ARTICLE 14:
1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

When the Chinese Army invaded his home country of Tibet in 1950, Lhamo Thondup was 15 years old. He was also the Dalai Lama, the chosen spiritual and political leader of Tibet. For nine years, he and his government tried to reason peacefully with an Army that was pushing deeper and deeper into their beloved Tibet. Finally, the Army reached Lhasa, the capitol of Tibet. Things looked hopeless.  

In the chaos of the invasion, the Dalai Lama fled. He journeyed through the harsh desert before receiving asylum in India, where he established the Tibetan Government in Exile. Since 1959, he has watched China's occupation and control of Tibet strip Tibetans of their distinctive national identity. He has watched more than 200,000 Tibetans forced into exile. It is estimated that 1.2 million Tibetans have died since 1959 as a result of China's brutal and repressive policies toward Tibet. He has watched it all.

But Lhamo Thondup has never given up hope. For more than fifty years, he has worked tirelessly and peacefully for the preservation of Tibetan culture and the eventual independence of Tibet. As the exiled leader of Tibet, he has been a statesman for his people and a teacher of peace to the world. Always, he continues his quest to reclaim his lost nationality.

Tibet is located in the center of Asia amid the Himalayan Mountains. It rests on the highest plateau in the world, at an average altitude of twelve thousand feet above sea level, and is commonly referred to as the "Roof of the World." For centuries, Tibet was an independent country with its own unique culture, art, spoken and written language, religion and government.

The turning point in Tibet's history came in 1950, when China's People's Liberation Army marched into the provinces of Amdo and Kham in eastern Tibet. The Chinese claimed that they were "liberating" the Tibetan peasants from the rule of Buddhist monks, but most Tibetans considered it an invasion of their country. For nine years, Chinese forces advanced deeper into Tibet, eventually reaching Lhasa, Tibet's capital.

Escalating resistance and unrest among the Tibetan people culminated in a mass revolt on March 10, 1959. Tibetans around the world now commemorate this date as Tibetan National Uprising Day. According to Chinese sources, eighty thousand Tibetans died as a result of the 1959 uprising. It is estimated that 1.2 million Tibetans have died since 1959 as a result of China's brutal and repressive policies toward Tibet.

In 1960, the International Committee of Jurists found the Chinese government guilty of committing genocide against the Tibetan people. During the 1990s Chinese authorities transferred millions of Chinese into Tibet, so that Tibetans became a minority in their own country. Additionally, China severely restricts the teaching and study of Buddhism, an essential core of Tibetan culture. The Communist Party regulates the admission of monks and nuns into monasteries, where the teaching of "political education" is compulsory.

In effect, China's occupation of Tibet has striped Tibetans of their distinctive national identity and cultural heritage. Since 1959, more than 200,000 Tibetans have been forced into exile.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. Tibetans believe that he is the reincarnation of the previous thirteen Dalai Lamas and is the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, in the Tibetan province of Amdo. He was named Lhamo Thondup, which means "Wish-Fulfilling Goddess'' in Tibetan.

Thondup was three years old, a group of monks from Lhasa arrived at his family's home. The child recognized one of the monks and called out, "Sera lama, Sera lama," which was the name the monk's home monastery. A few days later, the monks returned and laid out several items, some that belonged to the thirteenth Dalai Lama. The boy correctly identified those items, saying "It's mine, it's mine." That is how the monks identified Lhamo Thondup as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

But Lhamo Thondup's childhood would be brief; his country would soon need its leader. When China's People's Liberation Army entered Tibet in 1950, he was quickly enthroned as the fourteenth Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibet. The fifteen-year-old Dalai Lama now found himself leading a country on the brink of war against a vastly more powerful force.

After nine fruitless years of negotiations between Tibet and China for a peaceful solution, fighting broke out in Lhasa on March 10, 1959. In the midst of the chaos, the Dalai Lama and a small entourage of family members and advisors fled Tibet. They endured a difficult journey through the desert and across mountain ranges before receiving asylum in Dharmsala, India. There they established the Tibetan Government in Exile. Since then thousands of Tibetans have risked their lives to make the same journey in order to be with their leader and to escape persecution in Tibet.

