[27. October 2011] CNN.com

They lined up hundreds strong to touch the dirt. Some fell to their knees, clutching the gritty stuff as though it were a long-lost child. Others lifted it to their lips to savor a taste of the home they left behind decades ago.

Exiles - who face never returning to Tibet as long as it is under Chinese rule - stood on Tibetan soil this week, fulfilling a desire that has burned within since they fled westward across the Himalayas. Only, this week, they were able to do it in Dharamsala, the Indian hilltown that functions as the de facto capital of the refugee community.

The display was the work of New York artist Tenzing Rigdol, 29, who clandestinely trucked in sacks containing 22 tons of dirt from Tibet to Dharamsala to construct his installation. Read more