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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • THE FAMILY ALBUM
  • ONCE UPON A TIME IN ROMANIA
    • ▸Bucharest, 1989: The days of Revolution
    • ▸I’ve also lived under communism
    • ▸Portraits of transition
    • ▸”Cabernet cu pepsi”
    • ▸Romania, 1990: Beyond the headlines
    • ▸“Mineriada” – My story
    • ▸Memorial of pain
  • WORK IN PROGRESS
    • ▸Barbershop
    • ▸Melancholic Identities
    • ▸Faces
    • ▸Fragmentary world
    • ▸Two
    • ▸Buddhist monks
    • ▸About windows and walls
    • ▸Mediterraneo
  • STORIES
    • ▸Alone, together
    • ▸Life and death in Varanasi
    • ▸Trans-Siberian – An experience of becoming
    • ▸Boxing in Havana
    • ▸Moving out of Escobar shadow
    • ▸One night at Htee Thein monastery
    • ▸Easter in Sicily – I misteri
    • ▸Easter in Sicily – La pasquetta
    • ▸Stalin’s Museum in Gori
    • ▸Havana: Between magic and decay
    • ▸Muay Thai for a day
    • ▸Cuban billboards
    • ▸Seeking a geisha
    • ▸Belfast’s murals: Behind and beyond
    • ▸Riding the Yangon’s ring train
    • ▸Bazar-Barakholka-Vernisazh
    • ▸An unexpected trip to Dhobi Ghat
    • ▸A different way to look at death
    • ▸Cannes under siege
    • ▸Inside the Guru’s kitchen
    • ▸Tibetan refugees
    • ▸The Golden Triangle: A Mecca of tribal diversity
    • ▸Bullfighting: Barbaric or art ?
    • ▸Crafts and traditions in Morroco
    • ▸Glastonbury with God
  • TRAVEL
    • Cuba
      • ▸The show must go on (part 1)
      • ▸The show must go on (part 2)
      • ▸The show must go on (part 3)
      • ▸The show must go on (part 4)
    • France
      • ▸Paris
      • ▸Paris. Again
    • Greece
      • ▸Mount Athos
      • ▸Postcards from Santorini
      • ▸Athens
      • ▸Mykonos – The picture-perfect Island
    • Germany
      • ▸Berlin
    • Vietnam
      • ▸Four days in Hanoi
      • ▸Cruising through the misty Halong Bay
    • India
      • ▸Portraits of Kashmir
      • ▸Rishikesh – Spiritual marketplace
      • ▸Life on the Sidewalk
    • Ireland
      • ▸The capital of pubs
      • ▸Ireland in ten days
    • Israel
      • ▸Israel in black & white
    • Colombia
      • ▸Colombia
      • ▸Paisas, coffee and much more
      • ▸Streets of Bogota – From Dystopia to Hope
      • ▸Life along the magical Magdalena River
      • ▸A non-touristy guide to Cartagena’s Caribbean paradise
    • Myanmar
      • ▸Min-ga-la-ba Myanmar
      • ▸Up and down on the hills of Shan State
    • Japan
      • ▸Tokyo
      • ▸Springtime in Kyoto
    • Portugal
      • ▸Life at the edge of Europe
    • Russian Federation
      • ▸The unexpected Moscow
      • ▸White Nights in St. Petersburg
    • Italy
      • ▸Rome
      • ▸Random Sicily
      • ▸Vedi Napoli e poi mori
      • ▸Venice
      • ▸Vanishing Venice
    • Morocco
      • ▸Sunset, camel rides and tea in Erg Chebi
      • ▸Medinas: Morocco’s hidden cities
      • ▸Morocco outskirts
      • ▸Djemaa El Fna encounters
      • ▸Surf and hippies
      • ▸The road of the One thousand kasbahs
      • ▸Amazigh – Berber – Free men
    • Georgia
      • ▸Postcards from Georgia
      • ▸The Many Faces of Tbilisi
    • Nepal
      • ▸Kathmandu Valley
    • Romania
      • ▸Romania to go
      • ▸Maramures
      • ▸Tara Motilor
    • Jordan
      • ▸Bedouin Trails
    • Turkey
      • ▸From Turkey with love
      • ▸Ballooning Cappadocia
      • ▸Where East meets West
      • ▸Street life, Istanbul-style
    • Mexico
      • ▸Finding Mexico City
    • Malaysia
      • ▸Transit KL
    • UK
      • ▸London
      • ▸Grab your kilt and bring your pipes
    • Sweden
      • ▸Stockholm
    • Spain
      • ▸Off-season Andalusia
    • Thailand
      • ▸Bangkok, year 2555
      • ▸Life in Pai
      • ▸Thailand
    • Laos
      • ▸Luang Prabang – The City of ultimate Zen
    • Poland
      • ▸Why I love Poland
    • Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
      • ▸Neighbors, but not relatives
      • ▸Patarei – A little slice of Hell
    • Findland
      • ▸A sunny day in Helsinki
    • Denmark
      • ▸Copenhagen
  • SINGLES
  • CONTACT
  • MY BOOKS
  • MY VIDEOS
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
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Tibetan refugees

