2. Hosting Tibetan Refugees for Over 6 Decades
In the days leading up to the World Refugee Day, Tibet TV releases its documentary series on refugee Voices.
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2. Hosting Tibetan Refugees for Over 6 DecadesPosted by TIBET TV on Wednesday, 17 June 2020
The UN estimates, every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. Tibetans saw their country invaded by the Chinese government in 1949, which led to increasingly oppressive conditions that finally resulted in Tibetan resistance of 1959 where millions of Tibetans were killed, forcing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to seek refugee in India along with 80,000 Tibetans.
In the next 60 years, Tibetans have successfully accomplished in establishing an exile Administration in India with the support of the Indian government, and under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the CTA, the rich Tibetan culture that the Chinese government sought to destroy in Tibet, has been revived and flourishing all over the world.
In the days leading up to the World Refugee Day on June 20, Tibet News Bureau of the Central Tibetan Administration has released a second documentary as part of its series on Refugee Voices.
A group of local small business owners in Dharamshala shared their experience and perspective on the Tibetan community. From their contact with the first generation of Tibetans who arrived in India to the remarkable growth achieved in under a decade, including the significant cultural and economic impact it has had on the host community, they share their memories of the past and present Tibetan refugee community.
A store-owner shared the passed down refugee account of his parents, “I used to hear from my parents in childhood after the 1947 partition of India, my parents and grandparents, we had a huge family. They moved from Pakistan to Dharamshala via Amritsar and Pathankot. While arriving here, the Indian government had set up camps for refugees. So we were also given the status of refugee, we came as a refugee. We worked very hard. They have taken care of their family. Similarly, Tibetans arrived here after the Chinese occupation, they came as a refugee. Our then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, very open-heartedly welcomed them and gave them a home. As I see it, they spend their lives very decently.”
A second Indian says, “I have never thought of them as refugees, I have grown up seeing them, it has been this way, I have never thought of them as refugees, to me, they are like local citizens.” Another says, “They are also very active at maintaining environmental cleanliness and are a good community of people.”
“Tibetans arrived when I was small. That generation of Tibetans who arrived must be in their 70s now. They were very good customers of mine. Whenever they came, they would stop to talk to me for at least a few minutes and only then leave,” a store owner says.
An Indian tailor says, “I used to do men’s tailoring earlier. It so happened that one Tibetan woman came to us and she asked us to make a chupa [traditional Tibetan wear] for her. That was the first time we made a chupa. The master took a look at the design and made her the chupa. Now, it has been some 40 years since we began making chupas. Today we only make chupas and blouse sets for the Tibetans.”
“If we talk about their contributions in Dharamshala, Tibetans have made, quite a large contribution because Dharamsala’s popularity has grown mostly after His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It has become a designated tourist destination largely due to His Holiness and in this regard, the Tibetan community have played a large part,” another Indian says.
“The biggest contribution is that they are warm-hearted and have integrity, no contribution can be greater than that.”
“Although their future is also good in Dharamsala, it would be great if Tibet does get free. it’s their own country so it would be great. Even if they stay here, there is no problem as such but your own country is always your own.”
“I would hope that they reclaim their country, as it is their own country. There would be less problem among people, and His Holiness would be reunited too.”
7th person says, I seriously think that they must have the right to go back and return to their homes, but it’s very sad that nobody is coming forward to help. It’s truly a matter of embarrassment that no country is coming forward because of fear of angering China.”
From 30 March 1959 when the Government of India granted asylum to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the 80,000 Tibetan refugees who followed him into exile, India has remained a second home for Tibetan people—supporting the sustainability of Tibetan leadership and the Tibetan freedom struggle in ways no other country has ever done. On this year’s Refugee Day, as we celebrate the Tibetans’ success story, the story of the world’s most successful refugee community, we thank and honour the kindness and generosity of our host, the great country of India.