Scores of Tibetans who have been living in exile ever since Communist Chinese troops invaded Tibet over half a century ago continue to have a dream of returning home someday. In an article today, Jan. 17, 2013, Vishal Gulati has reported for the Tibet Sun,
Exiled Tibetans still hope to return home. From India, where a large exiled Tibetan community has settled along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, there has been a longing among many Tibetans to return home someday.
Among Tibetans in McLeod Ganj, India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is located,
the desire to see their homeland has not faded among the Tibetan residents. Lamtso, an octogenarian woman who has been living here since the 1960s, has said, “I still desire to set foot on the soil I left long back.” An emotional Lamtso told a reporter at the Tsuglagkhang Temple in McLeod Ganj, above Dharamshala, where she says morning prayers daily, “I was born in a small village in northeastern Tibet. I miss the vast grasslands, the snowy mountains and my pastoral community.”
There are over Over 100,000 Tibetans living in exile in India. Among these Tibetans, another octogenarian, Dechen, who quit Tibet in the early 1960s, has commented to a reporter, “Before I die, I want to return to my first home.” She also said with the help of an interpreter: “Every exiled Tibetan has hopes of returning to the homeland one day. I owe my gratitude to India, where I have lived most of my adult life. We have struggled to enable our children and grandchildren get the best education in India. Now they have to return to serve their own people."
Dr Lobsang Sangay, the first democratically-elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, has said that returning to a home which he has never seen is his dream. Sangay has said, “This is our dream, aspiration and struggle.” He has also said, “We are willing to negotiate with China anytime, anywhere.” And he has written on his website, “I remain optimistic that I will be able to return to Tibet. China is in the process of changing. Besides, I’m not seeking separation from China.”
