Tibet question still unanswered

Maggie Ybarra

Tibetan children on Tibetan National Uprising Day

"It is very important to have the freedom for every life."

by MAGGIE YBARRA

With melodic tones slightly disconnected from one another in pitch, the Tibetan population of Santa Fe convened in front of the adobe center that serves as a small refuge from their Chinese-occupied country and sang in unison as they prepared to march across the city.

“You know the old saying about 'singing for your supper',” Anthony Stanford said. “This is similar to that in a way. Only in this case it looks like they're singing for their freedom.”

Stanford, a 46-year-old Santa Fe resident, said he had been intrigued by the commotion he heard at the Tibetan Center on the same street as his home.

“I applaud their efforts,” Stanford said. “But I'm not sure how this protest is going to do anything for their situation.”

The protest, which had roughly 80 participants, began on a corner of Cerrillos road in Santa Fe.

The protesters had gathered together to commemorate the 48th anniversary of Tibetan National Uprising Day. A day that has been celebrated since the year 1959 when the people of Tibet protested the 1950 Chinese invasion of their country in the streets of Lhasa.

The uprising resulted in death.

One week after the uprising the Dalai Lama was forced into exile. He now resides in Dharamsala, India, and releases a statement every March 10 to encourage the Tibetans living abroad not to give up hope that one day they will be able to return home.

“It's very important to have the freedom for every life,” Tashi Juchung said.

Juchung said he has lived in Santa Fe since 1992, and that he fully intends to go back to Tibet at some point in his lifetime. For Juchung the opportunity to move to Santa Fe came as a surprise gift he couldn't afford not to accept.

“In the year 1990 the U.S. Congress passed a law to bring 1,000 displaced Tibetans from India into the U.S.,” Juchung said. “Luckily I was one of them.”

The Tibetans and their fellow supporters ceased singing off-key and began chanting in unison as the march officially commenced. With the state capitol as their final destination and the snow-pasted tips of the Santa Fe mountains rising above them, the protest group took on a celebratory demeanor.

“China shame,” the Tibetans and their supporters cried in unison as they obstructed the flow of traffic on Francis Street. “Tibet for Tibetans! Free the Panchen Lama! China out of Tibet!”

Inside the standard Santa Fe adobe homes American families ate breakfast, oblivious to the discontentment of the Tibetan natives. Occasionally a bystander stood in the frame of his or her doorway, displaying curiosity at the sight of the procession, which was led by three flags representing the United States, New Mexico, and the country of Tibet.

“Shame, shame, China shame,” the protesters continued to chant as they snaked through sleepy neighborhood streets on an overcast Saturday.

“Just talking peace is not bringing peace into this world,” Juchung said. “We must demonstrate. We must make aware the problem so that the question can be answered.”

What Juchung was referring to was the Tibet question.

The Tibet question is the Rubik's cube of all questions. It simply asks, “is Tibet its own country or does it belong to China?”

Aside from the obvious difference in facial features and religion, history can account on behalf of Tibet that no Chinaman resided on its land until the invasion began. China, however, has based its argument of occupation on records that state Wenching, a Chinese princess, was once wed to a 37-year-old Tibetan king of the Yarlung dynasty, Songtsan Gampo.

“The Chinese do not have good grounds for argument,” Juchung said.

Lhakar Dolma, a 16-year-old member of the Tibetan Center in Santa Fe, read a speech when the group reached the state capitol to commemorate the struggle of the Tibetan people against Chinese occupation. Dolma said she gave the speech on behalf of her father because he doesn't know how to read or write in English just yet.

“My dad's friend came over and helped me with it,” Dolma said.

As the protest group retreated back from the state capitol to the Tibetan Center in time for the lunch hour an elderly monk stood amidst the protesters swinging his prayer wheel around and repeating the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. The mantra is said to evoke the blessings of Chenrezig, who is the Buddha of Compassion.

“If we're ever going to make a difference,” Dolma said. “Now is the time.”

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