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Published: June 11th 2010
As I’m in the Tibetan colony of India I couldn’t possibly ignore learning more about the troubles that Tibetans are facing with regards to the Chinese occupation of their territory. After learning just one mans story, I feel a real sadness in my heart for these people. I decided to attend the Tibetan talk at the LIT, which is a volunteer based school for Tibetans to be given the chance to learn English and spread their message and stories in order to keep the Tibetan issue alive. I was shocked by some of the details he gave us and I’m sure he was toning them down to a degree. His name is Sonam and he was a political prisoner for 13 years before finally being set free. 12 of these years he didn’t have a shower and shared a room no bigger than my bathroom with 12 other men and a mere bucket in the corner for toilet duties, which of course stank to the point that it burnt their eyes in the summer. 2 and a half months of these 13 years he spent in solitary confinement, naked, in a pitch black cell, no bed, just a hard concrete floor
Maria and I eating our tsampa dough!
We bumped into each other again... after meeting in Rishikesh :)to sleep on, never sure whether it was night or day. He was forced to do hard labour whilst there in the vegetable garden. This involved carrying extremely heavy buckets of human waste, often spilling on him. If he failed to meet his tasks everyday, despite his immense weakness due to a poor diet, he was tortured greatly, often to the point of losing consciousness. One example of this torture was having both his hands in chains hanging from the ceiling, then the table being kicked from beneath his feet. He’d hang their helpless, with immense strain on his wrists whilst being beaten with a metal rod. They would beat his head until blood was rushing from his ears, nose and sometimes even his eyes. The prisons worked on very little budgets, so he was given just enough food to keep him alive and this food was of almost inedible quality, that is, he was fed very old rice with vegetables and sometimes containing animal excrement. It's not surprising that he thought of committing suicide on many occasions, but these urges were curbed by the encouragement to battle through it by other prisoners that had managed over 30 years in
these prisons. 30 years as a political prisoner… and for what? Peacefully protesting to regain the right to keep your cultural heritage in your own country? It makes me sick to my stomach to think that these kinds of methods occur in this world today.
So you may be asking ‘why?’… why did he have to spend 13 years, from the age of 20 until 33, in prison? Well… all because China has been damaging the natural environment so much that it is making it difficult for farmers, like the speaker I heard, and his family to earn a living. This, amongst other reasons, such as trying to destroy their culture and way of life all in the name of ‘revolution’, provoked him to peacefully protest against the brutal communist occupation in his land. This peaceful protesting not only landed him 13 years in prison, but also the impossibility of ever having a life in the land he calls his home. After being released he was followed by spies who would have him sacked from every job he attained. The spies would go into his workplace and threaten his manager to sack him. If they refused to, they would
shut down their businesses, so they were given no choice but to sack him. Seeing as he couldn’t make a life in Tibet anymore, he decided he would flee to India to live in the Tibetan colony of Mcleod Ganj where the Dalai Lama takes residency. This journey was by no means easy though. He set out in a group of 25, walking for 25 days across the Himalayas in a very bad shape after receiving little medical care both during and after his imprisonment and with very little food.
In Mcleod Ganj he gives talks at the LIT, of which he is a board member. The LIT (Learning and Ideas for Tibet) was set up by Sangpo and Samdup (two tibetan refugees) and Lauren (a lady from Australia). The centre is doing wonderful things for Tibetan refugees, enabling them to build a new life for themselves by giving them the opportunity to learn English, as well as other languages, which is the gateway to obtaining a visa to another country, as well as enabling them to spread their message to passing foreigners who can help fight for the Tibetans freedom. Even if this is only just by keeping the issue alive and on peoples lips, rather than just forgotten about, which I’m sure is very much needed as it over 50 years since the troubles began. I must admit, I knew little about it before coming here and now I feel compelled to help.
Luckily there are so many volunteer opportunities here that can satisfy my longing to help. So many infact, that I’m actually having a hard time choosing which one to commit to. I really don’t think I’ll be leaving here for a while. At 2pm until 4pm I take part in conversational classes with Tibetan refugees, helping them improve their English. I am paired with 3-4 Tibetans and we are given a topic to discuss and 4 questions to answer. One of the topics was special occasions and it was fascinating to learn about their special occasions and wonderful to see their interest in the occasions I celebrate. One baffling thing they told me, was that they often do not even know their birthday, never mind celebrate it! Birthdays are apparently a western thing, yet I thought it was universal for people to celebrate it! This is just one of the many things I have learnt from them. It’s not only helping them improve their English, but also a fascinating cultural exchange for me. It’s wonderful to get to speak to them, they’re so incredibly sweet natured. They have given me the nickname 'Chodon' which apparently means the prayer lamp they have in the monastries... strange name to give me, but hey, why not?
In the mornings I am planning to start volunteering at the nursery for Tibetan children whose parents are low earners and so have to go to work. I’ll begin this when I can commit to the 2 week minimum period, as I start my Vipassna in just 6 days so cannot commit the full 14 days yet. Considering I have never changed a diaper in my life, this could be difficult, but such a worthwhile cause and maybe it will take away some of my longing to see graces little adorable face, I can replace her with some cute Tibetan babies for a while!
All in all, I am absolutely loving this place. It’s a really beautiful place here. Extremely green, peaceful, hassle free. Considering I claim to love India, I seem happiest in a place that couldn’t be further from the real India at all! It even rains here… I think secretly I like England’s crappy weather as I am revelling in the cool nights and constant rain here!. Mcleod Ganj is probably my favourite place that I’ve visited in India so far. It may be full of tourists but it’s amazing. The fact that it’s full of so many tourists has created so many things to do. There’s a million options every night as to what I can do, from concerts, to talks, to movie nights and so much more. Last night I went to a cultural evening at the school i volunteer at. There was traditional music and dance and we were taught how to make tsamba, which is a dough made from barley flour. It was delicious, but literally made my stomach burst it was that filling!
It’s not even just the nights that are jam packed either, so are the days, from just chilling in a café with people, shopping, going for walks, cooking classes, yoga classes, meditation classes, discussions on environment and Tibetan issues, visiting workshops to see Tibetans weaving carpets, making clothes, handmade paper, and so much more. You couldn’t possibly be bored, even if you tried! Not to mention the fact that if I hang around for long enough I might be lucky enough to see the Dalai lama in one of his public meetings. It’s his birthday next month… so I might just be so lucky!
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Robert Baker
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Tinker
Okay, I cried. I'm so, so glad that you're having these deep experiences so early on in life Jess, and not having to wait until you're 40 like your Dad. Another few months though, and I'll be out there too, I just can't wait. Love you, more than you'll ever know, Dad.