Every year, approximately 3,000 Tibetans flee their high-mountain homeland, an exodus that began with the Chinese occupation in the 1950s. Now 150,000 Tibetans are living in exile. Those who undertake the arduous journey trekking over mountain passes often arrive at their destination with severe medical problems, including frostbite. Along with treasured belongings, fingers and toes may be left behind. Many are young adults or even children sent by their parents to seek a better life. Frequently, they arrive in Katmandu, Nepal, where they receive medical care before traveling to available reception centers, including Dharamsala, India, the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration.
Now 25 years old, The Tibet Fund, founded by exiled Tibetans living in Oregon, began with a mandate to assist these refugees. The Tibet Fund is a nonprofit nongovernmental organization supported by private donations and government grants (including funds from U.S. administrative departments) to address the health and wellness, educational and cultural needs of Tibetans worldwide and in their native Tibet.
The Tibetan people are a repressed minority in their own country where eight million Chinese people live in the Chinese-annexed provinces alongside six million Tibetans who reside scattered throughout the landscape. This dramatic population difference, along with sanctioned programs suppressing Tibetan language, religion and traditions, create the threat of extinction of Tibetans and Tibetan culture. This threat continues to exist even amidst economic conditions which have improved over the past 25 years.
The rich and ancient culture of Tibet is not locked within the country’s mountainous borders but belongs to all the world’s peoples.
Part of this threat is because Chinese has become the official language in Tibet, where even Tibetans operating family businesses are required to fill out official paperwork in their nonnative tongue. In educational institutions, children must choose between studying Tibetan as a second language or English, since all other classes are taught in Chinese. Because the Tibetan people, language, religion and culture are marginalized and oppressed in Tibet, the greatest repository of the essence of this ancient culture is located outside the country in the Tibetan diaspora.
To promote survival of culture and people, The Tibet Fund’s programs are wide-ranging with a global impact. The Fund provides humanitarian assistance for new refugees, supporting reception centers and the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration. Medical care is provided for exiled Tibetans, as well as those still living in Tibet, where The Fund sets up surgical camps to correct cataracts and other eye disorders.
The Fund also administers scholarship programs; one of these is the Tibetan Fulbright program. Money is available for Tibetan students to study in the U.S. and then return to their communities with skills and training. Tibetan doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and others have benefited from this opportunity.
The Tibet Fund has planted seed money to fund related projects and organizations. One is Tibet House in New York City, the home of cultural and dharma-based programs and events. Another is the International Campaign for Tibet in Washington D.C., which is the activist and political organization mobilizing support for Tibetan survival.
In concert with these and other organizations like the Smithsonian, The Tibet Fund preserves the stories of the Tibetan people, literally. Professional oral storytellers recounting tales tall and small are an integral part of Tibetan life, one that is disappearing. Along these lines, The Tibet Fund produces film projects documenting traditional Tibetan stories, dance and song. It supports cultural institutions in India and Nepal to serve as cultural repositories in exile. And in any city where Tibetans settle, The Fund helps create a Tibetan association to keep the culture, language and dharma alive.
Tibet Fund President Rinchen Dharlo comments that the rich and ancient culture of Tibet is not locked within the country’s mountainous borders but belongs to all the world’s peoples. While he muses that millions are spent on museum exhibits preserving bones and promoting education about extinct societies, at the present moment we have the opportunity to save a living culture.
Tibet Fund: tibetfund.org
International Campaign for Tibet: savetibet.org
Tibet House: tibethouse.org
Photos courtesy of: The Tibet Fund
