A 2024 documentary film that follows Bhutanese government officials, Amber Kumar Gurung and Guna Raj Kuikel, as they travel through the country to measure people's happiness levels, which are then used to calculate the Gross National Happiness score. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a Text Message.Ever wondered how a punk rock skateboarder turned into a wine industry pioneer? Today on Elevate Your Brand, we sit down with Michael Juergens, a certified sommelier and best-selling author, whose serendipitous encounter with an old Italian wine at 40 propelled him to international wine acclaim. Embodying the mantra of doing "epic shit with cool people," Michael's journey is a testament to the notion that it's never too late to chase your passion.Michael takes us on a remarkable adventure through the Himalayas, where he is establishing a new wine industry in Bhutan, a country historically out of the wine loop since the mid-1800s. From the initial spark of the idea to the upcoming harvest, Michael shares the entrepreneurial challenges he faces, likening the process to running a marathon with frozen goggles. Learn about the innovative marketing strategies and the historical significance behind this groundbreaking project, as Michael and his dedicated team navigate the unique obstacles of this ambitious endeavor.Closing out this episode, we delve into the personal growth that comes from life's unpredictable rapids. With analogies of whitewater kayaking, Michael emphasizes the importance of steering through life's obstacles while embracing the journey. Discover the core values of community and shared growth as we explore his ongoing projects like the Bhutanese wine project and SoCal Rum. Join us to learn how perseverance, a great team, and effective communication can turn dreams into reality.Support the Show.This episode is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️PODCAST: Subscribe to our podcast here ➡ https://elevatemedia.buzzsprout.com/ ⚡️LAUNCH YOUR SHOW: Let's get your show off the ground and into the top 5% globally listened to shows ➡ https://www.elevatemediastudios.com/launch ⚡️Need post-recording video production help? Let's chat ➡ https://calendly.com/elevate-media-group/application ⚡️For Support inquires or Business inquiries, please email us at ➡︎ support@elevate-media-group.com Our mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting. Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer

Tune in to the For the Love of Jewelers podcast for a captivating episode featuring Jacob Morgan, an award-winning Navajo silversmith, as he recounts his transformative experience in Bhutan. Jacob joins Michael McRae, founder of the Bhutan School of Metalsmithing Arts, and host Mark Nelson, Rio for Schools Education Coordinator, to discuss this incredible journey. Mark explains how he nominated Jacob as a guest instructor for the Bhutanese school, leading to Jacob's unique opportunity to teach his craft across the globe. Jacob shares heartfelt stories about his talented students, who amazed him with their rapid progress. He also delves into the unexpected discovery of ancestral cultural similarities between the Navajo and Bhutanese people, reflected in their dialect and sacred temples. One of the highlights of his trip was an unforgettable meeting with His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. Don't miss this episode full of rich cultural exchanges and personal revelations.

