New Comers from Tibet: In Pursuit of an Education

By Lodoe Gyatso / August 22, 2018;

Exile Tibetan Buddhist monks speak aloud philosophical concepts at the Namgyal Monastery School in Dharmsala, India, June 20, 2018.
Photo: RFA

Eight Tibetans from the eastern region of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) arrived at the Tibetan Refugee Centre in Dharamshala on August13, Radio Free Asia(RFA) reported. The group includes six monks, a nun and a 13 year-old girl.

The group crossed the border to Nepal with the aid of a guide. Each paid the guide around 150,000 Rupees [US$2,150 / £1,670]. Once in Nepal they were eventually able to transit through the country and enter India. Phayul reported that the group was detained in Nepal where the immigrations authorities cited “security concerns” and quoted the Nepalese media as saying that the immigration process was handled on the basis of an informal agreement among Nepal, India and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

RFA quotes the young escapees as all saying that they decided to leave Chinese-occupied Tibet because they were prevented from studying Tibetan religious and cultural traditions due to official restrictions.

A 21-year-old monk said, “The entire purpose of traveling to India was to study, as we believe the opportunities in exile are greater and the environment is more conducive for students to flourish.”

A 19-year-old monk said he had lived in a monastery in Tibet for 15 years. “But the monastery had few monks, and lacked decent facilities and opportunities to study well,” he said. “Since we were under [government] control, there was no way to study what we wanted. Now, we will have a chance to do so, but only far away from our homes.”

A 16-year-old monk said that while there was a monastery in his home town in the TAR, “the facilities were poor.” He added that he hopes to enter a monastery in India to pursue his monastic studies. “I stayed for one year in a monastery in Tibet, but there was a lack of good educational opportunities,” he said. “In exile there are many more options for those who wish to learn.”

The 13-year-old girl said that she wanted to learn Tibetan, which had been sidelined in public schooling in the TAR in favour of Mandarin Chinese.

The Central Tibetan Administration is arranging a private audience for the group with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and will provide them with refugee identity cards. After undergoing health screening, the refugees will join the Tibetan monastery or school of their choice to pursue their studies.