Unexpected Changes

After a lot of soul searching and inner arguments, I’ve decided to follow my heart… back to the city and the movement I love. I tried to pull away from Tibet in order to find something that could lead to a career, but I know now that I cannot leave Tibet behind. When something is buried so deep inside you, it’s impossible to forget or even ignore it. In the upcoming year, which is so important to the Tibetan and Burmese movements, I have to be with “my first love.”

Only a month ago, I was desperately homesick. After seeing refugees being resettled to third countries and wandering around Buddhist wats and pagodas, I decided that I was going to overcome the longing. And I did. Once I started feeling comfortable again being here in this city, in this job, everything changed again. A friend on a mission visited and pulled me (willingly) back into the world I had left behind. A month ago, I never would have believed that I would be going home so soon!

Yesterday, I went to get my ticket. Because my boss needs to finalize details for the next period, I am making plans for THREE months down the road! This is a record in planning ahead for me!!

However, with the move now official, I'm a little apprehensive about returning to Montreal, sliding back into pretty much the same life I was leading before I left. What will be one whole year abroad has definitely opened my eyes to the world around me and the person I want to be in it. Am I taking a step backwards, or am I returning to the place I am meant to be for now? A friend mentioned a great quote from Nelson Mandela that really resonated with me:

“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”

I can’t wait to see friends and family again, and to enjoy living in such an amazing city. But it will definitely be an interesting change.

The One Year Count-down Begins

Today marks an important day for two movements that have their own places in my heart and my consciousness.

August 8, 2008 (an auspicious Buddhist date) is an important date for the Burmese: it will be 20 years since the national uprising that lead to the killing of thousands of people and the imprisonment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The time I’ve spent with the Burmese human rights group here in Bangkok has been very interesting and has given me the opportunity to grow personally and as an activist. The bravery of the Burmese people – of those who continue to protest inside their country despite definite detention, and of those who have left their lives and families behind to campaign for democracy in exile – has inspired me.

August 8, 2008 is also the opening day of the Olympics in Beijing. Today Tibetans and their supporters have intensified their campaign against the Beijing Olympics, with only 365 days to go (www.studentsforafreetibet.org and www.beijingwideopen.org). Since Beijing put in its bid to host the 2008 games, human rights groups around the world have been vocal that such a country as China should not be given the honour because of its human rights record. The promises made by the IOC or Beijing have not yet been seen. The air quality is horrible in the capital, media reporting is not free, and millions of “ethnic nationalities” continue to live under the yoke of oppression. As my friends gather around the world to mark this important date, I wish I was there with them. I’m thinking of them and waiting anxiously for news that the “Great Wall 6”, and Lhadon and Paul, have been safely released from detention in Beijing.

One World. One Dream. Free Tibet!!

You have to check this out…

http://beijingwideopen.org