OLYMPICS MEAN TIGHTER SECURITY AT TIBET-INDIA BORDER

With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching, there will likely be a decrease in the flow of refugees entering India from Tibet because of tightened restrictions at the border. Beijing is intent on projecting the image of a united China and has no desire to have Tibetan dissidents leaving the country to tell the world about their countrymen\'s plight in China, writes Dorjee, the director of the Dharamsala\'s Office of the Reception Centres which is in charge of Tibetan refugee arrivals in India. In this article, the author writes that there are a number of reasons Tibetans make this arduous journey to come to Dharamsala. The first is to see and receive the blessings of the Dalai Lama. In addition, they can receive a proper Tibetan education, and monks and nuns are free to practice their faith freely. Tibetans still have to brave the long journey to Dharamsala. They usually plan their escape during wintertime when the borders are not as closely watched because of extreme weather conditions. Some take a bus up to Lhasa, and from there begins the dangerous walk across the Himalayan mountains. The trip lasts anywhere from 15 to 25 days. It takes a while before the refugees are given a permit to stay in Dharamsala because they are also questioned about their backgrounds in order to ascertain that they really are Tibetans and not spies that the Chinese government sent over the border.