Psychiatric disorders among tortured Bhutanese refugees in Nepal.

Abstract

SINCE 1990, Nepal has received more than 100 000 Bhutanese refugees. These Nepali-speaking refugees are descendants from Nepali migrants who were invited to settle in Bhutan several generations ago. The refugees left Bhutan because of persecution and torture by the Bhutanese government's security services. The autocratic government likely felt threatened by the country's growing Nepali-speaking population and the launch of a democracy movement.^1-3