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Of those 6 months in Phuenthsoling

25 August 2009

In searing heat, I frantically walked through the street alleys and threw surreptitious glances at partially-clad girls. I often asked them if they were commercial sex workers. What on earth was I doing? Rabi C Dahal recalls his stint in Phuentsholing

On my transfer to Phuentsholing bureau, my editor had only one line to tell me: explore the business and sexual underbelly of Phuentsholing.

Sounded easy, but that one-line mandate carried a world of challenges. Four months after I went to Phuentsholing, I realised how Phuentsholing was tantalisingly teeming with stories about its underbelly, yet they are elusive, and at times, dangerously difficult to follow.

Those stories about commercial sex trade, exploitation of young women, drug abuse, black market, fronting, and unemployment, among others. In mid June, months after numerous abortive attempts, I managed to file in a few stories on prostitution and drug abuse. It was exceedingly difficult to do such stories.

Some people told me that, if I was serious about doing stories on prostitution and drug abuse, I should go to Jaigaon. So to Jaigaon I went to carry out a survey on the housing problem Bhutanese residents faced.

The survey revealed that thousands of Bhutanese lived in Jaigaon for lack of houses in Phuenthsoling, and dozens of young Bhutanese girls were into sex business.

Bhutanese residents said I was there to flog the same old issue. They said that, before the government intervened, more Bhutanese would be forced to find accommodation across the border.

Many young women living in Jaigaon admitted that they did flesh trade. Some worked in dingy bars with choking smell of drying beef and tongba. Some rented apartments and operated their business through the mobile phone.

Some other operated from Bhutan. A few days later, I came to be recognised by many of those women.

Now, I know and am in touch with more than a dozen of them, and through them several others. They are my news sources.

It was easier to talk to youth who were into drugs. Young students told me that many school-going children did drugs. No wonder.

A few steps across the gate, banned substances were sold openly. Bringing drugs into the country was not a tough job, some boys told me.

They carefully observed security people at the gate and slipped in. Some said they poured the contraband syrup in a cool drink bottle and walked past the gate.

Over the months, a lot of people had come to know me. Some acknowledged my stories. I felt that I was the most valuable reporter for Bhutan Observer.

I was asked to cover Chhukha and Samtse as well, but Phuentsholing, the business hub of Bhutan, was so eventful that I rarely felt the need to go to other places.

Hang out late night, hop bars and clubs, meet and talk to people with the innocence of a bar hopper, you come to know who actually runs the businesses and who plays what part.

Every other person I came across said the media failed to highlight the bane of fronting. I thought that the media did what it could. The ball was in the government’s court.

Sources told me that many parking fee collectors in kira were not Bhutanese. Many Indian girls with mongoloid looks are taken to Thimphu and other places in kira. A girl in kira seated beside a Land Cruiser-driving dasho is taken as the dasho’s daughter.

Nobody dares raise an eyebrow. During my six months’ stay in Phuentsholing, I visited JDWNRH in Thimphu five times and Phuentsholing hospital just once.

The huge, new hospital had little kindness and hospitality to offer. Many Bhutanese said they preferred going to India for checkups than visiting Phuentsholing hospital.

It was getting hotter when I was posted to Phuentsholing. Even as I could smell autumn in the air, I was called back to Thimphu. I signed out from Phuentsholing.

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Comments

18 Responses to “Of those 6 months in Phuenthsoling”

  1. ammi on August 25th, 2009 10:53 am

    gud job dude! ur 6 months stay in p/ling have been indeed a very productive one…….

  2. choing on August 25th, 2009 4:56 pm

    u did a exclent job.do kep it up and hope to read more and help them.
    but can u plez also survey the fronting in p/ling and penden cement crisis in p/ing.

  3. Namge on August 25th, 2009 5:39 pm

    I really liked your article …. i actully liked the new papper i mean bhutan observer…i don’t know but somewhere i felt only bhutan obsever has the professional journelist….the way news are being writen…

  4. rigselmonax gurung on August 26th, 2009 9:26 am

    Not only 6 months but should be double of that so that you can get to know in & outs of how the bhutanese people dwell down in the border town.while,this itself is a huge achievement…….keep it up and keep going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. phuntsho on August 26th, 2009 10:08 am

    haha Namge….you sound little biased. his article is good but your assertion of bhutan observer having professional journalists is incredibly over-assessment.

  6. ugan on August 26th, 2009 4:37 pm

    rabi
    i alys reads ur article.its so good and so clear…hope amd pray u do good in everything u do.

  7. Tshering Yeshi on August 26th, 2009 4:41 pm

    I like the article……………….though he is IT engineering by professional, no wonder he is a good journalist. I find his articles best amongst all. RABI keep it up man u made us proud. Its incredible.

  8. lhamo on September 12th, 2009 11:07 am

    well done! i finally understand it. very great,,,

  9. dorji on October 7th, 2009 11:47 am

    nice article u r best reporter to have in in observer

  10. kesa on October 8th, 2009 12:09 am

    you have indeed done a good job in Pling but seems like you became lazy after coming to Thimphu. Should have stayed in pling and brought more issues to light… Gear up man…. You are surely making a difference

  11. deki on October 29th, 2009 5:12 pm

    cool article…good research…..prositution in p/ling on the rise due to lack of jop oppoptunities….pple are doing it for the sake of living…damn…this is what i hate the most( prositution)…

  12. kom on November 8th, 2009 7:34 pm

    good kept up and good articels..

  13. password on November 27th, 2009 11:52 am

    really gud articles and understandable one…………..6 months and u covered allmost all the story of plp in border……… do keep it up and over to read new articels from you………….

  14. jimmy tshe on January 5th, 2010 5:23 am

    i just cant bear it to say this , that why in the hell that govt. are not able to provide some housing state or apartment to those bhutanese people living in p/ling, after so many years,still havent found to solve the this problem, i am so disgusted with, how those bhutanese had to live and go through living hell,in indian town.If its still goin on than iam not happy about this concept call gnh, what that means to people and show to others.

  15. freeeway on January 9th, 2010 11:48 am

    DAMN this is really dissapointing n disgusting…the govt must do sth. immediately before its too late or else we r in a dire consequences n its a serious problem…

  16. neelu on February 8th, 2010 4:51 pm

    not only he can make the changes, why not we all , sochana kya shooru hou jao hum sub sath hain
    neelu

  17. tsangpa on March 2nd, 2010 4:38 pm

    Really liked your article. Its really nice.what to say you BO journalists are great !!!!!!!

  18. AKSAXENA on March 12th, 2010 11:14 am

    A very good article. It potrays the general living conditions of Bhutaneese people compelled to live in border town.In order to save our people from exploitation there is need to create alternative employment opportunities in P/ling itself.. P/ling is a border town which is very much affected by the culture of residents of JAIGAON.Cheap and substandard living conditions compell our nationals to fall prey to the undesirable activities going on across the border.Inflow of undesirable element s (people) need to bechecked

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