"It was a miracle that she survived." — Mr. Tsering Choephel Mr. Tsering Choephel recalls the hardships his parents endured after fleeing Tibet in the early 1960s. Like many newly arrived Tibetan refugees, they worked on road construction projects between Manali and Kullu. One incident has stayed with him throughout his life. While working at a construction site, his mother was buried under rubble after a landslide struck without warning. Everything happened so quickly that no one fully understood the extent of the tragedy at first. When he later saw her in the hospital, she was covered in plaster from head to toe. "It was a miracle that she survived," Mr. Tsering Choephel says. In the early 1960s, thousands of Tibetans in exile found employment building roads across the Himalayan region. Working under harsh conditions with limited equipment, many risked—and some lost—their lives constructing the mountain roads that continue to connect remote communities across northern India today. Their sacrifices remain an enduring but often overlooked chapter in the history of the Tibetan exile community. This episode is part of Tibetans in Diaspora, a 20-episode series by Stories of Tibetans, supported by The Tibet Fund. 🎥 Interview, Editing & Subtitles: Kunsang Tenzing 📷 Coordinator & Camera Assistance: Ugen Dolma #StoriesOfTibetans #TibetansInDiaspora #Tibet #Tibetan #Exile #Refugee #Identity #Culture #Resilience #Storytelling