“When the clouds part, you can see Tibet on the horizon,” said Ven. Ngawang Woeber.
He dipped his face in the river at Baanspatan, and joked that monks don’t need to use soap because they have renounced vanity. A couple of hours later, Ven. Woeber was arrested. A former political prisoner, he is the president of Gu Chu Sum, one of the five organizations coordinating the historic March to Tibet, which started in Dharamsala on March 10th. Along with him, five other leaders of the march were also arrested on Tuesday and formally jailed yesterday afternoon in Haridwar Jail. The other detainees are Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress; B Tsering, President of Tibetan Women’s Association, Chime Youngdroung, President of the National Democratic Party of Tibet, Tenzin Choeying, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet India, and Lobsang Yeshi, Coordinator of the March to Tibet.
The last few days have been tense and painful for the marchers. Hours after the arrest of the march leaders on Tuesday, the police confiscated their trucks and intensified the restriction on movement to and from the site, effectively cutting the marchers off from food and other supplies. The marchers are considering the possibility of eating only one meal a day so that they can hold the ground for a little longer.
The day before yesterday, nearly one thousand police marched to the marchers’ camp and blocked the entrance. Sensing the likelihood of arrest, the marchers sprung into action, staging a Gandhian style sit-in while chanting prayers and singing the Tibetan national anthem. After a stalemate that lasted about an hour, the police retreated. Yesterday, the same thing happened again. Today, more buses and trucks brought more police reinforcements including a bus full of policewomen.
In the evenings, the atmosphere grows light again. Most Tibetan monks and nuns seem to have an uncanny ability to remain calm and happy even under great pressure. Or may be it’s because most of these marchers are actually Tibetans raised in Tibet who came to India in their late adolescence or early adulthood, and the problems they have faced so far on this march are nothing compared to what they had experienced growing up under Chinese rule in Tibet.
Most marchers and volunteers get to take a little breather in the evening, but one person never stops. Lobsang Army, so called because of his past stint in the military, is busy stitching shoe after shoe under a small blue tent. He is the march’s unofficial shoemaker. When he was in the army he had taken a shoe repair class – a skill he had forgotten and had to relearn once he realized that walking twenty kilometers a day was rough on people’s shoes. Lobsang has so far repaired about 200 shoes.
There is little doubt that the police will eventually arrest them, but the fact remains that no one can stop these marchers. “The police may arrest us today, but we will continue the march tomorrow,” said Tenzin Tsundue, a leading youth activist, who has lost much weight since I saw him last. “I heard that people have set off from parts of India to join us. We can’t wait to see them. The more people we have with us, the stronger our message to Tibetans inside Tibet, to China and to the world – we are committed to return and will never give up our struggle for freedom and justice.”
As the Chinese authorities work overtime to ensure a smooth Olympics, and attempt to hide the reality of their rule in Tibet behind a wall of silence and deceit, the movement of this group of unarmed men and women threatens Beijing’s massive propaganda exercise. They are a nonviolent force dedicated to their people, their nation and the truth. They refuse to be silenced at a time when China’s long arm of oppression and manipulation stretches around the world. Their journey north – towards the border across which so many Tibetans have crossed in search of freedom – demonstrates their commitment.
As the stand-off continues, marchers are calling for Tibetans from throughout India to join them in spirit and in person. And they are appealing for support from people around the world who value freedom, justice and peace. Visit www.tibetanuprising.org to follow news about the March. Send a message of encouragement to the marchers. Tell your friends and family about it. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. And keep the marchers in your prayers.
–dispatch from Tendor, writing from Nainital, Uttaranchal, India
