First taste of winter for Tibetans starting a new life in Ottawa

By Shannon Lough Volunteers held bags full of winter jackets as ten Tibetans arrived in Ottawa airport last Friday night to begin their new lives in Canada. As the newcomers came down the escalator, a group of volunteers were there to welcome and prepare them for the bitter –16 C temperature outside. On a night that felt more like the chill of mid-January than November, people came prepared to equip the new Canadians with winter coats. Tashi Wangdi, the retired home minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, had garbage bags full of puffy jackets for the newcomers. Tenzin Tsangyang, one of the new arrivals, had traveled for more than 24 hours from New Delhi, India. “I’m exhausted but at the same time very excited,” Tsangyang said. He did some research on the internet to prepare for life and winter in Ottawa. “I heard it’s a very cold place. Other than that I heard that it’s one of the capital cities.” Champa Tenzin, a Tibetan who moved to Canada six months ago, was one of the volunteers handing out jackets. A smiling Tenzin said that Wangdi recruited him to bring the jackets. He said he is excited to experience his first winter. “I haven’t seen a lot of snow and some of my friends are telling me the middle of winter is very cold. I want to experience it,” Tenzin said. The ten newcomers to Ottawa are part of the Tibetan Resettlement Project, a special immigration plan organized by the Canadian government and a volunteer organization. In 2007, there was an agreement between the Dalai Lama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to bring in 1000 Tibetans from Arunachal Pradesh, a refugee community in Northern India. After years of organization, the process is finally underway. Over the next two years, 90 Tibetans will make their way to Ottawa and this first group will have the opportunity to get settled during Canadian winter. Other Tibetans who were at the airport to welcome the new arrivals reflected on their first Canadian winter. Wangmo Konchok moved to Ottawa two years ago with her mother. She was sponsored to live here by her sister and her sister’s husband, David McDowell. “When they came two years ago it was the absolute mildest winter we ever had and she thought it was cold,” McDowell said. He said he remembers later during that winter his wife and newly arrived sister-in-law “went for a walk and she’s chanting ‘Very cold, going to die.’” He laughs at the memory. In spite of the cold, Konchok has attempted some winter activities since she came to Ottawa. “I tried to learn to skate but...