Tibet

Nov 21

Written By vtfolklife

TIBET AT A GLANCE

Continent: Asia

Geographic Coordinates: 31.7056° N, 86.9403° E

Borders: China claims Tibet as a province. It borders India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, and East Turkestan.

Population: 6,000,000

Ethnic Groups: Tibetans are the majority population. Other groups include Moinba, Lhoba, Hui, Deng, and Sherpa.

Learn About Tibetan Music

WHY PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES

In 1951 the Tibet Autonomous Region came under the control of the People’s Republic of China. Although part of the Chinese state, the government of Tibet and Tibetan social structure remained largely in place in the Tibet Autonomous Region until the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when the Dalai Lama fled into exile and after which the Government of Tibet was dissolved.

The Tibetan government in exile is based in Dharamsala, India, and the worldwide exile population is estimated at approximately 128,014: India 94,203; Nepal 13,514; Bhutan 1,298; and the rest of the world 18,999 (Demographic Survey of Tibetans in Exile 2009, by Planning Commission of Central Tibetan Administration)

Under the United States' 1990 Immigration Act, 1,000 Tibetans living in exile in India, Nepal and Bhutan were chosen, via lottery, to receive U.S. visas. In 1993, Vermont became one of 25 resettlement sites in the United States. However, unlike other immigrants who came to Vermont as refugees, Tibetans were identified as “displaced persons” and received no financial support from the U.S. government. Instead, Vermonters had to create a private nonprofit, Burlington’s Tibetan Resettlement Project, to support Tibetans in beginning life in Vermont.