Pema Chagzoetsang, her husband, T.J., and their two children currently make up 80 percent of the Tibetan population in Utah. But that may soon change.
According to Chagzoetsang, Utah has a good chance of being chosen as a "cluster site" for the resettlement of Tibetan immigrants. The U.S. Tibetan Resettlement Office in Boston will announce its selection of several U.S. cities later Friday.If chosen, Utah would be home to about 50 Tibetans currently living in Nepal and India. The immigrants, who fled their homeland to escape oppressive Chinese rule, have been in Nepal or India anywhere from two to 30 years.
According to Chagzoestang, whose own family escaped Tibet by foot when she was 1 year old, Utah is a good "cluster site" for resettlement for several reasons that first were lost on the U.S. Tibetan Resettlement Office.
"I had to try to sell Utah," she explained. "I told them, through my personal experience, that I know Utah is a good place." In addition to having a familiar landscape and climate, Utah will provide a good quality of life, employment opportunities and a population that is very accommodating, she said.
A local "resettlement steering committee," which includes members of the Utah Friends of Tibet and other interested volunteers, has been working since May to pave the way for Utah's designation. Some of the volunteers are Utah mountain climbers who have climbed Mount Everest and other peaks in the country known as "The Roof of the World."
According to Tracy Stevens, a committee member who works locally in economic development, "We have some good verbal commitments from several employers" who will hire at least the first five Tibetans to arrive. The employers' needs will be matched with immigrants' skills before they are assigned to Utah, she said.
Tibet was invaded by China in 1949 but it wasn't until 1959 that Tibetans took part in a national uprising that resulted in a crackdown by Chinese troops and the fleeing of 100,000 Tibetans - including the Dalai Lama - into exile.