When Narayan Phuyal, 35 and Madhab Phuyal, 32 had to flee from south Bhutan 17 years ago, all they had was a certificate to prove that they had passed Grade 10. They dreamt of studying further and becoming doctors one day. Today they live in Hut no.40 at the Jhapa refugee camp. They may not have become medical doctors but they are now both PhD holders. Just last year Narayan received his degree in Refugee and International Law from Bangalore and Madhab got his PhD in English from a university in Hyderabad.

When the brothers arrived in Nepal in 1991, Madhab began studying at a school in Birtamod and Narayan was sent to a school in Siliguri. He got his bachelors degree in law from West Bengal University before applying for his PhD in Bangalore. Before studying for his PhD, Madhab had received a bachelor's degree from Tribhuban University. The Phuyal brothers say that there are only 10 people in the whole of Bhutan who have a PhD degree and they are proud of the fact that they were able to get so far in their studies while living in a refugee camp. Narayan says that the reason he studied refugee studies is because he wanted to understand the life he led, "If you are strong at heart, even the suffering of being a refugee will not stop you."