Who doesn't like vacations with ultimate relaxation preferences? The type of vacation a person takes depends upon individual desires. Most folks like to be wined-n-dined and pampered as if they've snuck into the 1/10 of 1% demographic. A few eccentrics prefer different vacations. Developing the ability to ignore inconveniences that's like a gym rat who refuses to believe their feet smell. DARREN, prefers these vacations. Being a backpack traveler, he's just returned from his latest adventure and receives a call from his cousin informing him that their uncle, JORGE DaSILVA, would like to take a niece/nephew cruise. Jorge has lots of money. Darren becomes skeptical concerning the trip since this isn't his idea of interesting adventure. RYAN mentions that Darren prefers adventures where the excitement comes from doing things off-thecuff. Street stall cuisine, park-bench accommodations, and having an AR-15 pointed at your skull. Initially, Darren refuses to participate and various individuals including sister, GRETCHEN, try to change his mind. Manipulations eventually has him participating. Then, a monkey wrench gets thrown in when Jorge suffers a mild heart attack. He recovers, and the rivercruise vacation occurs. Things get stranger (if that's possible…) Jorge tells Darren that he wishes he could've done these rough-n-tumble vacations when he was younger. Having just participated in a cruise, Darren wants to continue his backpack vacations right up until the day he's forced to do the Barca-lounger thing. Eating pre-chewed meals through a straw. About the Author: This is not your conventional, sleep-inducing, writer's biography. Individuals may experience chuckles. David Swanson is a writer/novelist who lives in Southwest Colorado. He writes non-fiction and fiction with a humorous/satirical bent. He's just that passionate about writing in this style. He did not obtain his Bachelor's in creative writing from the University of Colorado, instead earning a B.A. in Biology. This degree opened up many doors in the area of outdoor, blue-collar-type jobs. The B.A. also dispelled the assertion that you can't find a job with only a biology-B.A. It got him a U.S. Peace Corps forestry position. Mr. Swanson has won numerous regional awards for his writing. He's been published. Name recognition is nice, but he's confronted with the fact that literary entities pay him the money equivalent to that of the Bhutanese naval budget. A life-long obsession with comic book collecting has influenced the writing. Obviously, proving this isn't possible. He established a writing website (www.humorouswriter.com) where he posts short stories and essays. This posting of material to the site avoids lawsuits being filed against him. Mr. Swanson attended cartooning school from 1986-89. His time training and work as a cartoonist/illustrator has subconsciously influenced his writing (yeah right?). For more info on the book click HERE

Landing in Bhutan was like entering a new world, nestled between towering mountains at Paro Airport, where the intricate architecture hinted at the cultural richness waiting to be discovered. Our arrival was marked by traditional white scarves and local rice wine, setting a welcoming tone for our adventure. As we journeyed through the lush landscapes to Thimphu, each sight—from the serene local temples to the vibrant markets—offered a deeper understanding of this quiet yet profoundly spiritual country. Exploring further, we encountered the unique traditions and daily life of Bhutan. Hiking through the Himalayas was challenging but rewarding, revealing breathtaking monasteries perched in the mountains, each adorned with colorful wall paintings and golden Buddhas. The tranquility of these sacred spaces, combined with the natural beauty of the trails and the genuine hospitality of the Bhutanese people, left us with a profound sense of peace and a deep respect for this secluded kingdom.

This week's podcast is a bit off the beaten track.  We speak with Sherub Tharchen in Paro in Bhutan about his country.  We cover some of the basics, including the country's location between two neighbors with high levels of corruption, and then discuss how the current King of Bhutan tackled corruption in a way that, while probably not replicable in most countries, has nevertheless had great success for the Bhutanese.

Settle into an enlightening exploration of happiness as we're guided by "The Yak in the Classroom," a Bhutanese film that mirrors the contrasting worlds of tradition and modernity. Our narrative begins with Ugyen, a young teacher whose heart is torn between the Western allure and the tranquil simplicity of his Himalayan roots. As we weave through his story, we unravel the complexities young Bhutanese face in their pursuit of contentment, a journey that echoes across continents and cultures, challenging us to consider the weight of happiness as measured by the UN Happiness Index.In a world grappling with the migration of minds, we confront the phenomenon of brain drain and its ripple effects on communities both losing and gaining vital human capital. From personal tales of Nepalese professionals to Norway's community-centric ethos, we ponder if the secret to a thriving society lies in nurturing local talents, much like a garden of diverse flora depends on the nourishment of its native soil. Joining this reflective odyssey, we dismantle misconceptions about global wealth, drawing a line between the imagined affluence of a middle-class Norway and the reality of a paycheck that just makes ends meet. By shedding light on the economic dynamics that span beyond borders, we seek pathways to inspire and retain youth, building a world where opportunities bloom at home. Support the Show.Follow my PatreonSupport my content at Buy me a Coffee:

