Tibetan Canadians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tibetan Canadians
Total population
8,040[1]
Regions with significant populations
Toronto
Languages
Tibetic languages, Canadian English, Canadian French
Religion
  • Majority: Tibetan Buddhism
  • Minority: Bon
Related ethnic groups
Tibetans, Tibetan Americans

Tibetan Canadians are Canadian citizens of Tibetan ancestry. Although Tibetan Canadians comprise a small portion of Asian Canadians, Canada holds one of the largest concentrations of Tibetans outside of Asia. Tibetans began immigrating to Canada as early as the early 1970s.[2]

Population[]

In 2016, the Tibetan population in Canada was recorded as being 8,040.[1]

The majority of Tibetan-Canadians live in the Toronto metropolitan area. In 2016, there were 6,035 Tibetan-Canadians living in the Greater Toronto Area.[1] There is a sizable Tibetan community with Tibetan businesses and restaurants, known as Little Tibet, in the Parkdale neighborhood in Toronto, in the area bound by Queen St. W. to the north, the Gardiner Expressway to the west and south, and Atlantic Ave. to the east. There is also a growing Tibetan community in South Etobicoke.[3]

Early Tibetan migration[]

Tibetans that have migrated to Canada and other countries have been subjected to a complex and violent history. Being under the rule of the Dalai Lama, Tibet was seen as a contained region on the global scale. This was true between the years 1912 to 1950 when China was in WW1, WW2, and Civil War.[4] During the same period of time, this was independent Tibet even the 14th Dalai Lama was approved by China to be exempted from lot-drawing process using Golden Urn in 1940.[5][6]

The official religion of Tibet which was formally incorporated into the jurisdiction of China in the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century, was Buddhism Tibet.[7]

On 1 October 1949, the 10th Panchen Lama wrote telegraph to congratulate the liberation of the Northwest, and the establishment of People's Republic of China, he was excited to see the liberation of Tibet.[8] In 1950, China occupied Tibet causing the Tibetan government to also be under Chinese jurisdiction. Throughout the years, culture and religion took an impact from Chinese control which was expressed through the ruination of religious statues of Tibet and the destruction of buildings that represented the Tibetan culture [4]

In 1959, around 87,000 were killed during Chinese rule.[7] Tibetans that practiced their religion were killed. At least 80 000 Tibetans and the Dalai Lama left Tibet to Nepal but were denied access.[9] Then they found refuge in India.[4] India took them, however had difficulty to give imperative services and help needed to Tibetan refugees. However, there were more migration patterns towards India in the 1980s and 1990s.[9]

During the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees in 1951, India did not sign this convention. This entailed that Tibetans living in India had little rights and hence tried to find another place for resettlement.[4]

Nomadic lifestyle[]

Tibetan's nomadic lifestyle was notably present when China had a significant control over the geographical area of Tibet, the Chinese occupation. Therefore, Tibetans started to move and not submitting to this control.[7] This means Tibetans were being displaced within their borders.

Tibetan resettlement to Canada[]

In 1970 and 1971, 240 Tibetan refugees settled into Canada from India. The resettlement of Tibetan refugees was viewed by the Canadian government as a pilot project to evaluate what the country would do in the future regarding refugee aid. It was after a direct plea from the Dalai Lama to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in 1966 that launched Canada's slow process to bring 60 families into their country. The first Tibetans to arrive from the resettlement group were Tsering Dorjee Wangkhang and Jampa Dorjee Drongotsang when they landed in Toronto on October 15, 1970. The two settled in Batawa, Ontario where the first Tibetan community was planned to be located. Wangkhang and Drongotsang both started working at the Bata shoe factory. Factory owner Thomas Bata had gone to India, one of the countries where Tibetans were exiled, and took the initiative to employ three to four refugees in his company.[10]

In 2007, a two-year immigration program to bring 2,000 Tibetan refugees to Canada was organized by Prime Minister Stephen Harper after a plea by the Dalai Lama. The first 21 Tibetans flew from India to Vancouver International Airport and were expected to settle into the Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Sunshine Coast areas.[11]

New home in Canada and integration process[]

Canada originally declined Tibetan refugees to settle as a group, however this changed with consultations and national meeting with the Prime minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau. This involved the one of the previous high commissioners to India called James George. James George's impact on Pierre Elliot Trudeau helped immigration officials to be more lenient with refuge policies for Tibetans.[9]

In the 1960s, the Canadian government accepts Tibetan refugees under a few conditions. These conditions were set under the Tibetan Refugee program. This was an experimental program that would let 228 Tibetans enter Canada quickly and at a lower cost.[9]

It took a decade for the first Tibetan migrants to set foot in Canada. The Canadian government officials did not want Tibetans to settle in a group but on individual basis and family basis. This means that only young families and single people coming as laborers were approved to seek refuge in Canada. Additionally, Canadian immigration officials were concerned about Tibetans nomadic lifestyles and establishing/settling themselves as a group. This would pose a challenge on the integration process. If group settlement had been approved, the integration process would have been much more difficult and permanency of integration would also be a challenge for newcomers and pose issues on the governmental level.[9] Canadian immigration officials were worried that it would pose problems. Such problems were isolation and dependence within members of the same ethnic community. Additionally, learning one of the official languages of Canada was another problem that could arise and could affect integration directly (Logan & Murdie, 2014). Moreover, immigration officials chose younger Tibetan immigrants over older immigrant groups because integration would be easier regarding the process of learning one of the official languages. Therefore, finding a job and reaching out if one needs help or services would also be affected positively.[12]

