Refugee Stories

Revised May 31st, 2012

In the article The stories of Tibetan elders in exile, J.M. Brown writes about the oral history project work by clinical psychologist Marcella Adamski in recording the stories of Tibetan elders in exile. Adamski’s work was spurred directly from a request by the Dalai Lama, whom she met in Dharamsala in 1999. After reading this article I was reminded of some of the stories I have heard from my own “elders in exile” when I was younger. I thought I’d patch together and share some of these stories so that people can read them and then maybe share their own stories as well.

I can remember most clearly my mother’s account of why her family fled from Tibet in late 1959. My mother’s family lived in the  small farming village of Namdha, about a half hour walk from the town of  Khangmar in the district of Gyantse. Her family was the wealthiest of the village and her father was well respected for the kindness he had shown to the poorer villagers, and the loans he gave to those who needed it.

Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay and Kalon Dicki Chhoyang Meet with Tibetan-Canadian Interns

Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay, Kalon Dicki Chhoyang, and the Tibetan interns of the 3rd Parliamentary Friends of Tibet Internship Program

 On Tuesday, May 1^st, at the end of the Tibetan Representative’s meeting in Ottawa, Canada, from April 29^th to May 1^st, 2012, Kalon Tripa Lobsang Sangay, and Kalon Dicki Chhoyang, met with the Tibetan-Canadian interns of the 3^rd Parliamentary Friends of Tibet Internship Program.

The Kalon Tripa spoke to the interns and explained the importance of representing the Tibetan people and the Tibetan cause on Parliament Hill, while stressing for interns to take pride in their rich cultural and historical background as Tibetans.

He also candidly shared his experiences serving as Kalon Tripa thus far and the challenges he faces in his new role as the political leader of the Tibetan people.

“He was able to show us that with strong will power and determination, we can accomplish anything we want. Most importantly, he reminded me of the things that I can be proud of as a Tibetan, and truly motivated me to work harder towards achieving the ultimate goal as a Tibetan – to see his Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama return to Tibet.” said intern Tenzin Kalsang.

Whither the Karmapa?

Police in Himachal Pradesh, India formally charged the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, along with some of his aides, with crimes related to a putatively illegal stash of foreign currency which was discovered nearly a year ago. I had perhaps naïvely thought this story had quietly gone away. A number of questions arise: is the Karmapa going to be arrested? Since these are serious charges, is there any question of his being sentenced to prison time? It seems virtually impossible that things would get to that stage (if somehow every other avenue failed, I imagine the president of India could pardon the Karmapa to avoid the public relations disaster of trying to imprison such a high-profile foreign guest). But it is possible that today’s developments signal a stepped-up harassment of the Karmapa by hostile elements in the Indian government. Exactly what their motivation for doing that is has always been unclear to me. It could be related to the Shamarpa/Tai Situ controversy, but I have never had the impression that the Shamarpa has that much influence in the Indian government. It could be that elements in Indian government are actively trying to make sure the Karmapa never has any political ambitions that would cause friction between India and China; or, they do want him to have political ambitions, but they want to be able to control him.

on the Sanya Declaration

A few days ago in Sanya, southern China, Brazil, India, Russia, China, and South Africa issued a joint statement called the Sanya Declaration. Most of it is bland, but I thought that what was not said here is interesting:

9. We underscore that the concurrent presence of all five BRICS countries in the Security Council during the year of 2011 is a valuable opportunity to work closely together on issues of peace and security, to strengthen multilateral approaches and to facilitate future coordination on issues under UN Security Council consideration. We are deeply concerned with the turbulence in the Middle East, the North African and West African regions and sincerely wish that the countries affected achieve peace, stability, prosperity and progress and enjoy their due standing and dignity in the world according to legitimate aspirations of their peoples. We share the principle that the use of force should be avoided. We maintain that the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of each nation should be respected.

Most of the world is pleased and inspired to see people in the Middle East working together to overthrow their corrupt governments. BRICS, of course, is “deeply concerned”. But I call BS on the statement, “We share the principle that the use of force should be avoided.” It makes it sound like they are pacifists. But, do you think the Chinese government will use force the next time Tibetan protesters take to the street with snow lion flags and calls for the Dalai Lama’s return? You betcha. Not only will they use force, but they will feel no need to apologize for it. Anybody who thinks about trying to pull a Tahrir Square on the People’s Republic had better get ready for some force coming their way.