Geophysicist Yeshey Seldon, is the first Bhutanese to set foot in Antarctica. She was in Antarctica as part of a research team called TIME (Thwaites Interdisciplinary Margin Evolution) who were there to study the Thwaites Glacier. Find out about her research and experience in Antarctica on this podcast. Yeshey is on Instagram: @yesheybokuuu. 00:00-Intro  1:45-Initial Antarctica experience  2:23-“Hurdy Gurdy” and local lingo  4:06-Expectation vs. Reality  5:52-McMurdo station (US Research Facility)  7:31-Wais Divide field camp  8:32-Thwaites Glacier  8:50-Reason for studying glacier in Antarctica  11:59-Being a geophysicist and climate change  14:32-Challenges 19:47-Memorable experiences  22:06-Animals --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/namgay-zam/message

Where in the world are women living sustainably? Are any countries actually carbon negative? And what is “ecofeminism”? In this episode, we're exploring sustainability from a global perspective. From the air we breathe, to how we source our food, our own health is intrinsically linked to a having a healthy environment to live in. First we hear from Bhutan, the world's first country to become carbon negative and a country that measures national growth through a General National Happiness Index. Social entrepreneur and climate educator Thinley Choden explains how spirituality and respect for nature mean sustainability is embedded in Bhutanese culture.Meanwhile, in Madagascar, climate activist Marie Christina Kolo explains ecofeminism and how it impacts her world view and daily life. She explains how Madagascar is one of the world's most bio-diverse and lowest polluting places, yet it's also one of the hardest hit by climate change. Scaachi and Sophia consider the insights offered by these two women from two very different countries and the lessons we can all learn from them, before deciding whether one, both, or neither of their characteristics deserves a spot in their female fantasy land. Because we can't build a better place for women if we can't imagine it.

World-renowned architect Bjarke Ingels joins Deepak Chopra to explore the intersection of design, mindfulness, and human well-being. They delve into Bjarke's innovative projects in New York and Copenhagen, before discussing their inspiring encounter with the Bhutanese royals and Bjarke's unique role in developing a new mindfulness city in Gelephu. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that blends visionary architecture with the wisdom of Eastern traditions.Get Bjarke's book, BIG. Formgiving

Michael Juergens is a multifaceted wine consultant, master of wine candidate, author, and punk rock drummer who shared his extraordinary journey of introducing winemaking to the Kingdom of Bhutan. We explored the unique tradition of Bhutanese name-giving by monks, which inspired the naming of his wine brand, Ser Chem, or "alcohol of the gods." Juergens' narrative weaves through his initial accidental marathon sign-up leading him to Bhutan, to the inception of the nation's first wine company under the guidance of local monks and the government.Juergens elucidates the challenges faced from selecting suitable grape varieties to navigating Bhutan's diverse climatic zones, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and experimentation in winemaking. His commitment to preserving Bhutan's carbon-negative status and biodiversity while introducing grapevines showcases a respectful and mindful approach to environmental sustainability. Juergens expresses the gravity of this responsibility: "The last thing I want is I bring in some new disease or some new fungus or some new pest or whatever that then wreaks havoc on the local environment and ruins the world's happiest country."With vivid anecdotes, Juergens shares insights from his varied experiences, from running marathons in extreme conditions like Antarctica to the meticulous process of becoming a master of wine. His journey in Bhutan parallels the marathon's challenges—emphasizing perseverance, adapting to unexpected obstacles, and the profound sense of accomplishment in contributing to something pioneering and impactful. "Sometimes when I'm doing the Bhutan wine company, that's the way I feel. Like there's this we don't know and we're just going to keep running until we fall down," Juergens reflects, drawing a powerful analogy between his marathon experiences and his winemaking venture.From the episode, listeners can glean: The significance of names and traditions in shaping business ventures, as illustrated by the meaningful naming of Ser Chem. The complexities of starting a wine industry from scratch in a country with no prior viticulture, underscored by Juergens' detailed recounting of the initial challenges and innovative solutions. The importance of environmental stewardship and careful planning in agricultural innovation, a principle that Juergens deeply respects and incorporates into his work in Bhutan. The parallels between endurance sports and business ventures in terms of resilience and perseverance, offering a unique lens through which Juergens views his wine venture.Juergens' story is a testament to the power of passion, vision, and resilience in turning the improbable into reality. It offers inspiration for entrepreneurs and wine enthusiasts alike, demonstrating that with enough determination, one can indeed introduce the "taste of Bhutan to the rest of the world."

