I
first met Tenzin in South Africa
where he read his poems on stage at The Poetry Africa Festival in Durban. He was campaigning for Tibet – by walking -
long before it gained the worlds attention. He has walked around the world to
raise its consciousness of Tibet.
Amazingly this has happened/is happening. This is his latest post
*Now Tibet is not so
far*
“When
I packed my sleeping bag that early morning before sunrise for this long
journey, I placed a white (khatak) scarf at the alter of His Holiness and said
I have decided, whatever happens, I will make my way through. Walking for almost 70 with 300 people
covering more than 900 kilometers through Himachal, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, we reached Almora town yesterday in the Kumaon Mountains
in the north Indian state of Uttrakhand.
From here Tibet
is not very far.
The
March to Tibet began from
Dharamsala on 10th March, the same day similar uprisings happened all around
the world, organized by Tibetans and Tibet
supporters, even in Tibet
– a global Tibetan uprising. We started with 10 core marchers, on our way many
more joined us. As we leave Almora tomorrow into the high mountain valleys
towards Tibet,
we are 300 marchers and eight support marchers who are foreigners from
different countries, some of whom have been with us from Dharamsala.
All
along the route the Indian people have welcomed us with warmth, cheered our
spirit and in some places offered us water and shelter. At most places we spent
our nights in Ashrams, Gurudwaras and schools, sometimes on empty grounds on
the roadside, where the local municipality provided water in tankers driven by
tractors. Indians have a culture of going for long journeys across their
country for pilgrimages and therefore hospitality is a natural custom. The police
have been sending an escort all along the route in jeeps or on motorbikes
passing the security duty from one district to the next.
You
must be aware that we were arrested by Indian police in Kangra District on the
13th March and jailed us for 14 days. The second batch of the March
was launched three
days
later and that carried on the March spirit. After our release, all 100 of us
rejoined the March, but there is already a court case slapped on us. At the end
of the last month, Choeying, Lobsang Yeshi and I had to appear in Dehra court
and will have to do that again in June.
I
learned that some people had the impression from various media reports that the
March had been canceled. I myself received phone calls from few people whose
doubts I cleared. Seeing an imminent confrontation at the border, His Holiness
did advise the organizers against the continuation of the March, but after
seeing the courageous non-violent uprisings that happened all over Tibet and the ongoing Chinese crackdown on our
people in Tibet,
our commitment was revitalized by their sacrifice and inspired us. Now we can't stop it. So we re-launched the
March to Tibet from Delhi on the 19th April
after a temporary halt.
The
journey from Delhi
passing through UP was difficult; it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. The
trucks and buses on the highway threatened to run over us sometimes rushing by
our ears, and sometimes stopping by to pick our campaign flyers that we were
handing out on the road. As we walked one after the other in a long single file
like the multiple legs
of a millipede — one long body. Even when the head has taken the next turn,
the tail is still trailing behind from the last corner.
The
Marchers wake up at 4 am, after washing and packing sleeping bags, tents and
mattresses, we have breakfast and start walking at 5 am. Usually walking for 6
to 7
hours a day we cover a distance of 20-25 kilometers, sometimes walking even 27
or 28 kilometers. The logistics and kitchen team move ahead in trucks and set
up the camp. At many places water is luxury. We bathe under hand-pump water
taps on the roadsides; scores of monks bathe together sometimes in wheat
fields. It's a great experience
answering nature's calls in open fields under the moonlight with a jug of water
by your side.
Most
of the marchers are Buddhist monks from the three monastic universities in
south India; some old people
who escaped from Tibet
along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama
in 1959, the eldest one being 78. The youngest are two 17-year-old boys, born
and brought up in India and have
never seen Tibet.
There are several young mothers
who
left behind their family in the care of their husbands. Our communication team
tries to reach out to the outside world and also arranges opportunities to talk
to
local media. During the evening gatherings, after the daily prayer, the media
coordinator tells the news. Many times the Marchers applaud Tibet support actions taken in different parts
of India
and abroad. The protest against the torch in London,
Paris, San Francisco,
Canberra and Tokyo received huge appreciation. The ongoing Tibetan protests in Kathmandu are highly appreciated understanding Nepalese
police brutality.
We
are now starting the last leg of the March. From Almora to the border is now
barely 200 kilometers, and it will now be cold as we ascend higher into the Himalayas. I know returning to a homeland that is still under
foreign occupation is not easy. Chinese military will of course guard the
border with machine guns, even Indian police
will find an excuse to stop us.
Confrontation is inevitable, but we are not stopping. We may even have
to camp at the border for a long time, might have to call for
international support and participation. We march into uncertainty.
The
March to Tibet
is a process for us to return to our homeland and reclaim our right to be in
our native land in freedom. Whatever happens, we have deep commitment to non-violence;
we will not retaliate. We may be beaten, jailed or even shot at, but we are not
giving up. And for me there is no other plan in life other than this March. For
all of us marchers, this is our life commitment.“
For
daily updates and photos about the march, and to read personal stories of the
Marchers please visit: http://www.tibetanuprising.org/
We have a number of non-Tibetan support Marchers who have been walking with us
for a couple days or longer, and some right
from the beginning. If you are far away
or can't join us, you can help spread the word. Donations of sleeping bags,
shoes and mattresses can be of great use. Your financial contribution can help
feed the Marchers and give water to keep us going. I count for every Tibetan's
contribution towards this movement.
Bod
Gyalo! (Victory to Tibet!)
*Tenzin
Tsundue, on the way to Tibet* May
13, 2008
Almora,
Uttarakhand State, India