The Role of Religion

Today I've been shifting through more, and more, articles to find annotated sources. Mostly I'm looking for sources that focus on Tibetan refugee studies. While searching, I came across an article about the role religion has played in helping these people to assimilate into a new society. The Dali Lama was arguably a key figure, and assimilation was heavily assisted by his leadership. I don't know why, but I had not considered the major impact religion plays on assimilation. Yes, I knew that Tibetan Buddhism was a large part of their lives, and they followed the Dali Lama...but what did that mean for assimilation. Well, then I went and wikipedia-ed "tibetan Buddhism" and came to learn a lot about how the refugees could be so greatly influence.

According to Wikipedia, Tibetan Buddhism teaches a great respect for the teacher. The teachers are to be revered, and their decision accepted. However, this process of becoming a teacher is a long process and accompanied by skepticism (questioning to make sure that they are qualified). With this respect of the teachers, it would be a great comfort to know that your leader would help you to have what was needed, etc. You could also trust the lower level teachers, under the Dali Lama, because you know they are worthy of your respect. I assume this direction would assist in moving/working/and starting life over.

7 Years in Tibet

Anyone reading this is probably a member of our India fs group and already knows we watched "7 years in Tibet," so I will refrain from recapping the movie. I thought is was facsinating to watch the transformation of the main character's attitude throughout the movie. After reading the "Culture Blends" article, it makes me wonder when this hiker began to accept a different culture. What made him change his mentality (because let's face it...he's a punk for the first half of the movie)? And as an American, I'm a little nervous of going into a new society and offending them with my "deficit" nature. I have been in situations with different cultures, and ways of life, but I was still on my "turf" so to speak. It's exciting to think that we're going to someone else's turf, culture, and timeframe. I guess I'll just have to keep my American perspectives in check :)

Time for a new post! So I just received a book from a friend about five different methods to do a qualitative study. This particular friend is going to Uganda to study how sports are helping Ugandan orphans to create an identity within their schools. I thought I was going to study the way that host families helped Tibetan's to assimilate into society...but now it appears that there may be too many variables. This would complicate my process, and lead to inconclusive data :(   So here's what both my friend, and I, need to figure out, how do you do a qualitative study about one variable? I hope this book helps.

I also was talking to Professor Dave Shuler (I think that's how you spell his name), and the man is a valt of knowledge. I love it! He should me that personal connections would be vital to my project. There is a man living up in Provo Canyon who apparently knows quite a bit about the McLeod area, and P. Shuler also remembered a paper from nearly six years ago that a student had written about Tibetan refugees. I think the BYU connections are going to be a huge help!

Source Documents

Okay, source documents take an amazing amount of time! I finished my two and then I wanted to pack it in for the day, but it was only two in the afternoon. Oh well. I did learn quite a bit from the experience, but now I have more questions. The more I prepare for this field study, the more complicated it gets (anybody else feeling that?).

Anywho, I'm going to study the effect of host families on refugee assimilation, however I'm not sure how you show causation. There was one paper I read where the author had done tons of research in order to better understand how to help refugees who are coming into a new environment. This guy had bucket loads of info on the many variables that contributed to the experience: age, gender, education, marital status, ethnicity, networking, sponsorship, etc. He had so many different variables! If I choose one variable, such as host families, than how do I show that this variable is the difference maker?

I'm thinking that I will have to make my sample group extremely similar. They will all have to be the same age range, gender, marital status, you get the picture. Or could I have two separate sample groups? For example, one group could be male, married, middle-aged, etc and the other group could be female, single, early-20's. I'm new at this research action...so any ideas are welcomed.

I think I just might have a subject to study! Of course, I'm holding my breath a bit until this is actually legit. One of the things I'd like to study is the work of NGO's based in McLeod Ganj, and how they help refugees adjust to life in a new territory.

In my IAS 220 class we discussed how some people receiving aid tend to degrade themselves because of the opinion that donners have towards them (ex: I want to help you "little people"). Here you have people in need, who suffer from a "little people" syndrome, and therefore lack additional confidence. No wonder it becomes easy to depend more on foreign assistance. How can you believe that you can get on your feet and prosper, when everyone looks at you as a poor refugee. So, here's my question: do the host families used by Tibetan NGO's help refugees to have more confidence and make better community connections? What is the influence of a sud-o family upon refugees? It's just an idea at this point...but it may work.

My roommate and I have been talking about whether, or not, anyone really knows what they're doing when it comes to development. Recently, our classes have discussed the different approaches to development. Are you more of a bottom-up person, or do you think top-down is more effective? We came to the determination that it is just too complicated to go with one clear-cut answer.

In December (or November) NPR's Planet Money had a podcast where they were wondering this same question, more specifically they wanted to know if donations to Haiti should be sent right to the people, or to the aid organizations. They set up two accounts: one for a struggling school who met in a church building (this school wanted to have their own building and books for the kids), the other account was for a women who thought she could set up her own small business if she had the money to obtain the initial resources. Sending money directly to the school was a complete failure, however the money sent to the women was a great success. What's that mean? Listening to the podcast I thought to myself, "that is so inconclusive! What's the answer to aid?".

The more I listen, and read about development, the more I believe there is no easy answer. What works for Haiti will not always work for Botswana. Similarly, there are differences between people and occupations that complicate matters more. The street vendors solution could be completely different than the farmers plans, and yet they could be the same. It sends my head spinning! Why couldn't there just be an easy answer?

Have you ever wondered why people beg on the street? I had read an article about Tibetan refugees in India, and apparently there are a number of beggars. This article partially blamed the foreigners for the number of beggars, saying that tourism had created a dependency. I wonder how many variables go into making a Tibetan refugee choose to beg on the streets, rather than take a job. Naturally, I would like to judge the man, and probably encourage him to get up and start working. However, what if this individual is more capable of providing for his family by begging, instead of working at the local blacksmith? What if his begging is his job? I just don't know! There are so many different reasons that could cause someone to become a beggar. Not only are these people struggling with the same human issues as us in America, like finances and education, but they're also displaced. How do you know when to push someone to get up vs when to let them beg? This is all very complicated...and over my head.

Dream Big

I've been wondering lately...so brace yourself. What do people in other countries dream about? I dream about getting good grades, or competing well, or hanging out with the fam. What about those kids who are poor, or displaced? Does it mean anything when someone tells them to dream big? Do Tibetan kids in India dream of going home? Maybe impoverished kids in Africa dream that their mom didn't have AIDS anymore. It's kind of a sobering thought, and I'm sorry if it's a downer thought, but I was musing. What does it really mean to dream big?