On the road for freedom
Three Tibetan students are cycling across India to highlight the plight of children who escape from Tibet for a better life,
Last year, the fight for Free Tibet saw about 21 Tibetans self-immolate themselves. Back in India, three students read the news with increasing dismay. The standard 12 students, Lugoen Thar, Tselo Gyal and Gyalsten knew they had to do something. They had escaped from Tibet some years ago, but had left family and friends behind.
A long walk home
On January 20, the three of them dusted off their bicycles and took to the road, starting their ‘Escapees from Tibet’ cycling expedition. Their target is to highlight the situation in Tibet, focussing on the thousands of people who escape from there every year. “On an average, every year, 6,000 adults and children escape from Tibet to India. We want to highlight the plight of the children,” says Gyal. It’s a once-in-a-year phone call that connects Gyal and his friends to their family. “We don’t contact them much because we don’t want their locations to be revealed, as they may fall in trouble,” says Thar.
Gyal, now 21 was just 13 years old when his grandfather told him to leave Tibet, his parents too followed suit. “The rampant spread of the Chinese language and culture in schools made them afraid that I would lose my actual identity,” he says. Thar and Gyalsten left Tibet for similar reasons and came to India via Nepal. They walked for days on foot, fighting frostbite, unable to use their flashlights at night or start a fire to cook for fear of being caught.
A different journey
This trip, is different. The trio have the support of people from Friends of Tibet in India, pro-Tibetan supporters who put them up and give them food. Initially, the trio, with no funds to speak of took to selling Tibetan bread at Bodhgaya. They worked for 12 hours a day, for a month, they managed to collect Rs30,000 which helped fund their bicycles.
Their journey began in a Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe near Mysore. The travel happens at night, when traffic is sparse. Their luggage includes a tent, change of clothes, first-aid kit and pamphlets explaining their cause. The trio have cycled through Mysore, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Kolhapur and Pune. Their arrival in Mumbai coincided with the municipal elections, so they couldn’t meet many people. They will now head to Gandhinagar, Jaipur and finally Delhi. The boys plan to meet as many people and local leaders as possible. In Goa, the trio met a local Congress leader who assured them of his support.
For the Tibetans who manage to enter India, it is a home away from home. “We love this country,” they say unanimously. It is this love that they hope will help them in their ultimate mission, Free Tibet.
Three Tibetan students are cycling across India to highlight the plight of children who escape from Tibet for a better life,
Last year, the fight for Free Tibet saw about 21 Tibetans self-immolate themselves. Back in India, three students read the news with increasing dismay. The standard 12 students, Lugoen Thar, Tselo Gyal and Gyalsten knew they had to do something. They had escaped from Tibet some years ago, but had left family and friends behind.
A long walk home
On January 20, the three of them dusted off their bicycles and took to the road, starting their ‘Escapees from Tibet’ cycling expedition. Their target is to highlight the situation in Tibet, focussing on the thousands of people who escape from there every year. “On an average, every year, 6,000 adults and children escape from Tibet to India. We want to highlight the plight of the children,” says Gyal. It’s a once-in-a-year phone call that connects Gyal and his friends to their family. “We don’t contact them much because we don’t want their locations to be revealed, as they may fall in trouble,” says Thar.
Gyal, now 21 was just 13 years old when his grandfather told him to leave Tibet, his parents too followed suit. “The rampant spread of the Chinese language and culture in schools made them afraid that I would lose my actual identity,” he says. Thar and Gyalsten left Tibet for similar reasons and came to India via Nepal. They walked for days on foot, fighting frostbite, unable to use their flashlights at night or start a fire to cook for fear of being caught.
A different journey
This trip, is different. The trio have the support of people from Friends of Tibet in India, pro-Tibetan supporters who put them up and give them food. Initially, the trio, with no funds to speak of took to selling Tibetan bread at Bodhgaya. They worked for 12 hours a day, for a month, they managed to collect Rs30,000 which helped fund their bicycles.
Their journey began in a Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe near Mysore. The travel happens at night, when traffic is sparse. Their luggage includes a tent, change of clothes, first-aid kit and pamphlets explaining their cause. The trio have cycled through Mysore, Bangalore, Chennai, Goa, Kolhapur and Pune. Their arrival in Mumbai coincided with the municipal elections, so they couldn’t meet many people. They will now head to Gandhinagar, Jaipur and finally Delhi. The boys plan to meet as many people and local leaders as possible. In Goa, the trio met a local Congress leader who assured them of his support.
For the Tibetans who manage to enter India, it is a home away from home. “We love this country,” they say unanimously. It is this love that they hope will help them in their ultimate mission, Free Tibet.
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