Our Trip to Amritsar

The Golden Temple:

Monument in memory of the Indians killed in a British massacre of Indians in Amritsar.

At the Indo-Pakistani border ceremony

the guards in their formal hats. I have video of this, and they kick their legs up to basically touch their foreheads.

Elizabeth and Palden's Wedding

Rangzen: A Work-Study-Live Venture

Rangzen, as you probably know by now, means self-rule, freedom...independence. It is what thousands of Tibetans work for in exile and what millions of Tibetans call for from inside of Chinese occupied Tibet.

My research during this program was originally going to be investigating modern life in the monastery, but it has transformed into a study of the independence struggle both here in exile and the international scene.

Our research period started just over a week ago and my plan has been to work for the Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) office here in McLeod, while also interviewing prominent activists and leaders of the other main NGO's that work for independence. There are five main NGO's here in McLeod: Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Gu Chu Sum, Tibetan Women's Alliance (TWA), National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT), and Students for a Free Tibet. (I'm afraid I'm a little uncertain if NDPT is one of the five, but I'm pretty sure.) All five, except for TWA, support rangzen and therefore oppose the Middle Way strategy seeking general autonomy for the Tibetan region, as proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the government in exile.

Originally I was doing research for SFT on western mining companies operating in Tibet, as environmental issues have become a major issue all activists are paying attention to. I may have mentioned it before, but writing with chalk on white paper makes it shine in the moonlight. 2 billion people in Asia are reliant upon water sources which originate from rivers that find their start on the Tibetan plateau. This natural dispersion of water has gone on for centuries without trouble, but China has begun to dam, divert, and pollute rivers inside of Tibet. Just as resources are being mined out of Tibet's ground, its waters now too flow to the tune of mainland China's needs. Cambodia has recently suffered the worst draught in possibly all of its recorded history, due mainly to the fact that China interrupted the natural flow of the main river that supplies Cambodian farmlands with the necessary water. While these issues serve to support the environmental claim, the very statistic "2 billion people" should immediately indicate to anyone that this is a global issue, and that the rivers of Tibet are not a private concern of China but should be monitored and protected by international organizations and global powers.

More recently, however, I was pulled into designing merchandise for SFT India that they sell to raise money to sustain themselves. I am still working on a jacket design but have already had two mug designs approved and one of them is receiving orders already from the SFT office in the UK for distribution. It's kind of cheesy, making mugs, I know, but it's fun and it serves a valuable purpose. Here are a couple raw images of the two mug designs. At some point in the future you may (hopefully) be able to order them online at www.studentsforafreetibet.org or maybe from the US SFT headquarters in NY.

So other than that I've been reading material related to the independence movement and Sino-Tibetan relations. Thus, forgive me if I am now injecting my "Free Tibet" mentality into the writing, but everyone would benefit to have a little "Bod Gyalo!" ("Victory to Tibet!") in them, and it certainly wouldn't hurt the Tibetan cause. Additionally, I've been interviewing activists and leaders, as I mentioned before. This has provided immense amounts of useful information that otherwise I could not have found in books, or online.

Thus far, I've only spoken with Tenzin Tsundue, of whom I've previously written, Lhasang Tsering, Tsewang Rigzin, and an activist by the name Jampa. While only four men they've provided me with great information and have been incredibly interesting to speak with. I'm attempting to record all my interviews, so perhaps one day, in the land of US internet, I can upload them somehow, or give a link to a website on which I can. Until then, those recordings, along with the teachings we've received, and potentially the videos of some of those teachings, will remain unavailable, unfortunately.

Tsewang Rigzin is the current President of TYC as well as an Indian born Tibetan and an American citizen. He, like all the people I've spoken with and heard/read through other media, are extremely passionate. It's not surprising, but it never fails. He spoke mostly to the need of every individual Tibetan giving whatever they can to help support the effort for a free Tibet. Their primary goal now is reaching the younger generation to continue the struggle, and as he told me, he is certain that we will see a free Tibet if these things happen.

Jampa is an activist, whom I met through working at SFT, and interviewed at the office spontaneously. This is also why I don't know his full name. He harbors strong anti-Chinese sentiments and sees the need for Tibetans to correct some of the weaknesses that exist within their community here in order to succeed. His personal motivation seemed to be derived from a strong sense of honor that he described as like that of a"cowboy." He claimed that if it were white people or Indian punjabis who conquered Tibet, he could deal with it, because he respects them and finds they have honor, while he sees Chinese as cunning and cowardly. Therefore he feels a sense of shame and anger that his country belongs to the Chinese now and wants to take it back. Excuse the ethnically charged comments, but these are simply his feelings honestly portrayed. One can understand why anyone might harbor negative feelings for a country if they associate it with the repression, murder, and destruction of their people.

