ACTIVITY II: Workshops to New Comers from Tibet

Background:

Every year there are Tibetans who escape Tibet and enter India adding to the refugee community here. These new arrivals from Tibet have been brought up in a completely different political and social situation under the Chinese regime. Stereotypes exist even among the new comers and those born in exile. So our workshops to the new comers help in breaking through many of these negative stereotypes and enable a smoother transition into exiled life. Quite a few of the newcomers who participate in our workshops return to Tibet after pilgrimage or a few years of study here. They have stated that the tools they have gained through our workshops would prove very useful when they are back in Tibet. Due to lack of proper infrastructure by the Chinese lead government, there are several cases of violent conflicts and even murders on issues of land and grazing squabbles among nomads in Tibet. Therefore equipped with our tools they feel more confident in helping people deal with such situations in the future inside Tibet.

Aims:

To introduce the skills of Conflict Resolution and Prevention to the Newcomers with an aim to break through negative stereotypes they may have formed of the exile community and the host Indian community and equip them with tools and skills to manage future conflict situations in exile and back in Tibet more amicably.

Activity:

WORKSHOPS TO NEWLY ARRIVED REFUGEES FROM TIBET

Aims:

To introduce the skills of Conflict Resolution to the Newcomers with an aim to empower the traumatised men and women so that they are better equipped to handle conflict situations in this new environment as refugees.

Workshop Venues:

Reception Centre, McLeod Ganj; Norbulingka Institute, Sidhbari; Tibet Charity, McLeod Ganj; Gu Chu Sum Ex-Political Prisoner’s Association, McLeod Ganj (all in and around Dharamsala)

Summary:

It has been one of our major objectives to be able to work with the Tibetans who have newly arrived from Tibet. This project term we have been able to work with the new comers at various stages of their exposure into exiled life. At the Reception Centre the participants were freshly out of Tibet, they were the most recent arrivals who had very little knowledge of the whereabouts in India and also had very little clue of where they would be sent to after their brief stay at the Reception Centre. Whereas at Norbulingka Institute, Gu Chu Sum Movement and Tibet Charity the participants were all studying Buddhism, Tibetan and English and had spent from two to eight years in India and many of them had plans to return to Tibet after completing their courses of study.

Achievements:

At the Reception Centre since the participants were freshly out of Tibet they seemed a little afraid and more hesitant in speaking but we were able to ease them out of many doubts and fears they had of life in India and negatives stereotypes they had of the Tibetans born in India and the local Indians. At Gu Chu Sum Movement since the participants were mostly former political prisoners, we focussed on the political situation inside Tibet and conditions in the Chinese prisons for the political prisoners. In all these workshops we gave emphasis on the merits of dealing with conflict situations in a non-violent and respectful manner and introduced communication and listening skills which were very delightfully absorbed by the participants.

Many of the participants had hopes of returning to Tibet after completing their studies in India and many of them expressed hope for conflict resolution workshops for the farmers and nomads inside Tibet which would prove useful in reducing violence and introducing the Tibetans to a new approach and a new methodology of handling conflicts which is effective as well as sustains better relations among themselves. We therefore believe that these participants when back in Tibet will be in their own ways able to bring the conflict resolution methodologies into Tibet.

All these workshops brought together people from so many different parts of Tibet and people with very different life experiences. Most of them were for the first time out of Tibet and brought with them stories of pain, struggle and courage. It was a challenge to ensure that each one of them understood what was being said as there were many different accents spoken and some could speak only Chinese but working through all these challenges with love and respect for the brave Tibetans we can confidently say that if nothing else these people will go back to Tibet with renewed love, respect and understanding for the Tibetans born in exile and our Indian hosts.

Setbacks:

Of the eight workshops planned for new comers from Tibet we were able to carry out only four. We find it challenging to collaborate with the Reception Centre to allocate a time for our workshop as already there are many activities planned for the duration of the new comers staying there. We therefore have now approached our Governing Body during our Board meeting and Mr. Tenzin Geyche our Chairman has agreed to write to the Director of the Reception Cente with this regard. Therefore we hope that in the future it would be easier to work at the Reception Centre.

Break through: It is also a fact that when we faced difficulties in getting dates at the Reception Centre instead of giving up we approached other institutions where there were new comers studying languages or Buddhism. Therefore instead of the originally planned heading of “Workshop to Reception Centre” we now are using “Workshop for Newly Arrived Refugees from Tibet”