This week, Kashish Das Shrestha opened a photo exhibition (organised by UNHCR and curated by photo.circle) in the refugee camps of Beldangi and Sanischare in Jhapa, portraying the lives of those who have left for resettlement in the United States over the last three years. This Time features photos from Atlanta, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, and is part of a larger photo and video project on the lives of resettled Bhutanese refugees in six cities across the US.

Among those featured in This Time are Ganga and Deepak, who moved to New York in June 2008 as part of the resettlement program. In March 2009, Nepali Times ran a story on Ganga and Deepak, who had been dating in the refugee camp in Jhapa and got married in New York. This year, Kashish Das Shrestha revisited the families, who have since moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ganga and Deepak now have a daughter, Dipisha, and both work in a fruit packing factory. They often get overtime and use the opportunity for extra income as Ganga's parents are around to take care of the baby while they are at work.

PICS: KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA Ganga and her daughter Dipisha, who was born in New York last year. She moved with her family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, soon after.

Ganga's siblings Bishnu, Yubraj and Bhaghirathi in the Neopaney family's apartment in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family's second oldest daughter, Tuka Devi, continues to live in New York with relatives while pursuing her education.

The Neopaney household in Sanischare camp, Jhapa, now occupied by another family.

Ganga and Deepak live next door to Ganga's parents in Pittsburgh.

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Virtual reunion

GOPAL GARTOULA

It has been three years since Ganga saw his aunt Shanti, who left Beldangi-2 refugee camp in Jhapa for the US. When he saw her full-size photo, tears filled his eyes. Shanti now runs a shop in North Dakota.

Many refugee family members have been separated during the resettlement of the last three years. They may have been able to write to each other and sometimes chat over the phone, but thanks to the ongoing exhibition This Time, those left behind now have the chance to actually see how their friends and family are doing in the United States.

Sancha Maya Tamang used to live in Beldangi-1, Refugee Camp Sector D. She's now in Georgia. Secretary at the camp TB Gurung, after seeing a picture of her whipping up some hot and sour chana chatpate, says, "It's strange to see her there, but I'm happy."

Altogether 36,618 refugees have been resettled in eight countries in the last three years.

Gopal Gartoula