The U.S. Tibetan Resettlement Office announced Friday that Utah has been selected as a "cluster site" for the resettlement of 50 Tibetan immigrants.
The Tibetans will begin arriving in Utah at the end of the year. They are currently living in Nepal and India after fleeing their homeland to escape oppressive Chinese rule.The United States will give 1,000 special visas to Tibetans seeking to relocate in the United States. This is the first time the U.S. government has extended special visas to Tibetans, according to Pema Chagzoetsang, a Utah Tibetan.
Only five Tibetans live in Utah, including Chagzoetsang, her husband and their two children. Only 500 Tibetans live in the United States.
Utah was chosen as a cluster site at Chagzoetsang's urging. She stressed the similarity between Utah's terrain and climate and Tibet's. Chagzoetsang has lined up jobs for at least five of the immigrating Tibetans.