There is speculation that exiles might now harden their attitudes, writes Clifford Coonanin Dharamsala.
IT IS a long and dangerous trek from Tibet to the north Indian hill station of Dharamsala, but many Tibetans are willing to run the risk of being shot by border guards, abandoned by unscrupulous guides or dying of starvation or exposure in the mountains to get to see their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
An average of 3,000 refugees a year come through the reception centre in Dharamsala, but since the anti-Chinese protests in parts of Tibet in March the number has dropped significantly.
An increased security crackdown following the March unrest means that only about 100 refugees have come through this year so far, although many are waiting until winter to make the journey, when the weather makes the passes more difficult to monitor.
"The number could become more extreme than ever this year because of what happened in March. The levels of fear are extraordinary," said Kate Saunders, a spokesperson for the International Campaign for Tibet.
The stakes have also been raised considerably since September 2006, when a group of refugees was shot at the Nangpa-la pass.
Tibetans from all over the world are gathered in Dharamsala to talk about their future policy after the failure of talks with the Chinese government.
There is speculation that the exiles may go for a tougher line than the Middle Way espoused by their spiritual and temporal leader, the Dalai Lama.
Mingyur Youdon, deputy director of the reception centre in Dharamsala, said there were currently two batches of refugees from Tibet at the centre, one of 10 and one of 18, while 50 people were waiting in Kathmandu. Her parents left Tibet in 1959 and she has never been there.
"I've never seen my country and I'm hoping that I see my country before I die. My heart is always yearning for my country," she said.
The refugees come from Tibet and stop off in Kathmandu. Some pay 5,000 or 6,000 yuan (nearly €600) per head to guides who bring them to Kathmandu, where they are screened by the Indian government and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
"The guides are business people mostly. They are running a big risk and if they are caught by the police they will go to jail. Tibetan people have to look for them very secretly," says Ms Youdon.
Other guides are very committed and do it out of a strong belief, but there are horror stories of unscrupulous operators.
In one case a guide reportedly left three children aged six, seven and eight at a mountain pass, where they were picked up by other escapees after the guide had gone back to Lhasa to look for more money, saying that he had delivered the children safely.
Ama Adhe, who is in her 80s, was jailed during an early manifestation of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and spent 27 years imprisoned in Kham before escaping in 1988.
"When I first arrived from Tibet I was committed to complete independence. But His Holiness's Middle Way has a lot of meaning and I support it and I hope one day we get a positive result," she said.
She was first arrested when her children were very small - one daughter was just one year old. "She did not recognise me as her mother when I came out of prison," she says.
Ms Adhe is helping to look after a little girl and boy who arrived in Dharamsala on Friday and are studiously drawing pictures in the art refuge, where children can express themselves through colours. Many of the pictures show scenes of soldiers attacking people. They, too, will meet the Dalai Lama soon and say they are getting excited.
"Normally there are 30 or 40 children here at this time, but it's empty because of March," said their teacher, who arrived nine years ago with her brother and nephew.
In one of the dormitories, which are lined with mattresses and pictures of the Dalai Lama, two young women were folding blankets and listening to music while packing peanut butter, shampoo and beauty cases into their small piles of belongings.
They came from the Kham region and have not seen the Dalai Lama yet, but they are expecting an audience this week - all refugees are granted an audience with their revered spiritual leader. The two, aged 20 and 18, asked not to be named to protect their families, who are still in Tibet.
"We took a small vehicle to the Friendship Bridge, then walked through the mountains to Kathmandu at the end of October," said one before they they went off to prepare for their audience with the Dalai Lama.