Tibetan exiles parade through Melbourne on Australia’s National Day on January 26. (Amy Yee for VOA News)
February 20, 2015 5:03 AM
SYDNEY—Millions of Tibetans are celebrating Losar, the Tibetan New Year. It’s the biggest holiday in the Tibetan calendar, but celebrations inside Tibet have been subdued or cancelled in recent years due to tension under China’s rule. But in exile communities around the world, Tibetans are helping to keep the culture of their homeland alive – even ‘down under’ in Australia.
On a Saturday afternoon in north Sydney, dozens of Tibetan children rehearse traditional songs and dance at a local community center. About 90 children attend Tibetan language and culture classes in Dee Why, a small Australian beach town where hundreds of Tibetan refugees have settled.
Local Tibetan leaders say there are at least 1,200 Tibetans living in Australia. Most are refugees who fled to India from Tibet, although some were born in exile in India.
Despite their relatively small community far from their roots in the Himalayas, the Tibetans strive to keep the spirit of their homeland alive.
Tencho Gyatso, the Dalai Lama’s niece, visited Australia earlier this month and met with Tibetan exile communities. She works for the International Campaign for Tibet, an activist group based in Washington D.C.
“We talked about the challenges of raising children and living lives as Tibetans but now also as Australian-Tibetans, so taking on new identities and learning to weave their life into this new country. I think they’re doing an excellent job,” said Gyatso.
Sydney has Australia’s largest Tibetan community with more than 700 Tibetans, followed by Melbourne with about 400. The community has grown rapidly in recent years as more Tibetans in India, where the Dalai Lama is based, are granted humanitarian visas by the Australian government.
Tibetans can attend free English classes and vocational institutes and get other support from Australia’s social services. But older Tibetans and those with little education often struggle with learning English, finding jobs and adapting to life in Australia.
Keeping Culture Alive
In front of a packed hall in Melbourne last month, musician Tenzin Choegyal sang the Tibetan national anthem.
“We are allowed to sing this song in exile. If you sing this song in Tibet then you can be persecuted. It’s to honor the courage of Tibetan people within Tibet,” said Choegyal.
