MARCH FOR TIBET'S INDEPENDENCE: FLORIDA 2004
–A Fifty-Five Mile March For The Six Million Who Cannot–Upon their arrival in Southern Florida on the 19th the Marchers from New York, Dharamsala, and Chicago were greeted with a warm image. Hands folded and raised to his brow in sincere prayer, His Holiness The XIVth Dalai Lama graced the cover of the Sun Sentinel beneath the headline ŒA blessed event.¹ The air was close signaling an inevitable rain but this was of no concern. The March was about to begin.
While they struggled to sleep ink was wetting the pages and history was being made. Rising shortly after dawn, two veterans of April¹s PeaceRide04: Tibetan Freedom Bicycle Journey- joined them at Ft. Lauderdale International Airport and the five-some began to contemplate the New York Time¹s cover story on the first orderly shift of total power in the history of Communist China. Mr. Jiang Zemin¹s surprising early retirement solidified full control of China¹s Communist Party, its Military, and the State in the hands of Mr. Hu Jintao.
If one were to analyze the trend of Communist Party transitions of power, and even look further into China¹s violent history, they would have to deduce that this was a glorious day for China. But what about Tibet? After the issuing of the ŒWhite Papers¹ in April, which categorically dismissed His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama¹s ŒMiddle Way¹ negotiations to restore Cultural Autonomy to Tibet while allowing for Communist China to extend their forty-five years of forced rule, Tibetans around the world are left to wonder if a new era of power solidified in the hands of one man is a good thing or if more blood will spill as a result.
While The Dalai Lama followed up his ŒWorld Peace through Inner Peace¹ address with an Ancient Traditional Teaching of ŒInstructions on the Garland Views¹ at the University of Miami Convocation Center, the Tibetan Freedom Marchers entered Anchor Park in Delray Beach and addressed some Press of their own. Representatives from the Sun Sentinel, The West Palm Beach Post, and Channel 12 News stood among fallen palms floating in puddles- remnants of the many storms to hit this area in recent weeks- and anxiously awaited the Marcher¹s arrival in the community park along Route A1A. Hard rain was still falling and winds continued blowing strong but unlike a seemingly never-ending Hurricane Season, which would assuredly come to a close in late October, the Communist occupation of Tibet shows no signs of letting up on its own.
Jigme Norbu, son of Takster Rinpoche- eldest brother of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama- clarified the reasoning of the Three Day, Fifty-Five Mile March- set to conclude on the 22nd in South Miami Beach, at Lummus Park (Collins Ave/5th St)- while Tenzin Namgyal- a Tibetan Buddhist Scholar- translated the horrors of incarceration and torture for Ani Kalsang Palmo- a Tibetan Nun from Dharamsala, India- as she navigated an ankle deep puddle along S. Ocean Blvd. With fifteen miles to cover before sundown to reach Alsdorf Park in Pompano Beach, the Core Group of Marchers had no time to waste. A turbulent Atlantic Ocean roared to their left but it could not silence the ŒHonks For Tibet.¹ The March had begun.
