A story like hundreds of others from Tibet of political corruption and the loss of freedom. A story that should never have happened.

Tsering was born in Tibet, and at the age of fourteen was sent to a monastery to devote himself to Buddhism. During his four years at the monastery, his feelings about the Tibetan plight grew and his yearning for a free Tibet became so strong, that with a group of monks he planned a peaceful protest against the Chinese government.

The protestors were bundled into a dark truck, and when the back doors opened, they found themselves standing in front of the gates of a prison. The military initially asked no questions, and the beatings that took place during their first days at the prison were cases of senseless brutality. At the Gutsa detention centre the prisoners were forced to strip and face the wall before being crammed into cells of up to thirty. The beatings and interrogations continued for two months in an attempt to find the instigators of the protests. Following an unrepresented trial, he was sentenced to six years in Drapchi prison from November 1992.

The prisoners were sentenced to hard labour working in a greenhouse on one meager meal a day. They were frequently beaten with rubber batons, tied up and even electrocuted using cattle prods. Despite these harsh punishments, the inmates went undeterred in standing up for what they felt was right, as on the Chinese Labour Day and Youth Day celebrations of the 1st and the 4th of May, protests broke out inside the cells, at the hoisting of the Chinese flag. This led to Chinese authorities opening fire on defenseless prisoners and shooting a man in the side. The other prisoners bravely surrounded the wounded man and begged the authorities to take him to a hospital.

During the following week, all the prisoners were questioned regarding their involvement in the protests. They were forced to beat one another, and a doctor was on hand to wrap their injuries before the beatings continued. Some prisoners never returned from their interrogation. Tsering was released due to lack of evidence and taken to a police station where he was made to sign a statement restricting him from certain districts and forbidding him from attending Tibetan festivals.

After obtaining a visa in 2006, Tsering left for India on the 15th of January without telling his family, and paid 4000 yen to travel into Nepal across the Shar Gang Lha mountain. Now he has settled in the Tibetan colony of Dharamsala in Northern India, where he works as a carpenter, and has the opportunity to learn English.
An incredible story of sacrifice- a monk cannot return to his life in the monastery after participating in a protest- and the strength of an awakening sense of justice. When asked if he regrets the action he took, he defiantly shook his head and the listening crowd gave an approving round of applause.

‘I am proud for standing up for my country. I would have regretted not taking action’ he said.

When asked by a listener how they could help the situation, it became apparent that in a story of suppressed truth and the loss of freedom of speech, the most important way to help is to speak out and spread the story.

‘Tibet is a free country- this is the undeniable truth- and the world needs to hear that.’

By Helen Carrington, 2011

Under sixty years of Chinese occupation, Tibetans are forbidden from praying for their leader, H.H Dalai Lama, possessing his image, or even speaking his name. One arm in a sling still, Tsewang thanks us for coming to listen, and tells us that his story is on behalf of Tibetans everywhere.

Tsewang was a farmer working at the site of the Joru monastery, and he was at a spot close to the police station fetching water, when he heard shouts and gunfire. With a group of monks he went straight to the offices to join the protests. The protestors shouted slogans, but were soon divided by the masked commanders who used tear gas, beat them with electric batons and herded some into trucks. Officials in a nearby building opened fire on the crowd, and one monk was shot to the ground. As Tsewang knelt by the monk’s side, the copious bleeding obscured by his crimson robes, he was shot repeatedly through the left arm and once through his side. He kept quiet so as not to distract the other protestors, but by this stage he had lost so much blood that he passed out.

Tsewang was told later that two men rescued him on a motorcycle and drove him to a small hut in the countryside where his arm was tightly bound to prevent the bleeding. Four friends made a rough stretcher and carried him across the hills for six days to a hiding place in the mountains, travelling only by night to escape notice by searching helicopters. When Tsewang was strong enough to move, he attempted to unwrap his bandages, for his arm had still not been treated. The bandages were embedded in his arm, and the skin was peeled away to discover that the flesh had rotten and there were worms in his arm. He bit down on a piece of wood to master the pain, and using his friend’s razor, cut away the dead flesh before applying whisky and Vaseline. This rudimentary and agonizing remedy was the only treatment he received for fourteen months.

He considered suicide several times, but the Chinese government had placed a 20 000 yen price on his head, and his friends convinced him that his death would only please the officials. After fourteen months of hiding in the mountains, Tsewang could sit up and hobble a few steps with a stick, and decided to go to India with his one close friend, to tell his story. It took them ten days to reach Lhasa City by motorbike, and they had to pass unnoticed through twenty military checkpoints on the way. They followed a guide through Nepal and arrived in Dharamsala in 2009, where he has been sharing his story ever since.

Tsewang stood up and displayed his scars, horrendous reminders of the levels of violence that have become so common in Tibet. He shared his anger that exercising a basic human right such as the right to protest should leave him with such undeserved marks of brutality. However, Tsewang shared words of determination as his parting message to the assembled room.

‘Tibetans have a unique leader in H.H Dalai Lama; no other leader has fourteen generations of wisdom and experience. There is hope.’

By Helen Carrington, 2011