Burning for Freedom

Mr. Jamyang, a Tibetan student in Dharamshala, rips cardboard into squares and puts them on the bottom of candles; he explains that they are drip guards: “to keep you from burning your hands.” As the procession begins down the road to the temple his candle is extinguished by the wind a half a dozen times, but the wax never burns his hands. As the sun goes down and the candles become the main source of light in the crowd, the community and their thoughts are dominated by the flames that engulfed Tape, a young monk from Kirti monastery in Ngaba town (Chinese: Aba) eastern Tibet.

Ven. Woebar explains that while Tape was on fire the Chinese authorities fired three shots, at least one shot hit him, and he was taken from the scene and remains missing.

Ven. Woebar, led the community in the Tibetan National anthem, and thanked the community for participating in the peaceful demonstration of solidarity. He acknowledged the presence of non-Tibetans and insisted that foreign participation in demonstrations, and awareness of the Tibetan issue, is crucial to the success of the movement.

Mr. Jamyang puts his candle on the ground in front of him, looking into the flame he asks, “why did they have to shoot him, he was on fire already?” The crowd dispersed but his question hung in the air.