Tibetan official explains hardship of those in exile

Living in exile has many challenges, especially in a place like Taiwan, which only recently began to hush its past claims -- not unlike China -- that Tibet is a part of China.

But gradually, through increased interaction, a second visit by the Dalai Lama and hard work, culture can be preserved rather than lost, Tenzin Phuntsok Atisha, the managing director of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (達賴喇嘛西藏宗教基金會) told the Taipei Times in an interview yesterday.

"It's very important to preserve our identity and culture. I notice that some young Tibetans who came here or were born here don't speak the language, not to mention read or write it. We all have to put in a lot of effort in this respect," said Atisha sitting in his 10th floor downtown Taipei office.

Aside from a colorful silk embroidered painting of the Buddha or Thangka and some pictures of the Dalai Lama, his office is decorated modestly, with only a few items that give any hint of his past and homeland.

Like many Tibetans in exile, Atisha and his family had to go through a significant ordeal in order to escape from Tibet.

Atisha says he still remembers vividly how brightly the snow shined in his eyes when he and his family members were crossing the Himalaya range when he was six years old.

"It was a sunny spring day. My father, brother and I were taking a path near our village to cross the Himalayas, while my mother was in another group. We saw so many dead people along the way.

"It was very, very scary. We eventually ran out of food, but luckily we made it to Nepal," he said.

The five-day journey led him to a new world that promised good food, a new life, education and a career.

Ironically for some of the 700 Tibetans who live in Taiwan, the government organization that helped them get to the country is the biggest obstacle in preserving their heritage and giving them a helping hand, he said.

The Cabinet's Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission (蒙藏委員會) provided financial support to so-called culture centers which are run by individual Tibetans. This has created much misunderstanding between the two governments as well, he said.

"That's why the Tibetans say that there are two Chinas: Red China and Black China. Fortunately, the situation changed dramatically in 1997 when the Dalai Lama first visited Taiwan. Now Tibetans no longer consider Taiwan as a `black China' but as our friends, our brothers and sisters," he said.

The commission is still there, however, only with its work minimized.

"We actually have great trust in and respect for the incumbent chairman, Mr Hsu [Hsu Cheng-kuang, 徐正光]. I believe that under his leadership, things will change for the better. We look forward to clearing up all of our misunderstandings once and for all, and we hope that the funding they give to those Tibetan individuals [who falsely purport to be representatives of Tibetans in exile] will stop," he said.

The commission has made life for some Tibetan immigrants in Taiwan miserable, Atisha added.

"Most of them came to Taiwan with the commission's assistance but they are at risk of becoming illegal residents.

"Their illegal status prevents them from finding a job or finding a job with a good salary," he said, adding that the foundation has been in touch with the Chen administration regarding the problem.