 

Tibet has been a land shrouded in mysticism for centuries, ruled from the fabled Potala Palace by the reincarnation of a god-king, the Dalai Lama. This Tibet no longer exists. With the Chinese communist invasion of 1950 came the end of a unique and timeless culture and lifestyle. Within less than 30 years, the majority of the country’s population has been forced to leave from their homes. Since 1959 when Tibet’s leader, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, Tibetans in exile have managed to keep their culture and language alive.

In 2008 when I traveled to Nepal I tried to reach Lhasa but at that time that was not possible due to the Tibetan protests during the Olympics. Nepal is the second country (after India) that has granted asylum for Tibetan refugees. Fortunately, in Kathmandu I lived in the hotel of a Tibetan family. I tasted their specific preparations; I saw their temples and visited a Tibetan refugee camp. In November 2014 I succeeded reaching Dharamsala, the heart of the Tibetan diaspora and also the home of the Tibet’s government-in-exile. Here I met the most important Tibetan community, I visited some Tibetan schools and I even had the privilege to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself.

Now, more than ever, the Tibetan community is in need of his humbleness and guidance, as they face over 50 years of exile from their own home country. The last generation that has memories of life in Tibet is approaching its final stages of life, while Tibetan youth are increasingly adapting to Indian lifestyles and language in exchange of acceptance from those who have given them refuge. To them, everything they know about the land of snow and gods is from stories told by their grandfathers and grandmothers.

 

Dharamshala, India, 2014

 

 

 

Tibetan refugees

 

Tibet has been a land shrouded in mysticism for centuries, ruled from the fabled Potala Palace by the reincarnation of a god-king, the Dalai Lama. This Tibet no longer exists. With the Chinese communist invasion of 1950 came the end of a unique and timeless culture and lifestyle. Within less than 30 years, the majority of the country’s population has been forced to leave from their homes. Since 1959 when Tibet’s leader, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, Tibetans in exile have managed to keep their culture and language alive.

In 2008 when I traveled to Nepal I tried to reach Lhasa but at that time that was not possible due to the Tibetan protests during the Olympics. Nepal is the second country (after India) that has granted asylum for Tibetan refugees. Fortunately, in Kathmandu I lived in the hotel of a Tibetan family. I tasted their specific preparations; I saw their temples and visited a Tibetan refugee camp. In November 2014 I succeeded reaching Dharamsala, the heart of the Tibetan diaspora and also the home of the Tibet’s government-in-exile. Here I met the most important Tibetan community, I visited some Tibetan schools and I even had the privilege to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself.

Now, more than ever, the Tibetan community is in need of his humbleness and guidance, as they face over 50 years of exile from their own home country. The last generation that has memories of life in Tibet is approaching its final stages of life, while Tibetan youth are increasingly adapting to Indian lifestyles and language in exchange of acceptance from those who have given them refuge. To them, everything they know about the land of snow and gods is from stories told by their grandfathers and grandmothers.

Dharamshala, India, 2014

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