March 10 Tibetan Uprising Day Memorial rally: photos

Sadly, I wasn't able to update this blog with pics yesterday as I'd hoped. That said, here is the turn-out for yesterday's March 10 Tibetan Uprising Day Memorial rally. I don't think captions are necessary. The pictures should speak for themselves. You'll see photos of some of the 107 who have set themselves on fire in protest in their own land, while it is only outside of their occupied country that they can express themselves freely and speak publicly for those who cannot.

On a personal note, it was great to reconnect with old friends, though meeting at these assemblies is bittersweet owing to the genesis of the gatherings.

One last note of explanation. The young man in the last photo is Dhondup Phunkang, an indefatigable activist, organizer and eloquent spokesman for the Tibetan cause. The man is an inspiration and an example of what activists for any cause can and should be.

 

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Tibetan Uprising Day, 2013

While this is one of the saddest days in world history and where for Tibetans, it is the saddest, I'm ecstatic to see Woeser get this recognition.

 

http://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/2013/03/pelosi-statement-on-the-54th-anniversary-of-tibetan-uprising-day.shtml

 

This also brightens the day a bit:

http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?article=Chinese+join+Tibetans+in+Melbourne+for+54th+National+Uprising+Day&id=33159

 

And if YOU want to stand in solidarity with your Tibetan brothers and sisters, there's something going on in just about every part of the world:

http://standupfortibet.org/global-action/10-march-uprising/

 

If you want a quick overview of what today means, Sikyong Lobsang Sangay's statement sums it up well. I may disagree with him on several issues, but this is well said:

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2013/03/2013391733355459.html

 

And for a look at historical context and how the 13th Dalai Lama underscored Tibet's independence, Jamyang Norbu's article fits the bill:

http://www.jamyangnorbu.com/blog/2013/02/13/a-brief-overview-of-events-that-led-to-the-13th-dalai-lama%E2%80%99s-proclamation-of-tibetan-independence/

 

Last, I'm hoping Joshua Eaton's initiative can assist in bringing and keeping the issue of how the fight for independence is tied in with the extreme despair of self-immolation. It astonishes me that with all the rhetoric of whether self-immolation is or isn't supported in Buddhism or does HH the Dalai Lama support it and all the rest of such idiotic ramblings, practically no one has simply come out and said, "these people are in great enough pain, great enough despair to do this." Some of the images are tough, but until the rest of the world sees something, all the rhetoric in the world won't take.

http://www.tibetonfire.org/

 

To my friends in india I wish I was there, but we do what we can where we are. I'm heading down to the Boston Common. Hope to see some of you there!

 

བོད་གྱལ་ལོ!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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