50 Years of Freedom Struggle

During our time here in Darjeeling we've been witness to various events surrounding the 50th anniversary of the uprising in Lhasa, Tibet that resulted in the exile of the Dalai Lama and numbers of Tibetan peopl, most of whom came into India. There is a pretty sizable number of exiles here in Darjeeling, so there have been several marches and demonstrations in the past few days. The most powerful one that we had the opportunity to see was last night, a rally and march organized by the Tibetan Women's Association of Darjeeling. At the rally on the Chorwasta some people were handing out sheets of paper discussing the action and the aims of the organization, as well as the struggle of the Tibetan people, particularly women. "The Tibetan Women's Association appeals to Chinese people, and women's groups across the world to join us in our fight for justice and freedom, not only in Tibet but in any regimes across the world where a women's body is ruled by the state." The rally was followed by a march through the town, with people chanting, holding flags and candles. The march came full circle back to the Chowrasta that evening, where the people placed their candles on the paved ground spelling out the letters "Save Tibet" in fire. Then everyone in the massive gathering let out a song, maybe a Tibetan anthem though I'm not sure.

It's nice to have a face to the Tibetan freedom struggle that's not Bono or Lisa Loeb, but rather a Tibetan face.