The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The last week has not been a good one for Bhutan in terms of its international image and diplomacy, with reports of Bhutan falling in the traffic colour lists of the US government.
There was a lot of hurt and understandable anger given how Bhutan does not pose a threat to USA, and is instead on mainly positive global lists of tourism, happiness and peace.
There can be no doubt that the current US administration is overreacting when it comes to Bhutan’s visa overstay issue given the miniscule numbers involved.
However, this crisis is also an opportunity to look at what is our role in this.
If we take a closer look at the Department of Homeland Security data on visa overstays in the last few years then Bhutan, in terms of percentage, is one of the top violators holding the second rank for two years in a row and also the third rank and fifth rank.
It is this percentage that has drawn the attention of US authorities and particularly the Trump administration which has made immigration a top priority.
It is due to the deft and quick actions of our government and diplomats that Bhutan has avoided being on the red list. If Bhutan remained on the red list, then it would have been disastrous for us as all travel and visa to the USA would be banned and this would impact investments to Bhutan.
The main culprit in all of the above are some people in Bhutan who have made it a business to take groups to USA with the intention of overstaying. The numbers are small but the over stay percentage is high.
These people are compromising the security, economic well being and image of the country.
It is high time that the responsible agencies and law enforcement investigate book these people and actions should include permanently cancelling their passports.
Bhutanese should now also understand that their joining these groups are not only putting themselves at a high risk of deportation but also impacting the country in the process.
In Bhutan the habit is to only act when a crisis is about to boil over, and this is why these unscrupulous characters have gotten away for so long. We cannot afford another such crisis.
Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail.
John F. Kennedy