DANGEROUS CROSSING: - International Campaign for Tibet

DANGEROUS CROSSINGS: CONDITIONS IMPACTING THE FLIGHT OF TIBETAN REFUGEES, 2011
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Long-staying Tibetan refugees face difficulties leaving Nepal. In
one example, the US Government, prompted by the conditions
for many Tibetans in Nepal, offered to resettle Tibetan refugees
who lacked permanent status in Nepal. Since then, the Nepal
government has refused to allow the resettlement process to go
ahead, despite repeated requests from the US Government. 182
Notably, interviewees who had the financial means to receive private
higher education and thus were able to build job opportunities
in the private sector were markedly less pessimistic about
living in Nepal. Tenzin Namgyal, a young man in his twenties
from Tashi Palkhiel Pokhara, said: “A year ago I was dreaming of
going to the USA, for new opportunities. But my business, and
being with my family and friends, makes me happier here.” However,
Tenzin and others like him are among the few who have
managed to navigate the substantial documentation, property,
business and education hurdles which the Nepal government has
in place – something the majority of the Tibetan refugees have
neither the capital nor capacity to do.
Suppression of Tibetan Culture and Religion in Nepal
Degradation, and even criminalization, of Tibetan culture and religion by Chinese
government policies in Tibet is one of the main reasons that Tibetans risk their lives
crossing the Himalayas into freedom in exile. As testament to this, soon after its
own establishment, the Tibetan exile government established the Tibetan Institute
of Performing Arts (TIPA) in Dharamsala, India as a conservatory to preserve and perform
traditional songs and dances. In the relative havens that are Nepal, India and
Bhutan, over the past 60 years, Tibetans have been able to perform, explore and
develop their own unique cultural heritage away from the restrictions of Chinese
rule, including celebrating key Tibetan festivals such as Losar (Tibetan New Year,
February/March) and the Dalai Lama’s birthday (July 6).
In Nepalis remote Tibetan refugee settlements, Tibetans often feel that the Tibetan
Buddhist culture is endangered by out-migration and a lack of funds. The inhabitants
of Chialsa in the Solokhumbu region struggle to sustain their small monastery.
Their 60-member performing arts troupe is now comprised of only a few young
women who are left to perform at ten important events in the Tibetan calendar.
In the overcrowded city-based Tibetan settlements, the difficulties in maintaining
culture are not about a lack of numbers. Where once Tibetans in Nepal were able to
freely gather to mark cultural events, over the past three years, state interventions
in these have become common. A tacit understanding which existed between the