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Living in Exile |
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.
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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