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GDP. It is hard to say, but in 1959 when the Chinese policeman came, the nomads became farmers. Before this, the Golog area had 1,800,00 animals. After this, there were only 800,000 animals left because of the change in habits. LG. At that time, between 1958 and 1968, did the Chinese start moving to Golog or did just the Chinese policeman live there? GDP. The Chinese actually started living in Golog in 1951 because at that time they said that they would work together with the Golog people and have an alliance. When the Golog heard this, they thought this would be okay because before this time there was much fighting. LG. So now in 1968 you were a part of a demonstration with 10,000 people, and you were arrested along with how many other people? GDP. At that time actually, two thousand people were detained and arrested. Of course, in my small village, there were 9 people killed. LG. How much time did you spend in jail and what did you do in jail? GDP. I spent a year in jail. After that the Chinese gave me the black hat from 1968 to1977. LG. Maybe you can briefly explain the black hat. GDP. It is a symbol. If a person is a black hat person, he is eating lots and sleeping lots. Other people are working first. LG. Why do they call it a "black hat"? GDP. It is just a name but the meaning is that you are a bad person. "Black" is a symbol of evil or something like that. The meaning is that you are really a bad person. LG. In 1968 when you were demonstrating, were you a Monk then? GDP. Not yet. LG. So until 1976, the people were not accepting the Chinese government. GDP. In the deepest part of their minds, the Golog people were Tibetan. Even now, when someone wants to scare the children, we say, "The Chinese are coming." LG. Did you have a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's Red Book, and were you required to read the Red Book? GDP. I can't recite the Red Book by heart but I know it well. LG. Did the Chinese sit you down and test you to see how well you knew the Red Book? GDP. Yes LG. What did the Chinese expect of you in this respect? GDP. Everyone read the Red Book. In the morning, there is Mao's photo, and they go to the photo and say they are going to do this and that. Then they come back and tell the photo what they have done. LG. They do this every day? GDP. Yes. LG. I am curious. Was the Red Book written in Chinese or in Tibetan? GDP. It was in both. I read it in Tibetan. LG. How did you find out that The Dalai Lama left Tibet? And what did the people think about The Dalai Lama leaving Tibet. GDP. Actually, Golog is a wild country. Only one part of Amdo is Golog. At the time, the Golog people did not know that The Dalai Lama had escaped. Afterwards, the Chinese people said that The Dalai Lama left. Then many of the people suffered and some people died. LG. They suffered because The Dalai Lama left? GDP. Yes, they thought of Him as the heart of their land. LG. Why did the Chinese say that He had left? GDP. They said that He was a Separatist-they said He started The Dalai Clique. LG. You didn't tell us how many Golog people were killed up to 1976. GDP. Through starvation -actually 60,000 were killed and died up to the year 1959. LG. And what happened to the monasteries in the Golog? GDP. In January 1958, the Chinese started to destroy the monasteries. In 1959, many many more were destroyed and the statues that were made of gold and bronze‹were destroyed and some were taken to China. LG. And what happened to all the Monks in the monasteries? GDP. The Chinese forced 8.000 Monks to become laymen. I can't say how many, but many Monks were detained and killed. For example, a monastery may have had 500 Monks before, and then afterwards, there would be only 16 or 17. LG. And since 1976, what has the Golog area been like? What is it like now? What has been happening there? GDP. 1966 was the year of the Cultural Revolution. And many Golog persons could not perform religious activities. For example, one old person was ordered not to say Om Mani Padme Hum. That kind of situation happened. Another story occurred after 1966, the past Panchen Lama was at a conference in 1986 and said that the Golog area was the very worst area in Tibet because the Chinese people killed the Golog people and after they killed them, the bodies were buried and they forced the people in the village to dance on their graves, and then these people were killed, also. This kind of situation happened in the Golog area. And these activities made the heart of the Tibetan people sick. The Chinese say that the main struggle is the ³class struggle.² Because of this, it was a policy to have sons struggling with their fathers. This was the worst situation. People did not want to do this, and this led to the 1968 demonstration. LG. The Panchen Lama reported all this to the Chinese people? GDP. Yes, in 1986. LG. What has happened in Golog since 1976? What is the political situation? GDP. On the 9th of September in 1976, Mao died. After his death, some changes came about and leaders were trying to get into power. Then the Cultural Revolution policies could not be followed. Then Deng became the Chairman and there was a loosening of policies concerning Buddhist activities LG. So now the Golog people in your area can practice Tibetan Buddhism and worship The Dalai Lama? GDP. I came to India in 1993 and I have heard that now you cannot worship His Holiness or say that He is a reincarnation of Chenrezig. You cannot say that The Dalai Lama is ³His Holiness² and things like that. There has been reeducation in the Golog monasteries. LG. What do the Golog people think of the Chinese now? GDP. The Golog people are not very close to the Chinese. One reason is that the Golog region is a very harsh area with high mountains so that many Chinese cannot stay there. And also, they cannot eat the food that is grown in that area. The Golog people hope that one day they will get rid of the Chinese. The Golog people do not like the Chinese people and do not want to send their children to the Chinese schools. LG. In some areas of Amdo, some people are speaking Chinese and not thinking themselves to be Tibetan. In the Golog area, do the people still speak Tibetan and have the habits of Tibetans? GDP. Yes the Golog people still have the habits of Tibetans-in eating and in talking and everything else. LG. His Holiness talks about one solution to the problem of China which is Tibet being an autonomous region of China and China having control over Tibet. Do the Golog people accept this solution or do they want something else? GDP. Yes, the Golog people would accept this. LG. Then the Golog people would live under the Chinese rule? GDP. The Golog people have no modern political education, and at the same time, the Golog people have great trust in His Holiness. LG. Anything else you want to tell me about the Golog people and what has happened to them? GDP. I hope that the rest of the world will learn more about the Golog people and their situation. I am writing a book about the history of the Golog people. The Golog issue is very sensitive because in 1996 a Lama went out of Austria and told how the Golog people were killed and were suffering. The Chinese government heard about this and suddenly the situation in Golog got worse. LG. Please tell me about the book and how you got started writing it.
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