Members of Newcastle’s Tibetan community gathered this week to mark the 67th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day.
It commemorates the events of 10 March, 1959, when thousands of Tibetans rose up against Chinese rule in the capital of Lhasa.
Tsering, a member of the local Tibetan community committee, said the occasion represented an outcry for change.
“Because of China’s illegal occupation of Tibet, more than one million Tibetans were killed and our country turned into a bloodshed,” she said.
“We lost our families, our brothers and sisters, and now many of us live in Australia without any contact with them.”
She said communication with relatives in Tibet was impossible.
“We are not allowed to contact our families back in Tibet,” Tsering told the Newcastle Weekly.
“We don’t know whether they are safe… and they don’t know whether we are safe here.”
The gathering also highlighted the ongoing human rights situation in Tibet.
According to the 2025 Freedom in the World report by Freedom House, Tibet received a freedom score of 0 out of 100 for the second consecutive year.
Tsering said Tibetans across the globe continued to protest because their culture and identity were under threat.
“China has destroyed many monasteries and they are trying to destroy our culture, our traditions and our language,” she explained.
“They even take Tibetan children from their families and put them into boarding schools where they are forced to learn only Chinese.”
United Nations experts recently warned that millions of Tibetans had been affected by forced relocation and labour programs.
Another community member, Rinzin, said the fear does not end once Tibetans leave their homeland.
She said even speaking openly in Australia can put family members in Tibet at risk.
“When we talk to our families, we have to speak in code,” Rinzin stated.
“We cannot talk about the Dalai Lama or about politics because it can bring trouble to them.”
Rinzin said relatives in Tibet could face consequences if authorities believed family members overseas were involved in activism.
“They don’t care about our people – they care about our land,” she added.
“That’s why, even here, we have to be careful about what we say.”
Despite the challenges, community members say keeping Tibetan culture alive in Newcastle remains a priority.
For Tsering, the hope for freedom is also about the future of her young son.
“I want my son to be able to step on Tibetan land one day,” she said.
“But, I don’t know if it will be safe for him.”
The Newcastle gathering formed part of a global day of remembrance and protest held by Tibetan communities around the world, too.
City of Newcastle councillor Siobhan Isherwood attended the event and said the anniversary served as an important reminder of the Tibetan struggle.
“This is an annual day of resistance and hope for Tibetans around the world,” she said.
Since 1959, about 3,000 Tibetan refugees have settled in Australia, including a small but active community in Newcastle.
For those who gathered on Tuesday, the message was simple.
“Tibet was never part of China,” Tsering said.
“And, one day we hope it will be free again.”
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