In this podcast, Arun Bhattarai, talks about the "Mountain Man," the first Bhutanese documentary to qualify for the Oscars (2025). The film features Bhutan's first qualified glaciologist Phuntsho Tshering. He also talks about his latest film "Agent of Happiness" that is the first Bhutanese documentary to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Arun shares what it takes to make documentaries, the process, his journey, and more. 00:00-Intro 1:15-On qualifying for the Oscars 2025 3:12-Filming the Oscars entry Mountain Man 6:42-Climate Change in Mountain Man 11:15-Journey of filming documentaries  11:42-The film Agent of Happiness at Sundance 13:45-Looking for love 17:35-Studying filmmaking in Europe  19:14-Funding for independent filmmakers  20:18-On the film The Next Guardian 25:06-Where to watch the films  28:31-Queer characters in the films --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/namgay-zam/message

In this episode I am joined by Dr Chencho Dorji, Bhutan's first psychiatrist and the Professor of Psychiatry at Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan. Dr Dorji recalls his traumatic childhood growing up in Bhutan with a psychotic, alcoholic father. He describes the impact of living in constant fear of violence on he and his siblings, the resultant psychotic breakdown of his elder brother and the extreme methods used by the shamans, lamas, and traditional doctors who were recruited to heal them. Dr Dorji also recalls his arduous progress through medical training, special placements for psychiatry in Sri Lanka and Australia, compares Bhutanese and Western societies, and begins to consider the interaction between modern psychiatry and traditional Bhutanese approaches to mental health. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep237-bhutans-first-psychiatrist-dr-chencho-dorji

 Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast'. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Life in Bhutan before modernisation 03:23 - Community and family networks 05:26 - Ashi Kunzang Choden 07:08 - Radical social change in Bhutan 08:45 - Living in fear with a psychotic father 12:00 - Father's traumatic background 17:23 - Elder brother's breakdown and psychosis 20:31 - Devastated by brother's illness 21:44 - Attempting to cure Nima's psychosis through shamanic and religious rituals 26:30 - Supernatural vs modern approaches to mental health 29:58 - The limits of modern medicine 32:48 - Struggles and successes in education 37:28 - Deciding to become a psychiatrist to help family 41:42 - Lost opportunity to pursue psychiatry 47:00 - Studying psychiatry in Sri Lanka 49:03 - Fever and depression 52:22 - First experience of holiday 55:32 - One year clinical placement in Australia 57:40 - Problems in Australian society and healthcare system 01:00:56 - A challenging case 01:03:24 - All societies have problems 01:04:40 - Children's schooling experience in Australia 01:09:15 - Warning to young Bhutanese emigrating to Australia 01:13:06 - Return to Australia and hosting Bhutanese migrants 01:14:28 - Social impact on Bhutan of large scale emigration 01:18:14 - Time travel and predicting the future 01:19:47 - Interactions between psychiatry and traditional medical models 01:21:16 - Praise for Dr Caroline Van Damme 01:24:59 - Reflections on the US healthcare system … Previous Bhutan episodes playlist: - https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=bhutan To find out more about Dr Chencho Dorji, visit: - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057403100633 
For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi' by Steve James

"The Monk And The Gun" had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival, where it received strong reviews for its visuals and tone and look back on Bhutan's transition to democracy in 2006. Following up on the Oscar-nominated "Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom," director, writer, and producer Pawo Choyning Dorji has established himself as a force on the international filmmaking scene with two directorial efforts in his career. Pawo was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his latest film, which can be listened to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is the Bhutanese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and is up for your consideration in all eligible categories. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/nextbestpicturepodcast Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices