This collection of modern Tibetan essays offers heartfelt, heartbreaking accounts of survival, hope

The refugee is a universal figure in the 21st century. The refugee figure’s existence became apparent following a series of pogroms, persecutions and wars in the 20th century and it was formally recognised by United Nations in the 1920s following World War I. Despite the refugee’s universal existence, every refugee’s experience is deeply personal and unique. The skeletal structure of the refugee figure is the same everywhere: A conflict breaks out, a single community of people is targeted and those who can flee, do so, leaving behind a whole life and carrying their drive for survival, language, culture, and memories.

June 20 is designated as the World Refugee Day by the United Nations and the weeks leading up to this day are accompanied by a sense of anxiety for a refugee like me. It is a certain guilt that speaks to us, prompting us to action. I am not sure if non-refugees are similarly plagued by a quest “to do something” about this day, or about the time that is granted to us in survival. In The Penguin Book of Modern Tibetan Essays, writer and translator, Tenzin Dickie, brings together a unique collection of essays by Tibetan writers, written and translated into English.

‘A cleft in...

Read more