For more than fifty years, the Dalai Lama has worked for the preservation of Tibetan culture and the eventual independence of Tibet. As the exiled leader of Tibet, he has been a statesman for his people and a teacher of peace to the world. He advocates a "sense of universal responsibility," pointing out that "the realization that we are all basically the same human beings, who seek happiness and try to avoid suffering is very helpful in developing a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood; a warm feeling of love and compassion for others. This, in turn, is essential if we are to survive in the ever-shrinking world we live in."

In 1989, when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee stated -

The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people. The Dalai Lama has developed his philosophy of peace from a great reverence for all things living and upon the concept of universal responsibility embracing all mankind as well as nature.

Since he became the leader of the Tibetan people at the age of fifteen, the Dalai Lama has worked ceaselessly to regain Tibet's autonomy. He tells us of his wish for his homeland.

It is my dream that the entire Tibetan plateau should become a free refuge where humanity and nature can live in peace and in harmonious balance. It would be a place where people from all over the world could come to seek the true meaning of peace within themselves, away from the tensions and pressures of much of the rest of the world. Tibet could indeed become a creative center for the promotion and development of peace.

LESSON FOR ARTICLE 14: THE RIGHT TO REFUGE

Llamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama, is perhaps the world's most famous of the more than 20 million refugees in the world today. Like most refugees, his dearest wish is to return to his home country. However, unlike the Dalai Lama, most refugees do not find a warm welcome in their country of refuge. This activity addresses xenophobia and raises the question of responsibility for the human rights of the world's refugees.

See also the related stories for Articles 18, the right to thought, conscience and religion, and 27, the right to participate in the cultural life of the community.

ACTIVITY: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REFUGEES? (1 hour)

1. Define Terms: Make sure that the class understands what a refugee is and how a refugee differs from an immigrant or "guest worker." Explain the accurate use of these words, which are often confused in popular usage.

Refugee: a person who leaves his or her country of origin because of a "well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion."

Political Asylum: Legal permission to live in a country given by its government to people fleeing danger or persecution in the country of origin.

Immigrant: a person who chooses voluntarily to come to a country to settle permanently and obtain citizenship.

Displaced Person: A person who has been forced by dangerous circumstances to leave home for a place of safety with the home country. A "dangerous circumstance" could be a natural disaster or social unrest such as war or revolution.

2. Organize the Activity:

a) Divide the class into five groups to represent the following categories:

• Refugees who have fled to this country and settled in the community
• Adults in the community who were born in this country
• Young people in the community who were born in this country
• Public servants (e.g., teachers, social workers, police, government officials) in this community
• Community leaders (e.g., politicians, religious leaders)
  Note: You might adapt the activity to address refugee students adjusting to the school and have the roles played by students, teachers, administrators, and parents.

b) Ask each group to come up with as many reasons as possible why they are not responsible for making refugees welcome and helping them to adjust to adjust to their community. In addition, they should try to pass on responsibility to other groups, coming up with as many reasons as they can for why others should be responsible for helping refugees.

3. Present the Arguments: The first group will have a chance to present its case and "pass" responsibility. Each group following can respond and make its own case, as well as blame others. Finally the first group can respond to any criticism made of it by the other groups.

4. Discuss the Arguments: After all the groups have presented, students should consider the following questions:

• Which groups made the best cases? Which groups made the worst cases?
• Who do you think is primarily responsible for helping refugees? Why?
• In what ways do nations, institutions, or individuals respond similarly or differently to refugee problems in the world today?
• In what ways do nations, institutions or individuals respond similarly or differently to other social problems?

Source: Adapted from The Uprooted: Refugees and the United States by David M. Donahue and Nancy Flowers (Hunter House, 1995).

GOING FURTHER

1. Refugees in Your Community? Have students research what refugee groups have settled in their community a) in the past b) at the present time. Urge them to find out where they came from and why and why they chose to settle in this community. How were/are they welcomed and treated? Ask the class to find out what organizations are working with the refugee groups and how students might assist in their efforts.

TAKING ACTION ON ARTICLE 14

1. REFUGEES IN YOUR COMMUNITY? Research what refugee groups have settled in your community a) in the past b) at the present time. Find out where they came from and why and why they chose to settle in your community. How were/are they welcomed and treated? Find out what organizations are working with the refugee groups and how students might assist in their efforts.