By Will Evans, Policy Analyst
In 1959, twenty-three-year-old Tenzin Gyatso and a small Tibetan entourage fled Lhasa and trekked for weeks across the Himalayas before reaching safety. The Prime Minister of India at the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, insisted on providing asylum to the group, citing moral and humanitarian grounds.
Tenzin Gyatso is now better known as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. For 66 years, he has lived in exile, unable to return home out of fear of religious persecution. The spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, he has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing peaceful solutions based on tolerance and respect. One of the world’s most famous refugees, the Dalai Lama, is an example of the tremendous value that displaced people, wherever they are, can bring.
He has educated the world on the principles of Tibetan Buddhism, delineating the path towards peace, compassion and mindfulness. He has also been the foremost advocate for the rights of Tibetans. Rather than a political revolutionary, the Dalai Lama has advocated for a “Middle Way” approach for decades, seeking greater autonomy for the Tibetan people, rather than full independence.
As immigration debates fill our headlines, what wisdom might the exiled Tibetan leader offer as a helpful perspective? Thirty years ago, USCRI policy analyst Hiram Ruiz traveled to Dharamshala, India to speak with the Dalai Lama, to hear directly about his experience of exile and ask his views on displacement.
When asked what he would say to those less-welcoming governments who move to deny asylum, he replied, “It is a moral responsibility. On another level, there is self-interest. Things are often interconnected, interrelated. Your neighbor’s suffering can ultimately also bring you suffering. So, to look after people from another country is essentially to look after oneself.”
The conversation that follows asks, “What would immigration policy look like if grounded in dignity and compassion, as opposed to fear and deterrence?”
Interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Transcription by Anum Merchant, Policy Intern
Published 1997
U.S. Committee for Refugees policy analyst Hiram A. Ruiz travelled in October 1996 to Dharamsala, India, home of the Tibetan government in exile, to interview arguably the world’s best-known refugee, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetan people.
The Dalai Lama and some 100,000 other Tibetan refugees fled Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a brutal crackdown by China on Tibetan opposition to Chinese rule (China had invaded and occupied Tibet in 1949). The Chinese authorities have destroyed virtually all Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in Tibet, populated Tibet with ethnic Chinese, and committed grave human rights violations against the Tibetan people. More than 1.2 million Tibetans have reportedly died as a result of Chinese policies.
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in India since 1959. In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his pursuit of a nonviolent solution to the Tibetan question.
U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR): Worldwide, there has been a move to deny asylum. Countries are far less welcoming to refugees than they once were. As a refugee and a leader of a refugee community, what would you say to governments about the need for asylum for people fleeing persecution?
The Dalai Lama: I see this on two levels. On one level—the humanitarian level—it is, of course, the logical, moral thing, when seeing another human being suffer, to look after them. It is a moral responsibility. On another level, there is self-interest. Things are often interconnected, interrelated. Your neighbor’s suffering can ultimately also bring you suffering. So, to look after people from another country is essentially to look after oneself.
In the past, perhaps each community, each country, existed more or less independently. If a group of people from another community—or another country—came seeking help, you would help them because it was the moral thing to do. Today, every country’s interest and future is very much linked to its neighbors’. Therefore, helping people from other communities, other countries, is essentially helping your own future. Given that, denying refuge is of course not only morally wrong, but it is also not the right way in practical terms.
When refugees flee persecution, offering them asylum is a protection. Refugees may face persecution if they are sent back; even if their life is in danger. Under such circumstances, to deny the protection of asylum is immoral. That is very sad.
USCR: There is also increasing pressure for asylum to be short term, and for refugees to return home quickly. In many cases, they are being pressured to return even though the situation that led them to flee may not have improved. In the case of Tibet, for example, the conditions that led to Tibetan refugees to flee have not changed. What would you say to host countries that want refugees to repatriate under those circumstances?
The Dalai Lama: As I said before, it is immoral to send refugees back when they would be in danger. Also, in the long term, there may be negative consequences for the host country itself. Yet, sadly, there are governments that, in spite of knowing there is danger, will return refugees. Perhaps they have some domestic reasons for their attitudes. If governments are determined to return the refugees, it is difficult to know what to do.
I believe that it is important to help the refugees until the conditions that made them flee their homeland in the first place have significantly changed. In the case of Tibetans, the situation in occupied Tibet has not changed much. In some cases the situation has become even worse. If the situation in Tibet were good and the people there happy, as Chinese propaganda claims, then there would be no reason for us to remain as refugees in another country.
USCR: People continue to arrive in India from Tibet. Why are they coming?
The Dalai Lama: There is a lot of repression in Tibet. Some come to escape that. Some come seeking Tibetan education or to pursue religious studies. Inside Tibet, there are not satisfactory educational facilities. There is no other choice except to escape to India. These are the reasons some people come. About 5,000 have come to join Tibetan monasteries. Another four or five thousand children have come to join Tibetan schools.
USCR: How has the Tibetan refugee community been able to handle this influx?
