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The Displaced Tibetan
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. During the same period of time, this was independent Tibet.

The official religion of Tibet in the 13th century was Buddhism Tibet.

In 1950, China occupied Tibet causing the Tibetan government to be also under Chinese jurisdiction. Throughout the years, culture and religion took an impact from Chinese occupation which was expressed through the ruination of religious statues of Tibet and the destruction of buildings that represented the Tibetan culture

In 1959, around 87,000 are killed during the Chinese occupation. Tibetans that practiced their religion were killed. At least 80 000 Tibetans and the Dalai Lama left Tibet to Nepal but were denied access. Then they found refuge in India .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 1980’s and 1990’s.

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.

Nomadic Lifestyle
Tibetan’s nomadic life style 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. This means Tibetans were being displaced within their borders.

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 Gorge’s impact on Pierre Elliot Trudeau helped immigration officials to be more lenient with refuge policies for Tibetans.

In the 1960’s, 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.

It took a decade for the first Tibetans 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 new comers and pose issues on the governmental level. 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.

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.

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

Parkdale Neighbourhood, Toronto
Parkdale Ontario contains one of the largest concentration of Tibetan immigrants and refugees. In 2006, approximately 52% of this residential neighborhood consists of immigrant background and around 11% are from Tibetan ethnicity. Parkdale is located close to the center of the city and is close to Lake Ontario. This lake is significant to what makes Tibetans feel more at home because of their relation to nature.

Housing
Most of the housing in this residential area consist of apartment buildings and single-family homes. The rent is affordable and the area consists of many amenities and services. Additionally, public transit offers accessibility to the city center of Toronto.

Home
The closeness to the Lake Ontario, community gardens and parks give Tibetans a sense of home. It is shown that having accessibility to nature gives women and especially children time of play, relaxation, tranquility and meditation.

Culture and Community
With the relatively high number of Tibetans in Parkdale Ontario and neighbors close proximity to one another, culture is fortified. This creates social bonds between residents of the area.

The Tibetan community is also present because of these social connections. They also share the same language and some Tibetans live in the same apartment building.

Services provided by the Canadian government such as the health care system and language classes also give Tibetans a sense of community.

Family Reunification Concerns
Within the Tibetan community in Parkdale, Toronto, the concern among Tibetan Canadian families is the reunification of family. Tibetans who live in Canada that have already obtained permanent residency are having a hard time to bring their family members into Canada. Family members that cannot come to Canada are within the borders of Nepal and India. The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) state that the Nepalese government is blocking Tibetan peoples have found refuge in Nepal after 1989 cannot exit the country. India imposes that Tibetans must have a valid Identity Certificate to exit the country. Obtaining a valid ID can take several years.