Lhasang Tsering is an old activist now, resigned to his store, The Bookworm, in McLeod Ganj. He was very willing to speak with me, and quite pleasant, but he has by far been the most impassioned person I've spoken with and I don't expect anyone else to trump him. He was one of the mustang guerrilla fighters, trained by the CIA during the Tibetan resistance fought from the Nepali border. When I asked him if he was involved in the independence struggle still, he responded that "there is no independence struggle." He finds the government's Middle Way position an insurmountable blockade to the achievement of Tibetan independence. He believes all that the NGO's are doing is beneficial work but that it can never surmount to the final goal if the government and, specifically, he said, the Dalai Lama does not change their position. He has given up on the movement as it stands, and he, unlike most, don't believe that there is any point in preparing for the long haul. The immense, planned transfer of Han Chinese migrants into the Tibetan regions puts a time stamp on this issue. With the recent completion of the railway to Lhasa from mainland China, trainloads more migrants come in every day as trainloads of resources leave for China proper. He calls himself a cynic and hopes that he is wrong, he says, but warned me as I looked at him that I may be looking at an endangered species. Certainly, this is not what many want to believe, and many refuse to, because of which I believe many people discount Tsering's views. However, he remains an incredibly well educated and well informed individual. He blew the whistle on population transfer long before anyone was paying attention to it over two decades ago, so it is a shame that people would ignore him.

Things are going well, but time seems to be running out rather fast with many notes left to take, things to read, and people to talk to.

Cheers and be well.

Our audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama

So, it has been a while since my last update--a month, in fact. To make it up, I bring you photos of the Dalai Lama! Hope this suffices!

--Tara-la greeting him as we first sat down--

Our first audience was meant for yesterday but after some complications with him meeting the cricket players, we were asked to come today, so we agreed. We were told that we would also be allowed more time, but unfortunately it did not work out that way and we were with His Holiness a little less than half an hour. We were quickly ushered in and began with the questions, of which we were able to ask four. Impressively, he managed to quickly answer four in this time, talking almost entirely in English.

--Responding to Molly's question (I believe) about the selection or possible lack thereof of the next Dalai Lama.--

--Answering Francisco's question concerning the homogenization of Tibetan culture here in exile.--

Our audience was very enjoyable, with His Holiness being very joyful and clearly happy to have us, but he remained pressed for time from outside sources. He had an appointment to make at the cricket match, to be on national TV, so he could not be late. Most unfortunately, this meant that we were not able to present him with kataks and have those individual moments (and photos) with His Holiness. Thus, it was not entirely what we hoped for, especially after being promised quite a bit of time, but we are incredibly fortunate to have even as much time as we did, having a private audience, and being able to ask so many questions. He remains a beloved professor of Emory.

--Tara-la presenting a gift from the Emory program, an original antique map of India including Tibet from 1867 (I think).--

On Saturday night, the 17th, a vigil was held for the victims of the April 14th earthquake in what is being called western China by most media outlets, in Qinghai province. In fact, the earthquake took place near the border of the Amdo and Kham regions of Tibet, but more so in Amdo. The population of the area hit is 97% Tibetan, if that speaks to whether it's Tibet or China, at least ethnically.

The death toll continues to rise, even as reported by the official Chinese media source, Xinhua. However, reports coming from inside the region from the people suggest that the death toll is more likely between 10-40,ooo, which is truly appalling. Many people here in exile have received news that their friends or relatives have died in the disaster, including many children abroad here at TCV whose parents are still in Tibet.

--A young girl watches the candles burn inside the main temple here in Dharamsala while her mother silently prays for the victims.--

In the last earthquake that hit China, also in the Tibetan region, aid organizations were allowed in to help with the rescue effort, but lawyers who represented citizens that were suing the state for state-constructed buildings that were not built to code and thus more susceptible to collapsing in the event of a disturbance. Eighty percent of the buildings in the region hit this time have collapsed, many of them also because of poor construction. Whether or not it is the state's fault, this time it will probably not come out. Monks are a major part of the rescue effort as rescue efforts have not been able to cope with the large amount that needs to be done, and indeed the area is remote. Search dogs cannot be used because they cannot handle the high altitudes. Altitude is another issue, if you have been reading the story, as it goes far below freezing at night, and many are without homes, if not still alive and trapped under rubble.

--This was just a shot I took today on the walk back from the audience.--

Most of the students were actually headed to the same cricket match as His Holiness, but at the last moment I decided that I did not feel up to going. Unfortunately, they arrived late and the stadium has a policy of not allowing spectators in after the match has begun--a foolish policy indeed, and one we were not aware of!

There have been several events and trips for which I still need to post photos and some comments, but this is our last week of class and increasingly busy, so be glad for this post!

Last weekend we went to Norbulingka art institute, which was wonderful, but we also visited Gyuto monastery, to have an audience with His Holiness the Karmapa, head lama of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. (The Dalai Lama is the head of the Geluk sect) He is recognized as the proper incarnation of the previous Karmapa, but there is another Karmapa that is also recognized, and due to a lawsuit filed by the Rinpoche who discovered the other, the Karmapa is under house arrest and cannot leave without strict permission from the Indian police. There is also incredibly tight security, so we were not allowed to bring in cameras. This is one taken by his people and sent to us. We were of course allowed this with the Dalai Lama, as well as a video camera and audio recorder. It was a very pleasant but somewhat surprising audience, in which he first seemed very languid and bored but then began to warm up. He is around 24 I believe and spends many hours a day greeting group after group, so admittedly it would become quite tiresome for such a young man. However, when we presented kataks and he greeted us, he was exceedingly warm.

After this week, we begin our independent research periods in which many students will travel to various locations while others, including myself, will remain in McLeod Ganj to do our research. It will be a busy and exciting time but perhaps I will find the time to post old photos and some new ones maybe relating to my research.

Until next time, be well.

Sarnath near Varanasi

Varanasi (Much more to come!)