Today, in almost all major metropolitan cities around the world, it is not hard to find Tibetan presence. Nonetheless, the largest concentration of Tibetans outside of Tibet still remains in India and secondly in North America with a population of at least 20,000 Tibetans. The biggest population of Tibetans is in Toronto, followed by New York, and then Minnesota and San Francisco and the rest.

I grew up in San Francisco. When I was growing up in San Francisco in the 1990s, we only had about 10-20 Tibetan children. During the week, we all went to our respective schools and hung out with our American friends but on the weekends we met up on Saturdays for Tibetan cultural dance practices and on Sundays for Tibetan reading and writing lessons. 20 years later, it is incredible to see that the weekend Tibetan dance and class lessons have grown from 20 to 200 students today. This is a reflection of the exponential population growth of the Tibetans in North America as well as a promising sign of the foreign-born Tibetans interest and love for the Tibetan culture and language. The solidarity amongst the Tibetans in foreign countries is palpable and inspiring So, how do they foster such solidarity and maintain their Tibetan identity and community in a foreign country? This is largely due to the guidance and hard work of our community leaders and the associations that help us solidify. Every city in America with Tibetan population has an association. The association solicits membership and organizes events on all major Tibetan religious and cultural occasions plus weekend activities for children and adults. The establishment of Sunday Tibetan school is heralded as one of the most successful activities. This alone has helped pass on the language to the next generation, who are losing our native tongue in an English dominant speaking country. Every weekend parents drive their children to the Tibetan school and the children study Tibetan for a few hours. Before and after Tibetan language class the children play together. The Sunday Tibetan Class is the main venue and platform that allows Tibetans to meet fellow Tibetans.

Then there are other activities that are hosted perennially like Tibetan Summer Camps, Tibetan Picnics, Tibetan Buddhism Retreat, Sports Competition, and more recently events like Machik Weekend and Language Conferences. These large, annual gatherings provide a networking opportunity for young Tibetan in exiles. The Tibetan Summer Camps is a really amazing one-month long summer camp that aims to connect Tibetans living all over the globe with the exile community in India to get in touch with our Tibetan roots. The Camp brings together young Tibetans who are only connected by their Tibetanness as a Tibetan from Swiss may speak German while a Tibetan from Canada and US may only speak English yet somehow they form a lasting bond at the end of the camp.

Other activities that bond Tibetans in exile together are the annual sports competitions. Sports are a big part of that due to the positive influence of team athletics like basketball and soccer that Tibetans like to organize into big tournaments. It is also a patriotic event to honor our unique culture and the team names reflect great pride in our heritage as seen through the names chosen for the teams, like ‘nomads’, ‘snow lion’, ‘yak’, etc.

The Tibetan Buddhism Retreat takes place during the summer school holiday. A several learned Buddhist scholars lead lectures and discussions with the children. The Picnics that occur in different cities across the US are catered for all age. There are cultural dance performances, games, and a lot of mingling. In the last few years, there is a huge growing interest in Machik programs. Machik is a Washington, DC based Non-Profit Organization that helps Tibetans inside Tibet build capacity and help them find new opportunities for education. They have been hosting excellent conferences educating Tibetans in America about schools and lives of young Tibetans in Tibet and how to get more involved in advancing Tibetan children’s education.

In the last few years, I have been so inspired to see a surge of Tibetan youth taking a keen interest in our language and history. Hence, two Tibetan sisters in the US started an online Tibetan course and recently concluded a successful conference to promote frequent usage of Tibetan language amongst young Tibetans. There is another program that is making leap called Lamton. A small group of older High School students offer after school help and college guidance to younger students. It is not an exaggeration to say Tibetans in America are smarter and more confident today, more attuned with Tibetan culture and language than ever before.

In conclusion, I see and feel that while young Tibetans far away from their homeland in America are at times eroding from their identity and cultural roots, but by and large, most, even the Tibetans who can’t speak Tibetan hold dear and highly value the Buddhist tenets; they all care and respect the Tibetan culture; and many are making a successful living working in Fortune 500 companies, high positions in governments of their host countries, and many are also working for Non-Profit organizations. Today, it is rare to find young Tibetans in America and Canada not going to college or pursuing higher studies. I see a bright future for the Tibetans in foreign countries but the struggle remains whether they can successfully maintain their Tibetan identity while attaining economic success and social status.

選自《雪子》十一期