Where Rivers Meet - A Tibetan Refugee Community's Struggle to Survive in the High Mountains of Nepal - Softcover

Clint Rogers

9789994655090: Where Rivers Meet - A Tibetan Refugee Community's Struggle to Survive in the High Mountains of Nepal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9994655094 ISBN 13: 9789994655090

Publisher: Mandala, 2008

During the early 1960s, as the Chinese army clamped down on Tibetans' freedom to move about, engage in trade, and practice their religion, the residents of Ru, an old Tibetan trading village and site of the renowned Taiga monastery, realized that their very means of survival - as well as the survival of that which provided meaning to their lives - were in grave danger. In order to avoid detection by Chinese patrols, the villagers stole away in the night with whatever few possessions they could manage to carry, fleeing across a high mountain pass that marked the frontier with Nepal. Once across the border, the refugees petitioned Nepal's king for permission to settle in the highland meadow of Samdo, citing land rights granted to the Taiga monastery over six hundred years earlier by a Nepali ruler. The government of Nepal conceded their claims, and the community went to work building houses, clearing fields, planting crops, and trying to start a new life.

Despite the scarce resources and harsh conditions of their new home, the courageous settlers of Samdo managed to eke out a bare living through hard work, steadfast perseverance, and a continued adherence to their traditional lifestyle practices. But as modern economic developments in China, Tibet, India, and Nepal have undermined the trans-Himalayan caravan trade upon which their survival hinges, the villagers have been forced to adapt their age-old trade practices to new circumstances.

This book tells the remarkable story of the Samdo refugee community's struggle to survive and hold on to their traditional way of life in the face of seemingly insurmountable political, economic, and physical challenges. With a sensitivity and deep appreciation for the unique culture that continues to exist to this day in Samdo, the author's vivid descriptions and striking photographs provide a rare look, both touching and informative, into the life and customs of an intact Tibetan village community still reliant upon trans-Himalayan caravan trade for survival. At the same time, the author's personal reflections on the simplicity and spiritual grace of life in Samdo offer a deeply resonating critique of the harried material culture of the West.

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About the Author:

The author, who holds a PhD and MA in Geography and an MBA in Business, all from the University of California at Berkeley, traveled and conducted research in the mountains of Nepal, India, Pakistan, Tibet and China for ten consecutive years. He spent five years living in Nepal while carrying out doctoral and post-doctoral research in Manang and Samdo and traveling in the Himalayan highland regions of Mustang, Nyishang, Nar-Phu, Nubri, Tsum, Langtang, Rolwaling, Khumbu, Walung, and Kangchenjunga. Dr. Rogers is the author of two previous books on the Himalaya, Secrets of Manang and The Lure of Everest.

Review:

From book review in ECS Nepal magazine, Sept 2009, by Don Messerschmidt

- A must read for anyone interested in northern Nepal, Tibet, Tibetan refugees, border communities, Himalayan anthropology, trans-Himalayan trade, mountain village life, or adventure travels.

- Rogers' writing is well informed, fact-filled, and well crafted.

- A rich account of the stalwart Tibetan refugees of Samdo village. The story reveals their rich and full lives, where they came from, how they emigrated from Tibet in the early 1960s, why they settled in northern Gorkha District where they had long standing land rights, and how they skillfully managed to retain those rights and establish themselves in Nepal in the face of considerable local resistance.

- Includes a good review of the history of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and of the militant resistance by Tibetan Khampas.

- The Appendix of Trade Prices and Calculations provides invaluable comparative data as resource material for geographers, anthropologists, socio-economists and historians. --

From book review in ECS Nepal magazine, Sept 2009, by Don Messerschmidt

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