Budhathoki, who became US MP, remembered his old days in Nepal.

Kathmandu, 9 November (HS). At the age of seven, he was forced to leave Bhutan and came to Nepal, studied and lived in a refugee camp and went to America under the rehabilitation plan. There he continuously raised his voice in favor of Bhutanese refugees. Suraj Budhathoki, who won the election and became an MP after becoming an advisor to the Refugee Committee in the US Parliament, is much talked about in Nepal.

Suraj Budhathoki, who went to America from the Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal about 9 years ago, was elected to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament, from the New Hampshire region in the recently held elections in America. Budhathoki, the Democratic Party candidate from New Hampshire, defeated his nearest rival Carlos Gonzalez of the Republican Party by a margin of just 355 votes. Hearing the news of his victory reminded Budhathoki of the 22 years he spent in a refugee camp in Nepal.

Budhathoki, in a phone conversation from Texas on Saturday, became emotional remembering the days of his struggle from the age of seven in a refugee camp in Nepal's Jhapa district to reaching America. He recalled how when Nepali speakers were suddenly driven out of Bhutan, he had to leave his house, courtyard, relatives and all and run away to save his life.

Budhathoki told that after walking for two consecutive days with his parents, he reached the refugee camp in Jhapa district of eastern Nepal. Recalling his childhood, he passed his 10th class examination by eating half the food and spending his childhood and adolescence in the camp while working as a labourer. While working there, he also completed his graduation and later he reached America under the rehabilitation scheme of the US government.

Budhathoki was a refugee congressional delegate from New Hampshire. He came to the US in 2009 as a resettled refugee. Suraj is a small business owner. Previously she served as the Interim Executive Director at Building Community in New Hampshire, formerly the Bhutanese Community of New Hampshire. He is also a founding member of BCNH and worked on Coordinated Market Navigation and the New American Youth Engagement Project at BCNH. In Bhutan he worked as executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights.

Suraj was nominated for the American Council of Young Political Leaders in 2014 and 2016. Suraj earned a master's degree in international relations from Norwich University. At present he is also pursuing PhD from the University of California. Suraj says that he continues to advocate for the rights of exiled Bhutanese citizens. This time he was made the candidate of the Democratic Party. With the help of his people, about five thousand dollars were spent in the election campaign.