A definitive account of one of the twenty-first century's most consequential yet frequently overlooked humanitarian stories.Drawing on a decade of oral histories, archival research, and community immersion, Dr. Lopita Nath examines the complex process of "e;Third Country Resettlement"e; for Bhutanese refugees. She moves beyond statistics to reveal the lived realities of migration-the distinct challenges faced by different refugee groups and the persistent, deeply human question of what it means to search for a "e;Shangri-La"e; in the American heartland.Nath argues that refugee resettlement is far more than a bureaucratic endpoint. Instead, it is a continuous, multi-generational journey shaped by what she calls "e;emotional geographies."e; While the resettlement of more than 113,000 refugees worldwide-96,000 of them in the United States-stands as one of the most statistically successful efforts in history, she contends that the so-called "e;durable solution"e; remains incomplete on a human level. The transition from refugee camps to American cities requires a delicate negotiation between structural assimilation and cultural preservation.Through this lens, Nath shows that "e;Shangri-La"e; is neither a lost homeland in Bhutan nor an assured reality in the West. Rather, it is a shifting identity forged through resilience. For Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, the meaning of homeland has evolved-from a fractured memory of a betrayed Himalayan paradise to a transnational emotional geography that spans continents. In time, the United States has become not simply a place of exile, but a negotiated, permanent home.This work stands as both an important scholarly contribution to migration studies and a tribute to the remarkable strength of the human spirit.

A definitive account of one of the twenty-first century's most consequential yet frequently overlooked humanitarian stories.Drawing on a decade of oral histories, archival research, and community immersion, Dr. Lopita Nath examines the complex process of "e;Third Country Resettlement"e; for Bhutanese refugees. She moves beyond statistics to reveal the lived realities of migration-the distinct challenges faced by different refugee groups and the persistent, deeply human question of what it means to search for a "e;Shangri-La"e; in the American heartland.Nath argues that refugee resettlement is far more than a bureaucratic endpoint. Instead, it is a continuous, multi-generational journey shaped by what she calls "e;emotional geographies."e; While the resettlement of more than 113,000 refugees worldwide-96,000 of them in the United States-stands as one of the most statistically successful efforts in history, she contends that the so-called "e;durable solution"e; remains incomplete on a human level. The transition from refugee camps to American cities requires a delicate negotiation between structural assimilation and cultural preservation.Through this lens, Nath shows that "e;Shangri-La"e; is neither a lost homeland in Bhutan nor an assured reality in the West. Rather, it is a shifting identity forged through resilience. For Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, the meaning of homeland has evolved-from a fractured memory of a betrayed Himalayan paradise to a transnational emotional geography that spans continents. In time, the United States has become not simply a place of exile, but a negotiated, permanent home.This work stands as both an important scholarly contribution to migration studies and a tribute to the remarkable strength of the human spirit.

A definitive account of one of the twenty-first century's most consequential yet frequently overlooked humanitarian stories.Drawing on a decade of oral histories, archival research, and community immersion, Dr. Lopita Nath examines the complex process of "e;Third Country Resettlement"e; for Bhutanese refugees. She moves beyond statistics to reveal the lived realities of migration-the distinct challenges faced by different refugee groups and the persistent, deeply human question of what it means to search for a "e;Shangri-La"e; in the American heartland.Nath argues that refugee resettlement is far more than a bureaucratic endpoint. Instead, it is a continuous, multi-generational journey shaped by what she calls "e;emotional geographies."e; While the resettlement of more than 113,000 refugees worldwide-96,000 of them in the United States-stands as one of the most statistically successful efforts in history, she contends that the so-called "e;durable solution"e; remains incomplete on a human level. The transition from refugee camps to American cities requires a delicate negotiation between structural assimilation and cultural preservation.Through this lens, Nath shows that "e;Shangri-La"e; is neither a lost homeland in Bhutan nor an assured reality in the West. Rather, it is a shifting identity forged through resilience. For Bhutanese-Nepali refugees, the meaning of homeland has evolved-from a fractured memory of a betrayed Himalayan paradise to a transnational emotional geography that spans continents. In time, the United States has become not simply a place of exile, but a negotiated, permanent home.This work stands as both an important scholarly contribution to migration studies and a tribute to the remarkable strength of the human spirit.