Dharamshala, a refuge for Tibetans

each morning dharamsala awakens buddha's chance [Music] at the entrance to the dalai lama's temple thousands of visitors jostle for space [Music] among them 95 year old chapel they've come to wish his holiness a long life a prayer ceremony that chopal never misses [Music] he's come early to get a seat in the front row he is one of the oldest disciples of the dalai lama and moved to dharamsala a few decades ago to be by his spiritual leader's side [Music] [Music] when the dalai lama finally arrives after several hours of waiting chapelle is visibly moved at the entrance to the dalai lamas temple thousands of visitors jostle for space at 83 years old the buddhist leader remains one of the most popular religious figures in the world [Music] it is exactly 60 years since the dalai lama fled to india forced to abandon his native tibet by a chinese military invasion chopel remembers those days as if they were yesterday the old man is one of the last rebels alive who took up arms against the chinese enemy during the popular uprisings of the 50s [Music] [Applause] [Music] in 1959 in the middle of the cold war tibetan rebels found an ally in the united states which was eager to counter mouse communist china television what would one of his missions in tibet was to secure the country's southern borders to facilitate the dalai lama's escape route the future nobel peace prize laureate was only 23 years old when he crossed the himalayas and arrived in india he left behind a country in turmoil since the start of his exile the dalai lama has never ceased denouncing the cultural genocide and discrimination endured by the tibetan people since he escaped [Music] when he left tibet at 35 chappell did not know that he would never see his homeland or his friends and family ever again thousand tibetans now live in dharamsala even after 60 years in exile the dalai lama remains the pillar around whom the tibetan community has grown and prospered it is him they rely on to speak for them but as his holiness celebrates his 84th birthday the community's thoughts are turning to his succession the tibetan government in exile has tried to be reassuring his holiness the dalai lama made it very clear that you know the struggle of the twenty people is that when people struggle it's not dalai lama struggle you know in 2011 he gave away the political responsibilities to elected representative so even if his holiness is not there politically we can carry on our struggle over the years the political demands of the government in exile have evolved today it no longer demands complete independence asking instead for limited political autonomy within china to keep its struggle alive it relies on education even today exiles continue to cross the himalayas to reach dharamsala many are unaccompanied minors who undertake a risky clandestine journey with the help of smugglers lobsting was only five when he undertook this journey to protect his parents who still live in tibet he requested anonymity before agreeing to speak to us foreign since 2012 13 year old lopsing has lived in this tibetan boarding school he is one of the last to have arrived from tibet and foreign after two months of holidays it's time for lobsang and his classmates to go back to school [Applause] the 1100 students who have assembled this morning will discover the curriculum for the year ahead the school has organized lessons for them which they could never have received in china [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] there are over a hundred teachers who look after the children who are on their own in india from the very beginning the lessons are geared towards instilling traditional culture in these young minds foreign [Music] since its creation in 1960 the curriculum has been really successful but today fewer and fewer students come directly from tibet most are from the buddhist areas of india and nepal yes called little tibet is rapidly losing its unique identity fewer people are coming in and more are leaving some hundred people leave every year to go abroad in this workshop where the traditional buddhist craft apprentices have chosen to stay they are the last keepers of a disappearing article [Music] is more talented than the other students in the school it has now been seven years since he's been perfecting the art of tanka he dreams of becoming a master someday since 2011 more than 100 students have signed up for the school but today only 24 remaining foreign [Music] [Music] in india opportunities for tibetans are limited they don't have formal refugee status and are considered foreigners it is difficult for them to get a loan open a shop or travel freely young tibetans like champion see their future elsewhere this afternoon the young painter is meeting his friends in a local cafe they subsist on small jobs [Music] is worried about its future beijing is threatening to appoint the successor to the 14th dalai lama and thereby strengthen its grip on tibet while the exiles cling to the hope of solving the tibetan conflict within the next few years they also hope that his holiness will have a chance to see his beloved tibet one last time

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 34,181

Keywords: documentary, dharamsala, dalai lama, india, tibetan, refuge, exile

Id: ju0FlRh_ruY

Length: 13min 33sec (813 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 07 2022