August 13: Day 15
We awoke at 5:00 am to get an early start on the last day's walk of 9 miles. Gerry and Natalie rejoined us, arriving sometime while everyone was asleep. The 30 of us walkers (the largest group so far) all piled into various vehicles to make our way back up to the Bronx. Easier said than done, however, as we could not find the entrance to the Third Ave Bridge in Manhattan. We didn't realize until the end of the day that there was no entrance to this bridge, as it's a one-way bridge! After being lost for an hour in Manhattan and the Bronx, we found our way and Kusho Sonam Wangdu la (also known as the SFT monk) led us in prayer on the street corner in the Bronx at 8:30 am.
As we walked, many people on the sidewalk in the Bronx were supportive and stopped to ask us questions. One woman was very concerned about The Panchen Lama and thanked us profusely for informing her as we handed out ITIM newsletters. We crossed the Third Avenue Bridge into Manhattan on schedule at 10:00 am, but because we weren't running on Tibetan time for once, there were only a handful of Tibetans waiting for us. As we continued walking down Lexington Avenue to the U.N., however, our numbers quickly swelled to around 200 people, including Tibetans and their supporters, as well as Taiwanese and Mongolian independence fighters. For a short time, we also were accompanied by an escort by the NYPD. Despite the extreme heat, everyone was lively, and we reached the U.N. shortly before noon (early again!).
At the U.N., khatas were first presented to each of the walkers on behalf of ITIM, the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) of NY/NJ, the Tibetan Women Association (TWA) of NY/NJ, and the Tibetan Association (TA) of NY. Following this, Larry Gerstein, Jigme Norbu la, and Tsewang Rigzin la made speeches on behalf of ITIM. Jigme la's speech was particularly passionate as he admonished the Tibetan community for not demonstrating more support for the walk, as the majority of the 5,000 person Tibetan community was not in attendance. Jigme la also challenged the audience to think about “how many more years they wished to spend in front of the U.N. asking for their country back?”
Speeches were also made by representatives of the TYC of NY/NJ, TWA of NY/NJ, TA of NY, U.S. Tibet Committee, and Students for a Free Tibet. Ms. Julia Yang of WUFI-USA gave a powerful speech about the importance of Tibet being independent, and consistent with the tradition of this organization, offered us a “CHINA OUT OF TIBET” banner. Enhebatu Togochog representing the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center also spoke passionately about the history of China’s devastation of Southern Mongolia and the importance of Tibet and Southern Mongolia being independent nations.
We rallied at the U.N. until 3:00 pm. Kusho Sonam la and an older local Tibetan woman among others led us in shouting chants. Further, the largest Tibetan flag we've ever seen was unveiled!
After the rally, we dispersed to various people's apartments for much-needed showers (there were no shower facilities for the last 3 nights), or forewent the showers for naps back at the Unitarian Universalist All Souls Church. We all met back at Tibet House at 8:00 pm for a lovely evening reception in our honor hosted and sponsored by the TYC, TWA, and TA. We were treated to an incredible Tibetan dinner prepared by the Tsampa Restaurant. Wangyal and a few members of the Cholsum Performance Group provided us with entertainment once more, along with Dorjee from TYC.
Then some of us took turns at the mike, as we heard songs from Karma Phuntsok (Boston Tibet Association President), Ngawang Norbu (core walker), and Tsewang Rigzin (ITIM Board Member). Although they were all very talented, the highlight of the evening was by far a special performance by our very own 13-year old walker, Tashi Dorjee, from Old Saybrook, Connecticut. After much pressure and chanting from the audience, he took the floor and gave a stellar performance, singing along with a track from the Rewa CD. This track featured a Nepali tune which was one of our favorite songs to listen to in the van. Not only did Tashi stun the audience with his beautiful voice and stage presence, but also with his dance moves. His performance put the Bollywood stars to shame! After a standing ovation, Tashi did an encore performance--a ballad in honor of His Holiness The Dalai Lama's sister, Jetsun Pema la.
By 10:00 pm, the evening was wrapping up with a speech by Karma Yeshi, fellow walker and TYC member. This was followed by yet another khata presentation. Then, we said our many goodbyes among hugs and tears, as we promised to stay in touch and hopefully to see each other on next year's walk!
BHOD RANGZEN!
