I decided to splurge and go to Dharamsala for a Tibet activist training camp in the last couple of weeks. Dharamsala is a place that I have been dreaming about visiting for over 7 years. This was the perfect opportunity to finally see it, meet up with everyone I worked with before I left Canada, make new connections in the movement, and prepare myself for the work that awaits me back at home.
I spent my first day in India wandering around the Red Fort in Delhi, literally breaking into huge grins every so often because I was finally there. That feeling was magnified a million times over when I arrived in Dharamsala. It was a completely new town to me and yet seemed so familiar. Arriving there felt like coming home.
I spent my first day in India wandering around the Red Fort in Delhi, literally breaking into huge grins every so often because I was finally there. That feeling was magnified a million times over when I arrived in Dharamsala. It was a completely new town to me and yet seemed so familiar. Arriving there felt like coming home.
The first week I was in the area I spent at the SFT India camp, on a beautiful farm owned by a very generous Indian family. I had attended many of the workshops at previous camps in Canada (and co-facilitated some too), but my time spent working on Burma issues made me see the movement in a much different light. Problems and strengths were much more apparent. But most of all, I was reminded of the endless passion activists have once they get hooked on the Tibet issue – this is exactly the feeling that brought me back to the movement!
After the camp, I got to meet up with Dekey, a friend from home who had moved to McLeod Ganj in May. One of her friends took me around on his motorbike to all the sights… which I had heard of in tons of stories from friends at home who either grew up or lived in the town. And just like everyone said would happen, I totally fell in love with the place. My first time walking through town, I stopped to say ‘hi’ to 6 different people I knew! I finally got to go to a Tibetan temple and spin prayer wheels, eat at all the restaurants I’d heard of and see a concert at TIPA. I was also fortunate enough to be in town when His Holiness arrived from his most recent travels. The entire town lined the streets in their best chubas to welcome Kundun home and congratulate him on receiving the US Congressional Gold Medal. As always, seeing His Holiness is an emotional experience, and I was grateful to be an inji squashed between old amalas, palas and monks as they prayed for him and for us all.
One of the key issues in Tibet is the threat of cultural destruction. As I walked around Dharamsala, I was impressed that the culture seemed so alive and vibrant. I know that there are a lot of people devoting their lives to preserve Tibetan music, art, and religion, but I had no idea that Dharamsala would feel so “Tibetan”. At the same time, seeing the Tibetan flag blowing in the wind made me sad, knowing that across the mountains it has not been seen for over 50 years. When we ended the SFT camp, we took a moment to close our eyes and imagine what a free Tibet would look like and what it would feel like. To me, Dharamsala is the seed of what an independent Tibet would feel like. I imagined people surrounding the Potala Palace to welcome the Dalai Lama home, with the Tibetan flag flying proudly on every flag pole. I imagined the market in Lhasa full of pictures of the Dalai Lama and the real Panchen Lama. I imagined monks and laypeople debating politics openly in public. I looked around at my Tibetan friends singing their national anthem, and I imagined them singing it in Tibet at the top of their lungs!
Tibet will be free. We have passion and truth on our side, and we will never give up!
After the camp, I got to meet up with Dekey, a friend from home who had moved to McLeod Ganj in May. One of her friends took me around on his motorbike to all the sights… which I had heard of in tons of stories from friends at home who either grew up or lived in the town. And just like everyone said would happen, I totally fell in love with the place. My first time walking through town, I stopped to say ‘hi’ to 6 different people I knew! I finally got to go to a Tibetan temple and spin prayer wheels, eat at all the restaurants I’d heard of and see a concert at TIPA. I was also fortunate enough to be in town when His Holiness arrived from his most recent travels. The entire town lined the streets in their best chubas to welcome Kundun home and congratulate him on receiving the US Congressional Gold Medal. As always, seeing His Holiness is an emotional experience, and I was grateful to be an inji squashed between old amalas, palas and monks as they prayed for him and for us all.
One of the key issues in Tibet is the threat of cultural destruction. As I walked around Dharamsala, I was impressed that the culture seemed so alive and vibrant. I know that there are a lot of people devoting their lives to preserve Tibetan music, art, and religion, but I had no idea that Dharamsala would feel so “Tibetan”. At the same time, seeing the Tibetan flag blowing in the wind made me sad, knowing that across the mountains it has not been seen for over 50 years. When we ended the SFT camp, we took a moment to close our eyes and imagine what a free Tibet would look like and what it would feel like. To me, Dharamsala is the seed of what an independent Tibet would feel like. I imagined people surrounding the Potala Palace to welcome the Dalai Lama home, with the Tibetan flag flying proudly on every flag pole. I imagined the market in Lhasa full of pictures of the Dalai Lama and the real Panchen Lama. I imagined monks and laypeople debating politics openly in public. I looked around at my Tibetan friends singing their national anthem, and I imagined them singing it in Tibet at the top of their lungs!
Tibet will be free. We have passion and truth on our side, and we will never give up!
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