The increasingly violent oppression in Tibet has caused unrest among the Tibetan community abroad. Though they have escaped Chinese oppression themselves, many Tibetans maintain close ties with their native land. For the refugees of Tibet the story doesn’t end when they leave, it only starts. The struggle for understanding and freedom continues in their new country.

This year the Tibetan government in exile has decided to cancel all New Year’s festivities because of the current situation in Tibet.

President in exile Lobsang Sangay has requested that this year’s Losar celebration be dedicated to remembering the monks who have lost their lives.

Since 2009, twenty-four cases of monks self-immolating have been reported in the country.

Settling abroad
Most Tibetan refugees settle in the Indian town of Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama, or in neighbouring Nepal. Both places are geographically similar to Tibet. But even though the sight of the Himalayas might remind them of home it doesn’t mean they feel settled. Many keep dreaming that one day they will return to Tibet.

Nyima Gyalpo is one of the refugees who now live in Kathmandu. “I escaped from Tibet in the early 1980s, leaving behind my parents, whom I’ve never seen since. My children will ask me later what their nationality is and why they are forbidden to visit their homeland.”

The last few years have been particularly hard on most refugees. From a distance they have seen their fellow Tibetans become more desperate. Analysts say that Tibetans have never expressed more nationalistic sentiments than they have done in recent years.

“We feel very bad in exile when we read about people setting themselves on fire,” says Tenzin Choedon. He is another refugee who escaped from Tibet years ago and now lives in Nepal.

“Unfortunately we don’t have more information coming out of Tibet, but when so many people are setting themselves on fire, we get a feeling that things are really bad for them there,” He says.

No room for celebration
The Tibetan New Year on 22 February is always a difficult day for Tibetans in Nepal, who are not allowed to celebrate their holidays openly. Days like these cause a lot of tension, especially around Buddhist holy sites in the capital.

“We have no religious freedom, no freedom to celebrate holidays, and no official refugee ID. The Nepali government breaks its own laws when it deals with us," says Tenzin.

Nepal is home to the world’s second largest community of Tibetan refugees, with an estimated 20,000 currently living in the country.

But since China has strengthened its influence in Nepali politics, the number of refugees escaping to Nepal has steadily declined.

International Campaign for Tibet claims in a report that “The continuing harassment and extortion of Tibetans in Nepal contribute to a wide sense of fear and insecurity.”

Tenzin explains why he thinks Nepal has become more dangerous for Tibetans.

“Tibetans arrested in Nepal are not treated properly. Even if they are just passing through to go to India to visit the Dalai Lama, people are randomly arrested. The Chinese embassy in Kathmandu is very active,” Tenzin says.

Outside pressure
Jim Rinaldi, international director of Himalayan Aid, an organization that has been active in Nepal for the past 20 years, agrees that China’s policies in Nepal are often alarming.  “China is going into Nepal and taking things into their own hands. They increasingly try to portray any kind of religious expression by Tibetans as anti-Chinese,” he says.

But Rinaldi strongly opposes the idea that more pressure from the international community will do any good. If anything, he says, it does more harm.

“Ties between Nepal and Tibet are historically very strong and go back years. The influences of Western governments and in return the Chinese government has put a severe strain on this relationship.”

In one of his articles Rinaldi compares Nepal to a cage filled with Nepalis and Tibetans. Westerners are using a very long stick to poke the dragon that also lives in this cage, Rinaldi imagines. Eventually, he believes, the dragon will lash out at anything that’s with it in the cage.

With the help of Kyle Knight from Kathmandu, Nepal