‘Searching for Roots’: Exploring the Idea of Home in Tibetan Refugee Youth Living in Delhi, India

Home is a key aspect of place attachment signified by rootedness and ease; it is operationalised as a sense of being rooted to and feeling at ease in a particular place. Two studies were done to gain a nuanced idea of the concept of home as understood by Tibetan refugee youth living in Delhi. In study 1, based on in-depth interviews on 20 students of ages 18–25 years, a thematic analysis resulted in the global theme of ‘community as home’ indicating the central position of the community while talking about home. On the basis of this study, four variables were identified as key to the concept of home: in-group identification, group efficacy, social well-being and rootedness (home). Study 2 was designed to understand the relationship between these identified variables. Around 103 refugee youth (controlled for gender) aged 18–25 years completed the questionnaire. It was found that most of the variables were positively correlated to one another, except for group efficacy and social well-being. Further, the mediation analysis indicated that in the context of the community, higher levels of social well-being explained increased in-group identification, particularly when mediated by the presence of group efficacy. Overall, it was found that community seems to be integral to the concept of home for Tibetan refugee youth living in Delhi. Both studies expand upon existing literature on the concept of home and have further implications for the notion of home and the social well-being of Tibetan refugees.

Risk of developing active tuberculosis following tuberculosis screening and preventive therapy for Tibetan refugee children and adolescents in India: An impact assessment

Background Tuberculosis (TB) rates among Tibetan refugee children and adolescents attending boarding schools in India are extremely high. We undertook a comprehensive case finding and TB preventive treatment (TPT) program in 7 schools in the Zero TB Kids project. We aimed to measure the TB infection and disease burden and investigate the risk of TB disease in children and adults who did and did not receive TPT in the schools. Methods and findings A mobile team annually screened children and staff for TB at the 7 boarding schools in Himachal Pradesh, India, using symptom criteria, radiography, molecular diagnostics, and tuberculin skin tests. TB infection (TBI) was treated with short-course regimens of isoniazid and rifampin or rifampin. TB disease was treated according to Tibetan and Indian guidelines. Between April 2017 and December 2019, 6,582 schoolchildren (median age 14 [IQR 11–16] years) and 807 staff (median age 40 [IQR 33–48] years) were enrolled. Fifty-one percent of the students and 58% of the staff were females. Over 13,161 person-years of follow-up in schoolchildren (median follow-up 2.3 years) and 1,800 person-years of follow-up in staff (median follow-up 2.5 years), 69 TB episodes occurred in schoolchildren and 4 TB episodes occurred in staff, yielding annual incidence rates of 524/100,000 (95% CI 414–663/100,000) person-years and 256/100,000 (95% CI 96–683/100,000) person-years, respectively. Of 1,412 schoolchildren diagnosed with TBI, 1,192 received TPT. Schoolchildren who received TPT had 79% lower risk of TB disease (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.21; 95% CI 0.07–0.69; p = 0.010) compared to non-recipients, the primary study outcome. Protection was greater in recent contacts (aHR 0.07; 95% CI 0.01–0.42; p = 0.004), the secondary study outcome. The prevalence of recent contacts was 28% (1,843/6,582). Two different TPT regimens were used (3HR and 4R), and both were apparently effective. No staff receiving TPT developed TB. Overall, between 2017 and 2019, TB disease incidence decreased by 87%, from 837/100,000 (95% CI 604–1,129/100,000) person-years to 110/100,000 (95% CI 36–255/100,000) person-years (p < 0.001), and TBI prevalence decreased by 42% from 19% (95% CI 18%–20%) to 11% (95% CI 10%–12%) (p < 0.001). A limitation of our study is that TB incidence could be influenced by secular trends during the study period. Conclusions In this study, following implementation of a school-wide TB screening and preventive treatment program, we observed a significant reduction in the burden of TB disease and TBI in children and adolescents. The benefit of TPT was particularly marked for recent TB contacts. This initiative may serve as a model for TB detection and prevention in children and adolescents in other communities affected by TB.

Divergent Refugee and Tribal Cosmopolitanism in Dharamshala

This article analyses the divergent, and occasionally overlapping, trajectories of Tibetan refugee and Gaddi tribal cosmopolitanism in Dharamshala, North India. In a place self-consciously branded as cosmopolitan, where Tibetan ethnocommodification is the primary symbolic currency, practices of inclusivity can broadly give way to Gaddi exclusions. Cosmopolitanism as an ordering ideology and set of intercultural competencies, often predicated on the dyadic relationship between Tibetan refugees and international tourists, propels Gaddi resentments and coarsens intergroup sociality. This does not mean, however, that Gaddis are forever consigned to tribal backwardness and reactionary forms of communal aspiration. Gaddis have forged an alternate, grounded cosmopolitanism based on cultural skills fostered through pastoral transhumance, seasonal labour migration corresponding with foreign tourists and ongoingethnopolitical redefinition of what it means to be tribal itself. By seeing past utopian propaganda and dystopian exaggerations about Dharamshala, a richer tapestry of group relations emerges which reveals divergent cosmopolitanisms in the promotion of shared struggles for state recognition and cultural preservation.

Impact of life skills training on psychosocial well-being of Tibetan refugee adolescents

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of life skills training (LST) to promote psychosocial well-being of Tibetan refugee adolescents in India. Design/methodology/approach A total of 300 students having low coping strategies, self-confidence and emotional intelligence (EI) participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to experimental (n=150) and control group (n=150). LST consisting of ten core skills was implemented on the experimental group. Findings ANCOVA and regression analysis revealed that LST was effective in enhancing coping strategies, self-confidence and EI among Tibetan refugee adolescents. Research limitations/implications This study was quantitative in its statistical design and approach. Further research combined with qualitative tools must be explored to gain deeper insight into the personal journey of these young refugees and to corroborate the impact of LST on their psychosocial well-being. Practical implications Results from this study will help to integrate LST into regular school curriculum, thereby ensuring its implementation on a daily basis. Originality/value Previous studies on Tibetan refugees have focused on physical and mental hardships experienced by them. There is limited research on strategies adopted to address the needs of these young refugees after migration. This is the first school-based intervention study that tailored the WHO recommended ten core skills to suit the social and cultural contexts of these young refugees and equip them with psychosocial skills to increase their capacity to cope with the complexity of migration.

Tibetan Refugee Journeys: Representations of Escape and Transit

This ethnographic study contributes to the scholarly call to increase studies on refugee journeys. It explores Tibetan journeys via Nepal to India and provides a novel case study about the Tibetan refugees who commonly cross the Himalayas at least partly on foot without passports and head to the Tibetan Reception Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal, from where they are assisted to India. Conceptually, the study argues that combining the studies of refugee journeys and transit migration increases understanding of the (Tibetan) refugee journeys. The findings reveal that the risky journey has a remarkable meaning both for those Tibetans who have done the journey and collectively for the diaspora Tibetans in India. As Tibetans, like refugees in general are still often victimised and their subjectivities overlooked, the study also contributes to a fuller understanding of the Tibetan refugee agency through the journey narratives of the interviewees of this study.