Jigme, a Tibetan refugee, has been working as a cutter for 3 years. His life before Eternal Creation was full of adventure. Jigme was born in Amdo in Eastern Tibet. As the tallest in his family, he was drafted into the army as a teenager. Life in the army was tough, especially for Tibetans, as they were often included in the firing squads that executed soldiers involved in criminal activity (for instance, posession of more than 2kg of drugs was a capital offence). After 4 years Jigme was scheduled to be posted to the Nepalese border area, patrolling the mountain region through which many Tibetans escape Tibet. Not wanting to be a party to the killing or detaining of his own people, Jigme applied for discharge on the pretext of a sickness in the family. He then decided to leave Tibet himself to look for a better life in India.

In Lhasa he paid 2500 yuan (about $360 USD) for a forged travel permit to the Tibet- Nepal border. The 80 metre long bridge that marks the entry to Nepal was closed to traffic for the night, but donning his army uniform and with his heart pounding in his chest, Jigme started across. He reached the halfway point when he was accosted by a guard. Pretending he was on duty, and promising the soldier a cigarette from Nepal, he kept walking. He expected every moment to hear the guard's shout or the sound of gunfire, but he reached Nepal safely, leaving his homeland behind.

Dolma, 35, runs the crèche, looking after several of the tailors' young children. She comes from a family of Tibetan nomads from Kham, in Eastern Tibet. In 2001, she trekked for two months over the Himalayas to reach Dharamsala. The crossing, which normally takes about 20 days, was made in mid-winter as the guide thought they would be safer from Chinese patrols. However, due to extremely bad weather they were repeatedly lost in blizzards and snow storms, and eventually stumbled into a border area guarded by soldiers. They were fired upon by the guards, whose job is to prevent Tibetans crossing the border by any means, and their only escape was to jump into a freezing river. Subsequently many of the group of thirteen, including Dolma's sister and a three year old boy, got severe frost bite. Her sister lost one toe, and Dolma still has severe pain in her legs and back due to exposure to extreme cold.

Dolma has since married and has two daughters, one of whom attends the crèche. She's happy in Dharamsala, and has no plans to return to Tibet, partly because she's afraid of the formidable Himalayan crossing.