Day 15 - August 8

All the core walkers were anxious to get going on the last day. Almost all were awake before our normal 6am wake up call. Before we began walking, Larry, Ngawang, Wangchuk, and Mary Kate all shared their thoughts about the walk thus far, their appreciation for all the walkers, their hopes for the activities at China's Consulate, and their hopes for the future of the Tibet struggle. On hand at the beginning of this day were the same 31 walkers that had participated since we arrived in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. Everyone was quite focused on our goals for the day. That is, to educate more people about Tibet and to send a strong message to China that Tibet belongs to Tibetans and that it should be independent once again.

As we walked the last 5 miles, other Tibetans joined in. Somewhere along the way, three of our hosts from Elkhorn also arrived and joined the walk. This really inspired the core walkers.

We arrived near the Water Tower a bit early and staged our last few steps around the corner. Once we received the go ahead from Pema Rinzin (President, Tibetan Alliance of Chicago), we began our last steps as a small group. As we arrived at the Water Tower in downtown Chicago, there were over 500 Tibetans and others waiting for us. The crowd created a pathway for us to walk between them. Those present also cheered, as we got closer.

At the Water Tower, Pema Rinzin offered some introductory remarks. Larry introduced each of the core walkers who were then given khatas by the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago. Following this, speeches were given by Sangay Taythi (Regional Tibetan Youth Congress-Minnesota) and Youdon (Leader-SFT, Chicago).

On the ground in front of the Water Tower were 5 separate, black coffins draped with a Tibetan flag on top. Each coffin also had an Olympic ring in blood red on its side symbolizing the blood of the Tibetans killed by China. The coffins were arranged to depict the Olympic Ring Logo. After the speeches, members of the RTYC-Minnesota lay "blood stained and dead" amidst the coffins. This further dramatized the cruelty of China toward the Tibetans and the absurdity of China hosting the Olympics.

Following this, the large group began to assemble to end the final day's walk. Palden Gyatso led the walk with another Monk. These individuals were followed by groups of four Tibetans carrying each of the 5 black coffins. Having the coffins in the walk procession provided a dramatic image to the last few miles toward China's Consulate.

As the walkers made their way down Michigan Avenue, the Chicago police halted traffic. Motorists and pedestrians also indicated their support for our action.

As we approached the Consulate, police commandos were lined up on the entire street. In front of the Consulate, we were herded into a gated off area that was surrounded by many types of law enforcement officers including a number on horseback. At this point, we were over 600 strong! Almost all the attendees were Tibetans. Apparently, 4 buses of Tibetans came from Minnesota and 3 from Wisconsin.

All of the local TV stations and newspapers were present as were some of the major radio stations.

Immediately upon arriving in front of the Consulate, the crowd began to very loudly chant slogans. This went on for quite some time until an incident occurred toward the back of the crowd. One Chinese young man had been walking with the group from the Water Tower. At the Consulate, he began to chant in Chinese, "Long Live China" and "China is Great." This led to some heated exchanges with the Tibetans. Eventually, the police intervened and carried the man away. He was arrested for creating a disturbance.

After about 45 minutes of chanting more slogans, the official program began. Pema Rinzin led the program. Riveting speeches were given by Jigme Norbu, Palden Gyatso, Ngawang Dolker (Midwest Coordinator, SFT), and Tenzin Mingmar. The current (Thubten Sangha) and past (Lobsang Tenzin) Presidents of the Wisconsin Tibetan Association spoke as well. Sheldon Lee (President, Illinois Chapter of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs) also gave a highly charged speech and presented the Tibet leaders with a banner that read, "Free Tibet Now." Following this, Larry Gerstein spoke. As part of his speech, Larry read a letter of demands addressed to China's Consular General in Chicago. Larry told the crowd that he tried to deliver this letter through the police to the Consulate. More specifically, Larry reported that the Chicago police asked the U.S. State Department officials to deliver the letter. These officials then asked the Consulate if they would accept the letter. The Consulate told the State Department, NO!

Throughout the program, young Tibetans led the crowd in chanting slogans. It was a very emotional and powerful scene.

The program at the Consulate ended with the recitation of a Long Life Prayer for His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and the singing of Long Sho and the Tibetan National Anthem.

In the evening, the walkers and others were treated to dinner at the Tibetan Community Center. Extremely graphic videos of protests in Nepal were shown as well. Tibetan musicians also performed.

Postscript. Each and every day, some of the walkers were interviewed by either Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, and/or Voice of Tibet.

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