Now, of course what the Sanya Declaration means is that they want regional monopolies on using force within the boundaries of the countries they rule. That’s fine. That’s the basis for the current status quo international regime. There’s a downside to it (China locking up Tibetan protestors, al-Assad in Syria having demonstrators shot, etc., etc.), but that’s the way things work. I just wish the BRICS would say what they mean instead of what sounds nice.

the fastest route to a free Tibet

is a free China. Not because the Chinese people will vote for a government that will recognise Tibet’s self-determination (they won’t), but because dismantling the apparatus of oppression in China will make it a lot harder to maintain it in Tibet. Therefore, I am enthusiastic about the goals of the so-called Chinese Jasmine Revolution, even though I have to admit I am not very optimistic about its prospects for success. Gady Epstein has a good summary at Forbes. Check out hashtag #cn220 on Twitter (but don’t believe everything you read). André Holthe translates from the Chinese a post entitled “We are the initiators of the ‘jasmine’ revolution“. Charles Custer reports from the scene in Beijing in a post titled “The Revolution that Wasn’t“; he says that nothing much happened. I would be very surprised if anything much comes of this, but you never know for sure what’s going to happen in the future. 自由万岁! Freedom forever!

Cablegate and Tibet

The on-going release of U.S. diplomatic cables has included several which relate to Tibet. One describes how the Chinese government has been paying Nepalese officials to apprehend Tibetan refugees, which is a fact that should be more embarrassing to Nepal, but apparently no one cares very much. Another shows the Dalai Lama suggesting to American officials that the focus should be on environmental problems in Tibet rather than on politics. The most detailed cable summarises several conversations with exile government officials. I found it very interesting that the (unnamed) author observes, “Although Western journalists often ask who the face of the Tibetan movement would be after the Dalai Lama passes away, Tibetans seemed remarkably unconcerned because they see a clear succession path.” This is one advantage of having public elections for the kalön tripa: it raises his profile, which will be important in the future when a kalön tripa has to serve at a time when there is no Dalai Lama.

Not much that’s mentioned in these cables is very surprising, but it’s interesting to see what gets emphasised, i.e. what an American diplomat thought was interesting to talk about. It’s important to note that the Wikileaks cables are marked with the lowest level of secrecy in the U.S. system. Presumably, any really shocking news that diplomats wanted kept secret would be available only at higher security clearance levels.

Dalai Lama figures in Wikileaks affair

Granted, this basically confirms what we already knew or suspected: that “Chinese operatives hacked into Google, the computers of US officials, and the online communications of the Dalai Lama“. One wonders what if anything the Dalai Lama would have been discussing by e-mail that would be an important secret.

What’s going on with the kalön tripa election?

I’m a bit unclear on what the story is right now with the kalön tripa (i.e. Tibetan exile prime minister) election process? The primary election was October 3, but I haven’t heard anything about election results. Is the field of candidates narrowed somewhat? People seem to still be discussing several options, which means they are apparently still in the race. Can anyone fill me in?

Are the Tibetans to blame for the failure of negotiatons?

Barry Sautman’s recent column in South China Morning Post is hard to stomach. Sautman is one of the most notable Western academic defenders of Chinese policies in Tibet. This is a fine thing, since he tends to make rational arguments in favor of his opinions. Even if we don’t agree with his conclusions, his arguments give us an opportunity to reflect more deeply on our own opinions and so see the world more clearly. Obviously, that doesn’t put him above critique, which is richly deserved in the case of his new article, “The Tibetan Impasse”, a response to an earlier article by Lodi Gyari. Sautman’s basic thesis, as stated in his first paragraph, is that, “Three decades of ‘negotiations about negotiations’ between the Dalai Lama’s envoys and Beijing have not made progress because, although exile leaders claim they are not separatists, they continue with assertions and actions that belie that claim.” Thus, he places blame squarely on the shoulders of the Tibetans.

After NBA event is cancelled, Parkdale bounces back

Here is an article written by Kate Allen, from the Globe and Mail, about Tibetan youth and basketball in the Parkdale area of Toronto.  I was interviewed by her for it and afterward I helped her with getting in touch with some other Tibetans in the community so that they could also give their input to the article. It was published last month but I forgot to post it on here for more people to read. So here it is for those who haven’t yet read it:

Rigpe Dorje (left), Dorjee Galtsen, Tenzin Kalden and Tenzing Chaeyang relax after playing basketball at an outdoor court in Parkdale. Della Rollins for The Globe and Mail

In Parkdale, like other inner-city communities in Toronto,basketball is social glue. When mentors try to impart life lessons to kids here, they often do it with basketball.

Remington Dixon, 19, is a coach with Power Youth and Sports, a local organization. “We have the kids come in, and every time I do a drill, I relate it to life,” he says. “If I can relate it to life, I can get kids to do well in school and on the court.”

So when the annual summer NBA 3on3 basketball tournament was cancelled, community organizers worried about what lesson that presented. For kids in Parkdale, the event was the equivalent of a trip to summer camp or the cottage, says Power director and parent Bruce Whitaker. The cancellation – “it was just bad vibes,” he says.