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"More than forty years have passed since the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, a Nobel laureate, was forced to flee his homeland. Yet Free Tibet remains a living struggle for his people."

In 1950, the People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet. Nine years later the Chinese occupation brutally suppressed the Tibetan people's resistance movement, forcing the Dalai Lama to flee for his life to India. Over 100,000 of his people followed him across the treacherous Himalayas, and thousands of refugees every year are still risking their lives, as gross abuse of human rights and ecological devastation continue in Tibet unchecked.

Over the border in Dharamsala, India, home of the Tibetan Government in Exile, a new generation has been born into a foreign land. Nonetheless their dedication to their homeland remains a daily reality. The 40th anniversary of the Lhasa uprising is marked by love and struggle as the refugees unite across the generations in their devotion to the rooftop of the
world, Tibet.

TIBETAN REFUGEES: A Struggle Beyond Generations documents the cry for freedom of Tibet in exile.

The Fourteenth Dalai Lama

The present Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born on July 6 1935 in the province of Amdo, northeast Tibet. When he was two years old he was recognized as the reincarnation of the late Thirteenth Dalai Lama, the location of the young child being just as predicted and his body marked in the traditional way. In 1939 he was brought to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where he was enthroned in 1940....(more)

Kalsang Dorjee

Kalsang Dorjee, born in Bhutan, works for
the Tibetan welfare office in Dharamshala,
India. He is actively involved in the Tibetan
Youth Congress (TYC), working for the liberation
of Tibet. Kalsang organizes an activist peace march across India to mark the 40th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day

Tenzin Lungtuk

Tenzin Lungtuk, born in India, is a promising
young monk of the Dalai Lama's Namgyal
Monastery in Dharamsala. He entered the
monastery at the age of eleven. Tenzin devotes his life to the perpetuation of Tibetan Buddhism.

PRODUCED BY Tensystem Inc. DIRECTOR: TANAKA Kunihiko
EDITOR: TANAKA Kunihiko PHOTOGRAPHY: TANAKA Kunihiko
NARRATOR: David Schaufele SCRIPT: TANAKA Kunihiko / Evan Heimlich / Faith Bach
MUSIC: TAKIMOTO Hiroko / TIPA SPECIAL ADVISER: Jurme Wangda

Running Time: 120 Minutes / Production Year: 2002

Since he became interested in the Tibet issue in 1987, Tanaka
Kunihiko, project leader, has reviewed many documentaries and programs about Tibetan refugees, and found they tend to portray the refugees as

1) poor people escaping from Tibet because of the Chinese oppression, and/or
2) naive and religious people following the Dalai Lama.

The majority of the works on the Tibet issue, moreover, focus
exclusively on the Dalai Lama's activities, and reinforce
audiences' "Shangri-la" stereotypes about Tibet and its refugees. So, this first documentary of the project intentionally and specifically focuses on the challenges faced by youthful Tibetan refugees.

After finishing a graduate degree in journalism and mass
communication,Tanaka went back to Japan and started to ask
several media (TV) production companies to work with his
project. However, they declined to support it. The main reason
was really obvious. The Tibet issue has been taboo in the Japanese mass media. One boss of a company said, "We can't touch the Tibet issue." Companies fear the Chinese government's reaction would cause trouble for their business.

Yet Tanaka never thought about giving up. The year 1999 was
drawing near: the 40th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising; 50th
anniversary of China's invasion and annexation of Tibet; 10th
anniversary of the Tiannemen Square crackdown; and the 10th
anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize for the Dalai Lama. Someone had to record what ordinary Tibetans would say and do in that important year. Camerawork for the first documentary began in February 1999, and proceeded very well as Tanaka established excellent rapport with Tibetan refugees he met.

Before the start of the peace march on the anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day, the Dalai Lama made a speech in Dharamsala. Of the many journalists who covered the speech, only Tanaka, with his camera, accompanied the peace march
it launched.

Tanaka also secured an exclusive, one-hour interview in
Dharamsala with the Dalai Lama, excerpts of which are in the
documentary. That interview with the "Living Buddha" took place on Buddha Jayanti, Buddha's birthday.