Published by: World Tibet Network News 97/05/17 24:00 GMT

By Jim Sheeler

Boulder Planet

Published: May 7 - 13, 1997

When the little girl finally finished her

terrifying trek over hundreds of miles across the

Himalayas - hiding from soldiers during the day,

hiking quietly at night - she collapsed. Her feet

were frozen.

"She was about 13 years old, and she had walked

for about three months during the cold winter. By

the time she made it to Nepal, they couldn't save

her toes," said Pema Dechen Gorap, who helped take

care of the little girl, along with hundreds of

others who have made the trek from Tibet to Nepal

since 1959, when Chinese troops first occupied

Tibet.

"When I left, we were receiving about nine

children every month," said Gorap, who now lives

in Boulder. "Many of them have walked months

across the Himalayas. Some of them had frostbitten

hands and feet. Some of them had even lost their

life on the way. They risk their life to come out,

but they come out for a better future."

"Sometimes the parents send them; sometimes their

relatives bring them; sometimes the children are

on their own. One time a 13-year-old boy came over

all by himself from the Eastern part of Tibet

which borders China. It took him six months to get

to Nepal."

For Tibetans, the journey away from their homeland

is one that's worth risking everything to escape

the oppression they say continues at the hands of

the Chinese.

For Pema and many other Tibetans living in

Boulder, it's a journey that often means loosening

the grip on one of the only things they have left:

their family.

Fleeing home

Pema remembers the trip over the mountains. She

made it when she was a child, escaping with her

parents in 1959 - just as the Chinese rolled in.

The man who would become her husband, Thupten

Gorap, then only a few years old, escaped the same

year, carried on his parents' backs.

After growing up in exile along with 85,000 fellow

Tibetans in India, both Pema and Thupten began

working to help the people who continued to stream

in from Tibet, where Chinese human rights

violations led 45,000 more people to flee.

Thanks in part to organizations to which the

Goraps belonged, there are now 85 schools all over

India and Nepal and Bhutan for Tibetan refugee

children, and about 50 small settlements. The

Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader who also fled

in 1959, established Tibet's government in exile

in Dharamsala, India.

Six million Tibetans remain in Tibet, but more

than 8.5 million Chinese citizens have taken up

residence in the country. Pema said the people who

come to India from Tibet tell of human rights

violations, including forced sterilization of

women, forced abortions and imprisonment for

carrying a Tibetan flag or possessing a picture of

the Dalai Lama.

"Those born after 1959 in Tibet have never seen

His Holiness, but they still want to see him. Many

of them dream and wait for this one chance of

seeing the Dalai Lama. Even though they are

indoctrinated by the Chinese, that doesn't matter.

They still want to see him."

And they do. The Dalai Lama meets personally with

each person who escapes Tibet, Pema said.

"These young people have never seen the Dalai

Lama, but in their heart of hearts they want to

see him," Pema said. "When they do meet him, they

say they never thought he would be like this. They

were used to the harsh Chinese portrayal. They

never thought he would be such a kind, generous

person with such a warmth in his heart. He touches

them, talks to them, and they feel healed."

Family reunion

In a back yard in Boulder last weekend, Pema

hummed a song as a group of Tibetans practiced

traditional dances in anticipation of performing

for the Dalai Lama when he comes to Colorado at

the end of the month.

"This song tells about the uniting of the three

provinces of Tibet, so there will be unity and

joy," she said.

Until Tibet is reunited, the Goraps can take

solace that at least their family is back

together. After spending four years apart, Pema,

Thupten, and their two children were the first

Tibetan family to be reunited in Boulder.

When the United States granted 1,000 visas for

Tibetans to come to America in 1992, Pema's

husband, Thupten, was one of the people chosen,

along with 22 others, to come to Boulder. There

are now about 40 Tibetans living in Boulder.

Pema remained in India with their two children,

who attended boarding school there. Through the

'90s, Pema served as a member of the Tibetan

parliament in exile in Dharamsala, India.

"At times, to be all by myself and not have my

family to share my thoughts ... that was hard,"

Pema said. "The main thing about being in the

United States is that now our family is together.

That's what is important."

The Goraps remain the only reunited Tibetan family

in Boulder. Others are still waiting for

immigration visas to come through so they can

bring their families to Boulder.

At the traditional dance practice, the Gorap's two

children, Tenzin, 17, and Jigme, 14 - now students

at Boulder High School - said they'll never forget

the meaning behind the songs of their homeland.

"There is a chance that if we, the young

generation, don't learn the traditional dances and

customs, there is a chance of the culture fading,"

Tenzin said. "When we go back to our country when

it is free, we need to remember the culture so we

can bring it back to our beautiful land. It is

important for our children to learn it from us."

Part of the money raised from the Dalai Lama's

visit to Colorado will help to keep the tradition

alive as the families arrive and the number of

Tibetans in Boulder rises to an estimated 100

people.

Until then, they can see the reflection of their

families' faces in the Dalai Lama.

"In his presence, we feel a peace," Thupten said.

"For many Tibetans, seeing him is like seeing our

parents. We see our parents in him."