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One of the first few Tibetans settled in Boston in 1965. After the Chinese communist forces invaded and occupied Tibet in the 1950s, provoking an uprising in 1959, thousands of Tibetans fled into exile in Nepal, India, and Bhutan, seeking religious and civil rights. In 1989, the Tibetan U.S. Resettlement Project, a nonprofit coalition of Tibetans-in-exile and American supporters, persuaded the U.S. Congress to grant one thousand visas for Tibetan exiles as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. Boston was one of several destinations for Tibetan immigrants using these visas. More than 250 Tibetans came to Boston between 1990 and 1997.
As more Tibetans began to settle in Boston, the dire need for a Tibetan association became very evident. And thus came the Tibetan Association of Boston (TAB). Founded in 1992 under the auspices of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile, TAB is a non-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the unique Tibetan cultural tradition within the Tibetan community and further the just cause of Tibet. Currently, there are over 500 Tibetans living in and around the Greater Boston area.
TAB’s main goals are:
- To raise awareness about the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the plight
of the Tibetan people.
- To show unwavering support for the leadership of H.H. the Dalai Lama and
the Tibetan Government in Exile
- To revive, preserve and promote Tibet’s unique religious and cultural heritage
- To educate the younger generation of Tibetan-Americans about their history,
religion and culture
- To initiate and maintain unity among Tibetan organizations in North America
What We Do?
- We provide weekly Tibetan language classes to the young Tibetans.
- We offer weekly instruction in traditional Tibetan folk dances and musical instruments.
- We organize peaceful protests and vigils to support Tibetan prisoners of conscience and raise awareness of the suffering of the Tibetans under the Chinese rule.
- We organize events and activities such as the Birthday of H. H. the Dalai Lama on July 6, Tibetan National Uprising Day on March 10, and the “LOSAR” Tibetan New Year.
We maintain close touch with the Tibetan Government-in-Exile through the
Office
of Tibet, in New York, in the promotion of the Tibetan people’s distinct political,
religious and cultural heritage.
- We raise funds for various social and developmental projects within the
Tibetan Community in India.
TAB Membership
Membership is open to all Tibetans who are residents of Massachusetts and their non-Tibetan spouses. The annual membership contribution, for those who are eligible to contribute Green Book (Gyaldon Mangyul) 6 and above, is $3.00 per month per person. The membership dues must be cleared before the end of September each year.
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