Cultural expression as political rhetoric: young Bhutanese refugees' collective action for social change

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of young Bhutanese refugees growing up in long-term camps in eastern Nepal. It focuses on a period of political crisis in the camps in 2006–2007, when community members' opinions clashed over long-term solutions to the refugee situation. The article examines the use of cultural expression – song, poetry, dance, art and drama – as a form of political rhetoric employed to inspire collective action for social change. These methods are used both by international agencies engaging children in community-based advocacy for improved children's rights and by revolutionary political groups building support for armed struggle to enable the refugees' return to Bhutan. The article considers how various actors use cultural expression to transform individuals' consciousness and build collective identities, and questions to what political ends these identities are put.