The Dalai Lama: The schools have been seriously affected. In some cases, because we have had to admit into our schools so many children who have come out of Tibet recently, we have not been able to admit Tibetan children whose parents have been living in exile in India. So, we have had some problems. Now we are trying to increase the number of schools; we are trying to open some new schools. That’s one problem.
The cost of maintaining the newly arrived monks in our monasteries has also been a problem. In the past, it cost only 50 rupees (U.S. $1.40) per person per month. In the past two to three years, however, the cost has risen to about 100 rupees per month. The monastic institutions have been able to manage with the help of some donations abroad, such as Buddhist organizations. Also, we have many NGOs and governments helping the Tibetan refugees.
USCR: Many Tibetan refugees have been in India since 1959. Many others were born in exile. What effect has such long-term exile had on Tibetan refugees, on their identity, and their culture?
The Dalai Lama: Definitely, there have been changes in the way of life, and in the culture. Some change is bound to happen. It is unavoidable. But I think that is not necessarily bad. Sometimes new concepts, and getting rid of old ways of thinking, can be positive. But so far, the basic Tibetan spirit, even after one or two generations as refugees, is still quite strong. And as a community, also, we are quite strong. I think we have adapted quite well to the new circumstances.
One positive aspect of Tibetan life in exile is that it has made us determined to educate our younger generation and preserve the unique Tibetan culture and arts. In fact, many consider Tibetans to be the most successful refugee community.
Also, because of the Tibetan community in exile, more and more people are taking interest in the Buddhist culture, which I believe has great potential to help humanity at large, including our Chinese brothers and sisters both in China and elsewhere. But on the negative side, because of over-exposure to materialism, some Tibetans are focusing more on making short-term gains rather than developing the good, human inner qualities that will be more useful in the long term.
USCR: Do you think that refugees offer something to the country of asylum?
The Dalai Lama: Yes, that happens. When refugees settle in new communities, they bring their culture, their faith. That enriches the community, contributes to it becoming more multi-cultural.
USCR: Sometimes, local people may not appreciate refugees’ diversity. They may resent the fact that refugees remain different. Is that the case in India? How do the Indian people accept the Tibetan refugees after such a long time?
The Dalai Lama: In the areas where the major Tibetan settlements are located, generally, relations with the local people are very good. Sometimes there is some resentment; that has happened. But generally, I think, it has not been serious. In big cities like Delhi, Bombay, or Bangalore, the number of Tibetans is not large, and they are not very visible. There have been a few problems, but those are random cases. Generally, relations have been very good.
USCR: Do Tibetans still consider themselves to be refugees, or do they feel they are settled in India?
The Dalai Lama: They definitely feel that they are still refugees. Especially when they travel and face certain problems as a result of their status. Such experiences are a reminder that we are stateless.
USCR: If return to Tibet is not viable for the foreseeable future, how will that affect the younger generation?
The Dalai Lama: Although it is difficult for me to make comparisons, I think that the Tibetan refugee settlements in India are perhaps different than other refugee communities.
For example, some refugee groups, like Palestinians, are much larger in number. Many of them were settled in temporary housing in large clusters. Compared to their communities, our settlements are much smaller. We were able to create our own new villages, with our own monasteries, schools, and some productive facilities where people could work.
Therefore, even though new generations, and through the arrival of new refugees, we have been able to maintain our Tibetan culture. Some of our bigger settlements, like those in South India, are like a small Tibet. There is a whole Tibetan atmosphere. There are large monastic institutions as well as smaller monasteries. When you enter a Tibetan settlement, the atmosphere is completely different than in the nearby Indian villages. So those Tibetans who are born there, who remain there, live like Tibetans.
USCR: What kind of changes would need to take place in Tibet before Tibetan refugees could consider repatriating? What role do you think Tibetan refugees can or should play in helping bring about those changes?
The Dalai Lama: During the past 16 years, I have tried to resolve the Tibet-China problem in spirit of a genuine friendship and cooperation, discarding any feelings of enmity towards the Chinese. I have consistently attempted to engage the Chinese government in earnest negotiations over the future of Tibet. These are clearly outlined in my ‘Five-Point Peace Plan’ made public in 1987, and in the 1988 Strasbourg Proposal. However, the government of the People’s Republic of China has so far not responded positively.
I remain committed to my ‘Middle Way Approach’ in seeking a mutually agreeable resolution to the Tibetan issue. I am confident that the Tibetans, both in and outside Tibet, will continue to support my nonviolent approach, which is receiving much appreciation and support from across the world, including from freedom-loving Chinese in China.
USCR: As a refugee yourself, do you still live with the hope that you will return to Tibet?
The Dalai Lama: Oh, of course, of course. Being a refugee could be a sad experience. Of course, everyone longs to live in their own country. In my own case, at least two thirds of my life is already gone now. So, one third, another 30 years, is left. I feel that definitely, within this time, things will change. That is my firm belief.
But for me, personally, as a Buddhist monk, a particular place has no special importance. Also, I consider myself to be a world citizen. I do not have a very strong feeling about the need to return to my own country. That is not what is important. What is important is the future of the Tibetan people and of Tibet itself—and that one’s life be purposeful and meaningful. That’s more important.
