McLeod Ganj

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Friday, October 15, 2010 | 5 photos

These photos were taken whilst I was volunteering in Mcleod Ganj, India, home to the Dalai Lama and many Tibetan refugees in exile. Working closely with recent arrivals at a school for young adults, I was given the unique experience of hearing their personal stories and frustrations. The photos I have chosen attempt to convey both the great sense of hopelessness that many Tibetans feel and the courage and determination they have towards championing their cause. With the rise of China as a leading power in the world, India has become increasingly relied on as a safe haven for political dissidents and the maintenance of Tibetan culture and traditions. To live, as a Tibetan in exile, is to live for the cause of working for the freedom and dignity of a nation fighting foreign invasion and human justice. For many Tibetans born in exile, Tibet is a place created by their imagination, their education and stories of their parents and recent arrivals. There is no citizenship to claim; they are born refugees. And yet, they are in every way a part of the struggle for identity and for freedom.

In today’s high speed information market, proliferation of new technologies have transformed the potential of the media to provide a constant flow of global real time news. I am currently studying Global and International Studies at the University of Sydney, and am enrolled to undertake Honours in anthropology next year. As a passionate and dedicated person in all facets of my life, I am striving to gain experience in photography, a field which I believe has a key role to play in the voicing of human rights issues across the world.