The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Increasing sickness and deaths in Australia and how ABPI is helping in Perth
In a tragic incident, a young Bhutanese student studying in Perth, Australia, has been found dead, with authorities suspecting suicide as the cause. The student’s body was discovered on 1st November 2024, and local police have reported no signs of foul play, noting the room door was locked from the inside.
The student, originally from Gelephu, was reportedly experiencing stress related to financial challenges. Unable to secure stable employment, he was dependent on family support to cover tuition expenses. He shared an apartment with friends.
The Association of Bhutanese in Perth Incorporated (ABPI) has stepped in to assist, organizing a fundraising effort to cover the costs of repatriating the student’s body and making necessary arrangements. According to ABPI President, Chimmi Dorji, financial and emotional stress affects many Bhutanese students who may struggle with tuition and living expenses while working limited hours under visa restrictions. He expressed concern that many individuals are hesitant to seek help despite mounting pressures.
Chimmi said that on one hand many of the 25,000 to 30,000 Bhutanese in Perth are doing well for themselves, but on the other hand, there are also many Bhutanese who are living under pathetic conditions.
While ABPI is raising funds for the above case, just recently it also raised funds for an elderly lady who has a kidney problem, a young student who had to transplant a kidney, and a major accident case where the driver broke his ribs, hands and legs.
The association after raising funds for the dead student has four more cases of fund raising lined up, based on first come- first serve basis and urgency.
One upcoming fundraising case is a lady with breast cancer, one is a female patient with tuberculosis and kidney problem, one is an accident case where the person lost his vehicle and is undergoing rehabilitation, and the fourth upcoming case is also another vehicle accident.
Chimmi said that in most accident cases, it is not the fault of the Bhutanese drivers, but there are hit and run cases. He said in one of the recent cases, the Bhutanese driver was driving in the early hours and another vehicle hit him and escaped, and the Bhutanese driver was so badly injured that he did not know how he even reached the hospital or what exactly happened.
Chimmi explained the problem is that in some cases the elderly parents who come on visitor visas do not have insurance, and even for those who have student medical insurance the insurance does not cover everything.
Giving an example, Chimmi said in an Australian Hospital, just the cost of the bed per night is AUD 2,800 not including visiting doctor charges, diagnosis, etc. In short, a visit to the hospital could easily bankrupt a Bhutanese family there.
With the large number of Bhutanese in Perth, the death of the student is the third death of the year. A death in February 2024 is another suspected suicide case, while in April a woman died in front of her children and husband.
Last year, an elderly woman passed away in the hospital in Perth.
In 2016 and 2019 two Bhutanese students died in Perth in vehicle accidents.
ABPI is not kept busy with just deaths and illness, but it also does other voluntary service, like document attestation for loan cases in Bhutan, census of new born babies and even marital disputes at times.
APBI was recently approached for a donation from Bhutan for a commercial activity centered around National Day.
ABPI had to decline as it wrote back saying that it has to prioritise funds for the many and more needy cases in Perth, given the high population of Bhutanese there.
In December 2023 a Bhutanese woman was murdered by a work colleague in the Canberra Zoo kitchen. The case is currently in court.
