Well, its been over 3 months since I have had time to write. So much has happened and I know I should have been making these entries as I go along but hey... That's why I do activist work... There are no rules and its all good. Because so much has happened since the last I am diggin into my memory here.... I'll start with the Tibetan Refugee kids.
Let's see where to begin. There are some Tibetan students we all know. They were first brought here by a remarkable woman in the work who managed to gain scholarships for these Tibetan kids living in a camp in Nepal. These kids are descendents of the Khampas and come from a very poor camp in the hills of Nepal. The camp is in trouble - and conditions continue to deteriorate. These kids have experienced abuse in one form or another... Especially being Tibetans - hence their asylum.
They first started coming to the U.S. during high school - say ninth grade, through the commitment of one woman who worked tirelessly on their behalf - Bless her. The kids are now in their 20s. Their Asylum was a big relief to everyone who has known them over the years. All the surrogate mothers and fathers. Imagine your son or daughter go to live in another country - where the possibility is very good you may never see them again... or putting your kid into the care of stranges. Especially for the Tibetans - where family/clan means so much more then we know here in the U.S.
After receiging asylum, two of the kids came here to stay for a few weeks. These kids had to make a very tough choice. Either apply for asylum - and lose their college schlorships as International Students - or risk the chance of not applying for political asylum. Because of the increased tension and other things happening in Nepal... the kids chose asylum - which they received.
Two of the kids came here to stay, while they figured out what to do next. I'll call them K & P. They were both 20 years old and had finished 3 years of college towards their degrees. They married each other- which may have been a long-standing agreement of the families. I don't know and Tibetans typically don't discuss personal business. My friend
Nawang is from the Khampa warrior class and she tells me its is very important the Khampas marry Khampas.
P was ready to go to work right away. She and I went down to the local temporary agency and filled out the paper work so that she could begin to pick up temp work. P is very shy, yet extremely smart. She has had good work experience as well. The temp agency did not know what a "Political Asylee" is and never heard of Tibet. They were not very interested and not very helpful. It was clear to me we would need to help P get relaxed and extroverted enough to tell folks of her skills talents and abilities with confidence. Although this agency advertises it will help with Resume's, accessing job skilles, etc., they weren't helpful at all - we would have to do it ourselves.
Mary Agar - who is a teacher, editorial expert with
Tibetech.org helped P & K prepare their resumes. They also went to CALJOBS, an extension of the EDD who were very helpful to them.
The folks who so generously offered the kids a place to land, David & Susan, also took the kids to the Federal office to learn what assistance they may obtain as refugees.
Our friend the Doctor put P to work for a week - doing some filing in his office. This was good for her. It broke the ice. Then the local cafe, one with a big Buddha in the garden, offered to give P a job. So she gained some work there. After a few weeks, the kids figured out it was time to move along and begin their life in the US... P went to Minnesota to be with her Uncle and three cousins. All girls her age. K went to New York to be with his family. Though they are married, they planned to go to their families and work for a while until they figured it out...
Many may remember Venerable Geshe Sangye... he was my second Tibetan student on the computer... when he came to stay with us for six weeks a few summers ago. Geshe Sangye was the brilliant Sand Mandala master on the Tour with Gaden Lhopa Kangsten. He created the rarely done WHEEL OF LIFE sand mandala - which was more of a sand painting rather than a mandala.
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