It might not have been the race that stopped the nation, but for the 79-year-old woman who won the walking circuit, it was indeed a tough challenge to overcome.
“I competed in this race last year too and didn’t win. This year it’s my turn.”
That’s Devika Kafle, a former Bhutanese refugee, now living in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown with her extended family.
79 years old Devika Kafle won a 50-metre walking competition in community sporting event organised by the Association of Bhutanese in Australia in Sydney. Source: SBS Nepali
Ms Kafle, who turns 80 in three months, narrowly defeated 90-year-old Durga Prasad to claim the first position in a 50-metre walking competition at the Sydney chapter of Association of Bhutanese in Australia’s annual sports day.
It was the first time Mr Prasad took part in the race, but he says he felt so happy that he is now keen to do it again next year.
The race was part of a day-long event that saw members of the Nepali-speaking community try and outdo each other in 36 different categories and competitions.
Elder members of the Bhutanese community in Sydney also took part Photo: Association of the Bhutanese in Australia Source: Facebook/Association of the Bhutanese in Australia
From 4-year-olds to a 90-year-old grandfather – the all-age event included rock throwing, guessing the weight of a watermelon, volleyball, soccer and even a lolly race for children.
Dambar Kumar Dhungyel is the Sydney president of the Association of Bhutanese in Australia. He says events like these help keep the community united and build harmony among its members.
“These events help especially our older members of the community: our grandparents. It helps us deal with isolation and youth issues as well,” says Dhungel.
The association organises two sporting events annually, one specifically for children during the mid-year school holidays, and the second an all-ages event held on Christmas Day.
In 2018, the Christmas Day event was postponed to be held on January 28, 2019, due to a death in the community.
“As we’re in Australia, we decided to be a part of the culture here and celebrate Christmas Day through sports,” says Om Dhungel, the former president and a founding member of the association.
In 2008, when Bhutanese refugees came to Sydney from Nepal, as part of a 'third-country' resettlement solution, the majority of them lived in Blacktown, Penrith and Campbelltown.
Members of the Bhutanese community in Sydney during a soccer match at the event. Source: SBS Nepali
“The sporting event started pretty much from the beginning of the resettlement process,” says Dhungyel.
For him, it’s not only community harmony that can be achieved through such events.
“It also works as a leadership building exercise. We can now step back and provide opportunities to young people and help build their confidence.”
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Who are the Bhutanese in Australia?
The Australian community of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese had been living in refugee camps in Nepal for more than two decades, after being expelled from Bhutan in the early 1990s.
The then Bhutanese government’s policy of ‘One Nation, One People’ meant Nepali speakers were forced to give up their language and culture or face punishment. Many Nepalis, despite being born in Bhutan were denied citizenship.
In a government crackdown, more than 100,000 people have been expelled from the country.
Since then, after languishing at UN refugee camps in southern Nepal, a deal to resettle the Bhutanese in the third country including Australia, the US and Canada was finalised.
More than 6,000 Bhutanese refugees have since been resettled in Australia.
Source: SBS Nepali
