Deaf Bhutanese Refugee Advocates for Community in New Biography Down the Braided River

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Tracing a Life Across Borders and Rivers

Dangal often looked at the rivers in Concord and compared them to those in his native Bhutan. In Bhutan, the river currents moved fast, flooded quickly, and the water was clear enough to see the riverbed and drink straight from the source. He recalled early mornings in his childhood when his mother sang songs while walking down to the river to collect water for the day.

That life changed abruptly when Dangal and his family fled Bhutan amid conflict when he was just seven years old. He has not returned since.

“I wish even today that I still was able to live in Bhutan,” Dangal said through an interpreter. “It really is such a beautiful country, a beautiful landscape. It’s a very close-knit community. Everyone supports each other. Everyone helps each other out.”

Overcoming Language Barriers and Advocacy in Concord

Dangal spent two decades in Nepal, during which time he completely lost his hearing. He taught himself sign language and later became a teacher, eventually advocating for the deaf refugee community. Upon arriving in Concord in 2011, Dangal faced steep language and cultural barriers.

Julia Freeman-Woolpert, outreach advocacy director for the Disability Rights Center, met Dangal shortly after his arrival when neither of them knew American Sign Language. She helped new Americans access resources and watched Dangal learn ASL despite a lack of available classes.

“He’s very, very friendly, and he, in spite of all of the language barriers and the culture barriers, he has a very easy time making friends and getting to know people,” Freeman-Woolpert said. “The way that he could make friends, even when people were angry with him or not very nice to him or whatever, he somehow would be able to turn things around so that they ended up being friends, and I thought that was remarkable.”

Before coming to the United States, Dangal learned and taught Nepali Sign Language. In Concord, he quickly adopted ASL and volunteered as an interpreter for other members of the deaf Bhutanese community, assisting with medical appointments and daily navigation.

His leadership roles expanded over the years. Dangal graduated from the Road to Deaf Interpreting program, served on the board of the Himalayan Foundation USA, and delivered a keynote address at the first-ever World Refugee Day in 2021.

Collaborating on “Down the Braided River”

Conversations between Dangal and Freeman-Woolpert about documenting his life began around the COVID-19 pandemic, after Dangal had relocated to Pennsylvania. What started as an idea for a short story gradually expanded into a full-length book.

“We got to talk every week, and so we were able to keep in touch, even though they had moved to Pennsylvania,” Freeman-Woolpert said. “So it was important to me that we were able to stay connected in that way.”

The biographical project relied on the translating expertise of Mary Hughes and Lesley Richardson, both from New Hampshire. The team surmounted hurdles through weekly Zoom calls, using Hughes and Richardson to translate Dangal’s thoughts so Freeman-Woolpert could write the manuscript.

Hughes first met Dangal through UNH Manchester’s ASL program and connected further during her senior year. Richardson met Dangal’s wife before meeting Dangal himself. The four individuals formed the core team behind the publication.

“By having Mary and Leslie as part of the process, we had a lot of fun just laughing at how the stories morphed and changed and grew in the language, and it was interesting,” Dangal said through an interpreter. “I guess I enjoyed having that company. I enjoyed our time together. It gave me something to do with my mind when I was not at work or not with my family. So it was a really good process for me.”

As the publication date approaches, "Down the Braided River" shows the resilience, community building, and the enduring connections forged across international borders and linguistic divides.