REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio - Bhuwan Pyakurel has gone from a life without doors to knocking on doors.
The Reynoldsburg man is now spending many of his weekends campaigning in his neighborhood. He is running for the Ward 3 seat on city council.
It is a far cry from the days he lived without any doors in a refugee camp in Nepal.
Pyakurel was born in Bhutan. And he lived a quiet life in the outskirts of a small village there with his parents and siblings until he was 9 years old. That was the early 1990s, when the Bhutanese government started to crack down on on ethnic Nepalis and kicked out hundreds of one-time citizens, eventually leading to a crisis of about 100,000 refugees.
"Bhutan government wants all people who are living in that country, wants to have same language, same religion, same dress and same people," Pyakurel said. "They want to say – one people, one country, one language, one religion. "
Pyakurel's parents escaped to India, leaving behind their four children. Pyakurel was the oldest at 9. His youngest sibling was just 1 year old.
"Had that day my mother did not choose to walk away, she would have been raped," he said. "Because many women were raped by Bhutanese military, and many were killed."
After several days on their own, the children took off on their own to try to reunite with their parents.
"We did not know where to go and which direction to move because that’s the first time coming to the village, first time seeing the two-wheelers in so many numbers, so many cars, so many buses, and nobody even knows you," Pyakurel said.
Simply by chance, they picked the right direction. They walked toward the border with India. And they managed to reunite with their parents. But the uncertainty only continued as they were all shuffled of to a refugee camp in Nepal.
Pyakurel would spend 18 years in the camp, living in a house with a plastic roof and no doors. The families there relied on food and water supplies from the UN Refugee Agency.
"We were in the camp for so long," Pyakurel said. "Our first objective was to go back to Bhutan. We wanted to go back to Bhutan and be there and continue our life as usual."
But that was not to be. Pyakurel got his early education in the camp before graduating from college in India. He met his wife, and they had their first daughter -- a girl -- all while still living in the refugee camp.
Finally, in 2009, the family was assigned resettlement in Colorado, a world entirely new to Pyakurel.
"It’s the first time I boarded a plane," he said. "The first time I used elevator, never used elevator, first. First time using automatic water dispenser, never seen those things. These are smaller things, but usually we don’t even think that way, but this also makes a big difference."
Pyakurel says he arrived in the U.S. with around $15 to his name. And, despite his science degree, he worked an entry-level job at a grocery store. He often picked up other side jobs, and he did the best he could to make new ties in his new community. That's where his second child was born.
"My son was born in Colorado, so he always tell – I can become the president, and my daughter cannot become president," Pyakurel said. "That’s what they always talk about."
Life in Colorado was soon cut short, however, when Pyakurel's father developed a skin condition. The doctor recommended he move to a lower elevation with less dry air. So, he picked Ohio.
"Coming here, it was a little bit challenging in the beginning, but Ohio, and especially Columbus, the diversity inclusion is really, really good," Pyakurel said. "By far, Ohio has the largest Bhutanese population outside Bhutan, without any doubt. Among that, Columbus has the largest population."
So Pyakurel soon made Reynoldsburg home. And 2016 was a turning point. Pyakurel took the oath to become a U.S. citizen.
"America has not only given us a physical space to live, but they have opened their heart," Pyukarel said. "On that day when I became a citizen, when the federal judge spoke about the importance of vote, that struck me in my heart. Yes, this is my duty, and this is my responsibility as a citizen. So that is the day I decided."
On that day, Pyakurel decided to run for political office. Next Tuesday, his name will be on the official ballot.
"It’s an American dream, and also, I want to contribute and be part of this nation, be part of this community, which has given me so much," he said. How can I give back to this nation?"
Pyakurel is running against the incumbent, Republican Marshall Spalding, and Libertarian Rob Bender, who does not appear to have a public campaign site.