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In our last issue (NQ171) we published an open letter by the activist, writer and poet, Tenzin Tsundue. Here we offer an excerpt
from the journal Tsundue has been keeping to document the 900-km march from India to Tibet that he and fellow Tibetans have undertaken,
in spite of the obstacles and difficulties.
When I packed my sleeping bag early that morning, before sunrise, for this long journey, I placed a white (khatak) scarf at the altar
of His Holiness and said that whatever happens I’ve decided to make my way through. After walking for almost 70 days with 300 people,
covering more than 900 kilometers through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and UP, we reached the town of Almora yesterday,
in the Kumaon Mountains in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. From here Tibet is not very far.
The March to Tibet began from Dharamsala on 10th March, the same day that uprisings organized by Tibetans and supporters of Tibet
took place around the world, even in Tibet—a global Tibetan uprising. We started with 100 core marchers, but on the way many more
joined us. As we leave Almora tomorrow and march into the high mountain valleys towards Tibet, we’re now 300 marchers, with eight
support marchers who’re foreigners from different countries, some of whom have been with us right from Dharamsala.
All along the route the Indian people have welcomed us with warmth, cheered our spirit and in some places offered us water and shelter.
In most places we spent our nights in Ashrams, Gurdwaras and schools, sometimes on empty grounds by the roadside, where the
local municipality provided water in tankers driven by tractors. Indians have a culture of making long journeys across their
country on pilgrimages, and so hospitality is a natural custom. The police have been sending escorts all along the route in
jeeps or on motorbikes, passing on security duty from one district to the next.
By now you must be aware that we were arrested by the Indian police in Kangra District on March 13th and put in jail for
14 days. The second batch of the March to Tibet was launched three days later and it carried on the spirit of the March.
Upon release, all 100 of us rejoined the March, but with a court case already slapped on us. At the end of last month,
Choeying, Lobsang Yeshi and I had to appear in Dehra court, and will have to do that again in June.
I learned that some people got the impression from various media reports that the March had been canceled. I myself received
phone calls from a few people whose doubts I cleared. Seeing an imminent confrontation at the border, His Holiness did advise
the organizers against continuing the March, but after seeing the courageous non-violent uprisings that happened all
over Tibet and the ongoing Chinese crackdown on our people in Tibet, our commitment was revitalized by their sacrifice and
they inspired us. We can’t stop now. So we re-launched the March to Tibet from Delhi on April 19th, after a temporary halt.
The journey from Delhi, passing through UP, was difficult; it was extremely hot, dry and dusty. The trucks and buses
on the highway threatened to run over us, sometimes brushing past our ears, and sometimes stopping by to pick up the
campaign flyers we were handing out on the road. We walked one after the other in a long single file like the multiple legs
of a millipede—one long body. Even when the head has taken the next turn, the tail is still trailing behind around the last corner.
The Marchers wake up at 4 am; after washing and packing sleeping bags, tents and mattresses, we have breakfast and start walking
at 5 am. Walking for 6 to 7 hours a day on average, we cover a distance of 20-25 kilometers, sometimes walking even 27 or 28 kilometers.
The logistics and kitchen team move ahead in trucks and set up the camp. In many places water is a luxury. We bathe under hand-pump
water taps by the roadside; scores of monks bathe together, sometimes in the wheat fields. It's a great experience answering
nature's call in open fields under the moonlight with a jug of water by your side.
Most of the marchers are Buddhist monks from the three monastic universities in south India; some old people who escaped from Tibet
along with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1959, the eldest one being 78. The youngest are two 17-year-old boys, born and brought up
in India who’ve never seen Tibet. There are several young mothers who left behind their family in the care of their husbands.
Our communication team tries to reach out to the outside world and also arranges opportunities to talk to the local media. During
gatherings in the evening, after the daily prayer, the media coordinator gives us the news. Many times the Marchers applaud
actions supporting Tibet in different parts of India and abroad. The protests against the Olympic torch in London, Paris,
San Francisco, Canberra and Tokyo were hugely appreciated. The ongoing Tibetan protests in Kathmandu are also highly appreciated,
in view of Nepalese police brutality.
The March to Tibet is a process that returns us to our homeland to reclaim our right to be in our native land in freedom.
Whatever happens, we have a deep commitment to non-violence; we will not retaliate. We may be beaten, jailed or even shot at,
but we’re not giving up. And for me there is no goal in life other than this March. For all of us marchers, this is a lifelong
commitment.
For daily updates and photos of the March, and to read the personal stories of the Marchers, please visit:
http://www.tibetanuprising.org/ There are a number of non-Tibetan Marchers who’ve walked with us for a couple of days or longer,
and some who’ve been with us right from the beginning.
Bod Gyalo! (Victory to Tibet!)
—Tenzin Tsundue (on the way to Tibet)
May 13, 2008
Almora, Uttarakhand, India
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