Tibetan immigrants were also selected from towns and villages because knowing their nomadic lifestyle, immigrant officials wanted Tibetans that had sedentary patterns. Tibetans also needed to have a certain level of high education.[12]

Integration was facilitated through “group processing” which involves refugees and the state work together to aid resettlement into Canada.[12]

Parkdale, Toronto[]

The neighbourhood of Parkdale in Toronto contains the largest concentration of Tibetan immigrants and refugees in Canada. As of the 2006 Canadian Census, around 11% of Parkdale residents were of Tibetan ethnicity, comprising 1,985 persons (62% of Toronto's total Tibetan population and 42% of Tibetans in all of Canada).[4] According to global population estimates, this makes the Parkdale Tibetan community the largest outside of Tibet and its surrounding area.[13]

Most of the housing in the area consists of high-rise apartment buildings and single-family homes. Compared to much of the Toronto core, rent prices in Parkdale are affordable, and the area provides many amenities and services to recent immigrants and at-risk populations. Additionally, public transit offers accessibility to the city centre of Toronto.[4]

Culture and community[]

Parkdale's existing Tibetan community and cultural institutions encourage the continued immigration of Tibetans to the neighbourhood, with 64% of Tibetan immigrants citing the existing presence of other Tibetans as a major factor in their decision to settle in the area.[4] Little Tibet is centred around a series of blocks on Queen Street West, consisting of a number of Tibetan restaurants and shops with diverse influences from India, Nepal and China.

Family reunification concerns[]

Within Parkdale, a significant concern among Tibetan Canadian families is reunification with their relatives. Tibetans living in Canada that have already obtained permanent residency have found difficulty bringing their family members into Canada. Many of the relatives that have been unable to come to Canada live in Nepal and India. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) states that the Nepalese government is blocking Tibetan peoples that found refuge in Nepal after 1989 from exiting the country. India imposes that Tibetans must have a valid Identity Certificate to exit the country, and the process of obtaining this document can take several years.[11]

Notable Tibetan Canadians[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001". Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2017. November 29, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Global Nomads: The Emergence of the Tibetan Diaspora (Part I), by Seonaigh MacPherson (University of British Columbia), Anne-Sophie Bentz (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies), Dawa Bhuti Ghoso
  3. ^ Loriggio, Paola.'At home' in Little Tibet, Toronto Star. May 15, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Logan, J., & Murdie, R. (2016). Home in Canada? The Settlement Experiences of Tibetans in Parkdale, Toronto. Journal Of International Migration And Integration, 17(1), 95-113
  5. ^ 1940年2月5日，国民政府正式颁发命令：“青海灵童拉木登珠，慧性湛深，灵异特著，查系第十三辈达赖喇嘛转世，应即免予抽签，特准继任为第十四辈达赖喇嘛。此令。”
  6. ^ http://www.livingbuddha.us.com/view-a4a452dadc42426184aa073f08dd26fb.html
  7. ^ a b c Dhussa, R. C. (2009). Tibet: A Nation in Exile. American Geographical Society's Focus On Geography, 52(2), 1-6.
  8. ^ 西藏现代史 [History of Tibet]. 香港大學出版社 [Hong Kong University Publisher]. July 2014. ISBN 9789888139699. "北京中央人民政府毛主席、中国人民解放军朱德司令钧鉴：钧座以大智大勇之略，成救国救民之业，义师所至，全国欢腾，班禅世受国恩，备荷优崇。二十余年来，为了西藏领土主权之完整，呼吁奔走，未尝稍懈。第以未获结果，良用疚心。刻下羁留青海，待命返藏。兹幸在钧座领导之下，西北已获解放，中央人民政府成立，凡有血气，同声鼓舞。今后人民之康乐可期，国家之复兴有望。西藏解放，指日可待。班禅谨代表全藏人民，向钧座致崇高无上之敬意，并矢拥护爱戴之忱。”—十世班禅致中华人民共和国中央人民政府电报 [To President Mao of the Central People's Government of Beijing and Commander Zhu De of the Chinese People's Liberation Army: The scorpion is based on the wisdom of the great wisdom and the courage to save the country and the people. The whole country is full of joy, and the Panchen Lama is blessed by the country. For more than 20 years, I have been dealing with integrity of Tibet territorial sovereignty, without rest. Since result has not been obtained, I felt guilty. I will stay in Qinghai and wait for possible return. Fortunately, under your leadership, the northwest has been liberated, and the Central People’s Government has been established, we're all excited. In the future, the people’s well-being can be expected, and the country’s revival is expected. The liberation of Tibet is just around the corner. On behalf of the entire Tibetan people, please accept my supreme respect and support. " ---- The 10th Panchen Lama to the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China]
  9. ^ a b c d e Raska, J. (2016). Humanitarian Gesture: Canada and the Tibetan Resettlement Program, 1971-5. Canadian Historical Review, 97(4), 546-575.
  10. ^ Dubinsky, Karen, et al. Canada and the Third World: Overlapping Histories. University of Toronto Press, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Bradley, A. (2010). Beyond Borders: Cosmopolitanism and Family Reunification for Refugees in Canada. International Journal Of Refugee Law, 22(3), 379-403.
  12. ^ a b c Batarseh, R. C. (2016). Inside/Outside the Circle: From the Indochinese Designated Class to Contemporary Group Processing. Refuge (0229-5113), 32(2), 54-66.
  13. ^ "Global Nomads: The Emergence of the Tibetan Diaspora (Part I)". September 2, 2008.
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