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Living in Exile No passport, no national identity--only the tag of "refugee." While controversy continues to surround the new Chinese railway line into the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, Mridu Khullar heads to Dharamshala to find out what life means to 21st century refugees. Photographer Crystal Street Walking down the busy Temple Road each morning, I'm greeted with familiar friendly faces-- monks going to or coming from their daily walks around the temple, shop owners setting up makeshift stalls on the side of the street, tourists sipping on their morning tea in small cafés, and little children on their way to school. In fact, so normal is the daily life of the people in McLeod Ganj, that it's easy to forget that this quaint little town in the Himalayas is at the center of a freedom struggle. In 1950, Tibet was occupied by China and while the Tibetan government-in-exile views the current rule in Tibet as “colonial and illegitimate,” the Chinese government maintains that Tibet has been an indivisible part of China for the last 700 years. Nine years after the occupation, the Tibetan leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, fled into exile, and the Indian government offered him asylum in Dharamshala. Since then, thousands of Tibetans have secretly crossed the Chinese border and trekked over the Himalayas into this community of exile to join their leader. And it is here, in this community of exile, that a new Tibet has been created. One that accepts the old and embodies the new. One that holds on to old values while changing with the times. One that, even while dreaming of a free Tibet, has learned to move on. In search of identity At first glance, there’s little in common between the middle-aged nun who performs prayers for a living, the young housewife who spends her days looking after her ailing husband, or the teenage student who manages her sister’s shop in the day and studies at night. Until you realize that they’ve all arrived recently from Tibet. That they all speak little or no English. That they’ve all put their lives in danger to get to where they are today. Approximately 2,000 Tibetans are said to arrive in the reception centre for Tibetan refugees in McLeod Ganj each year. Once here, they’re given health treatment and an option to go to school, learn new skills and become active members of the community. Children, who form the bulk of the new arrivals, are sent to one of the many Tibetan Children’s Village schools throughout the country, where they are provided with free education, meals and daily supplies till they graduate. But while they’re eventually able to get everything else, there’s one thing that remains missing for these refugees: A nationality. For most people, having a nation to call their own or being able to get a passport is as normal as having a name. But for the Tibetans in India, there is no nationality. There is no passport. They are permanent refugees. And a yellow piece of paper is their identity. * For the complete story, please contact Mridu. |
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