As the bus crept into this quiet town in the foothills of the
Himalayas, Tsultrin Lhamo finally felt free. For the 20-year-old
Tibetan fleeing a homeland under Chinese rule, her arrival in
the Dalai Lama’s adopted hometown in India marked the end of a
treacherous overland journey and, she hoped, the start of a new
life. China’s growing crackdown on religious freedoms, from the
imprisonment of Tibetans possessing portraits of their spiritual
leader to the ironfisted control of monasteries by Chinese armed
forces, had made life too difficult to stay behind, she says.
Like those before her, she paid a Nepalese guide to lead her
through the mountainous terrain that connects western China to
its neighbor, Nepal. With help from UNHCR, the U.N.’s refugee
agency, she secured safe passage from Kathmandu to India. It was
a grueling journey that spanned four months and three countries.
She traveled on foot, took shelter in trees and dodged Chinese
and Nepalese patrols. Still, she considers herself lucky. “So
many people