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PO Box 194
Fishers, Indiana
46038-0194
United States
e-mail:
rangzen@aol.com
(<- Previous Report) June 5th (Next Report ->)
The walkers gave a presentation at Ardsley High School to approximately 200 students--nearly half of the student body. Also in attendance were interested individuals from the community and members of the local press. The walkers would like to thank the Ardsley Chapter of Amnesty International for their enthusiasm, hard work and promotion of this very successful presentation.
Tempa Lektsog, from Lindsay, Ontario, has walked nearly every step of this years march. (A severe chest cold forced Tempa to take some time off earlier in the walk.) During many presentations Tempa has described to the audience some of what he experienced growing up in Tibet, his escape from Tibet and the reasons why he has chosen to march for Tibet's independence. The following is Tempa's written statement regarding why he is walking:
In the town of Phari many Tibetans were taken as prisoners and others were taken to cut trees to level land for cultivation and road construction by the Chinese. In 1960, the Chinese imprisoned more residents of Phari who they thought might rise against the Chinese and I was among this group of people. While in prison, the Chinese guards shot both my legs because I was among the youngest and probably thought that I was capable of escaping. The wounds were never attended to and furthermore, I was taken to a forced labor camp which caused the wounds to bleed even more profusely. Due to this, my health deteriorated and therefore I was only able to escape to India in 1962, along with my pregnant wife and two children. In India with the assistance of the Tibetan Government-In-Exile and the Indian government I was sent to Kulu, Manali for road construction. After a few years, I was appointed as a foster parent for the Tibetan children in Mussoorie with the Tibetan Homes Foundation, where I served for seven years. In 1971, the Canadian government began accepting Tibetan refugees as immigrants. I was fortunate to be among the 240 individuals accepted.
The reasons why I want to participate in this walk are:
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama has faced extreme hardship for the Tibetan people and our struggle for independence. By participating in this March for Tibet's Independence, we can help build public awareness for the situation in Tibet.
- At present the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama is imprisoned by the Chinese and is considered to be the youngest political prisoner in the world. Hopefully, we can help build public awareness of his situation and put pressure on China for the release of this innocent child and his family.
- This walk is also in support of the thousands of Tibetans suffering in Chinese prisons in Tibet. Since I too have been imprisoned by the Chinese, I have much empathy for the hardship they must be facing every single day.
On February 17, 1995, I had the privilege of an audience with His Holiness. At that time there were many Tibetans who were planning a similar march from India to Tibet, and His Holiness advised them not to proceed with their plan (the destination of the walk later commenced from Delhi and ended at Dharamsala). The reason being that he feared when they reached Tibet, the Tibetans in Tibet would revolt against the Chinese in solidarity. This would obviously result in punishment by the Chinese, as freedom of expression and speech are still not available to the Tibetans in Tibet. His Holiness then made an appeal to the Tibetans living outside Tibet such as myself, who are free to express themselves and have their basic human rights to do as much as possible to build awareness for the Tibetan cause and the Tibetans still suffering in Tibet.
At the end of the presentation the students made a mad dash to the information table to pick up flyers and sign petitions.
"Before this, I knew nothing about Tibet," One student explained. "I can't believe I didn't know! But now that I do know, I feel like I have to do something to make it better."
(<- Previous Report) (Next Report ->)
PO Box 194 Fishers, Indiana 46038-0194 United States
e-mail: rangzen@aol.com
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