For many Londoners, as it has become apparent during the tour, the story of Tibet’s tragedy and truth about its past is still not a familiar issue. “Quite a lot of visitors expressed shock and sadness on seeing and hearing about Tibet,” said Mr. Dorjee Thinley, the Museum director who took the exhibition across the continent.
The exhibition also drew in many Chinese, who had shown great interest in learning about Tibet. It fostered a better understanding of the Tibetan issue and bridged the gap between the two communities. “We also had many Chinese visitors and they frankly expressed about their ignorance on Tibet”, Mr. Dorjee added.
Mr. Dorjee said he was ‘humbled’ and ‘touched’ with the way people have responded after seeing the gallery. “Many of the visitors shared their solidarity with our plight and promised to support our non-violent cause”, he revealed.
The exhibition had attracted a huge crowd from various backgrounds and it was an eye opening experience for many of them. With a rich collection of visual accounts of Tibet’s contemporary history and personal narratives of many members from the exile community, the exhibition was a rare glimpse into the tragedy of Tibet and its people.
The Tibet museum was established in 1998 by the Department of Information and International Relations of the Central Tibetan Administration. So far, it has conducted exhibitions in Austrailia, United States and in different part of India. This is the first time, the museum has travelled to England.
The museum director remains hopeful of many more exhibition tours to take place in Europe in near future.
