Man Tibetan Sew Cotton By Sewing Machine At Tibetan Refugee Camps Editorial Image

Man Tibetan sew cotton by Sewing machine at Tibetan Refugee Camps on October 31, 2013 in Pokhara Annapurna Valley Nepal. Nepal is home to 120,370 refugees officially recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Tibetan and Bhutanese refugees account for a large majority of Nepal’s refugee population. In the years 1959, 1960, and 1961 following the 1959 Tibetan uprising and exile of the Dalai Lama, over 20,000 Tibetans migrated to Nepal. Since then many have emigrated to India or settled in refugee camps set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Government of Nepal, the Swiss Government, Services for Technical Co-operation Switzerland, and Australian Refugees Committee. Those who arrived before 1989 were issued refugee ID cards and benefited from de facto economic integration; however, more recent arrivals have no legal status and cannot own property, businesses, vehicles, or be employed lawfully. Many of these recent arrivals transit through Nepal on their way to India. Currently there are twelve Tibetan Refugee camps in Nepal, each supervised by a representative appointed by the Central Tibetan Administration.