going home again

In the bottom of mail trucks there are large crates that the border police don’t check. Laying flat on his stomach below the mail, Sonam returned to his homeland Tibet. He went to see his family, and to act as a guide and smuggle individuals threatened by the Chinese government out of Tibet.

Last March the streets of the Tibetan capital Lhasa erupted into violence. The date marked the anniversary of the beginning of China’s occupation of Tibet in 1959. Now, the date marks the beginning of one of the most brutal periods in Tibet history, turning the roof of the world into what His Holiness the Dalai Lama has described as “hell on earth.”

On March 11 2008 Sonam tied a T-shirt over his face so that he was unrecognizable, he said, “I burned cars and broke windows I shouted slogans.” He was arrested; to get him out of jail Sonam’s friends gave a false alibi to the authorities, swearing that he was at home with them. Using knowledge he gained working as a tourist guide he was able to escape from his homeland and the Chinese authorities that hunted him. The other people that were arrested with him are still in prison.

In years past between 2,000 and 3,000 Tibetans made the dangerous crossing into Nepal to seek refuge in India where His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been residing since 1959. Since last March that number has decreased to a fraction; each month only 13 people arrive from Tibet.

Rikden a young man from Eastern Tibet, arrived in India before March 2008 and lived in the new arrival center in Dharamshala for two months, he said “when I arrived at the reception center everything was full there were people everywhere you couldn’t even go to the bathroom in the night without stepping on people. If you go there now you can see it is empty.”

Sonam said “I only brought four people, the situation is so bad since last March so I didn’t bring more, guides used to bring 20 or 30 sometimes even more than that.”

The four men that Sonam guided across the border are monks who had returned to Tibet to visit their families and had been unable to come back to India after the crackdown in March 2008. He said, “I did it for free because I brought my friends but other guides charge around 10,000 Yuan.”

“In Lhasa I have a lot of friends who took part in the uprising last March, they want to come to India but they can’t escape,” he continued. “I am scared to try again, I have friends in Nepal and friends in Tibet but the situation is so bad that I don’t know if I want to try again, it is too dangerous.”

an Indian summer

Shoe shine?

There is no town, temple, city, or street in India that does not have people begging for money on the fringes. There is a group of 12 year olds who work the streets in Dharamshala we have a daily routine worked out. They hold out their hand for money and ask “please madam” I take one of their cupped hands and say, “I would rather you went to school,” they laugh. Then Soraj remembers he has his shoe shine kit, looks down at my feet in earnest and tells me I need a shoe shine. I reply “Soraj I am wearing flip-flops.” He laughs and pretends to clean off my feet anyway, a big joke.

It is a small exchange that I am sure occurs across the sub continent, this is a poor country, and life is difficult—but India is not without a sense of humor.

momo mama

The sun sets around 6:30, as the sun takes a parting glance before it disappears under the Himalayas Sonam Lhamo’s sits on the steps of the small temple in Dharamshala, she was here well before sunrise and will remain here for another two hours. She said that the location of her momo stand is “not good,” ideally she would like to set up her stand at the bus stop or in front the main temple, but she has only been selling momos in Dharamshala for one month and is therefore allocated to these steps. “I carry the momos here early in the morning and I sit here all day.”

Her booth looks like all the other momo booths in town, her receipt is the same, and her prices match the others. Sonam Lhamo said “I sell momos because I can’t find another job.”

She said “The money I make is just enough to pay for my medicine and to pay my rent. I have a kid, and I only have one kidney. I go to the hospital weekly to get medicine, the doctor tells me that I need to go to southern India to have an operation, but I can’t afford that.”

Sonam Lhamo arrived from Tibet 8 years ago “ When I first got here I went to Tibetan Transit School (TTS) to try to study but it didn’t work because I had never been to school before in Tibet, I didn’t know anything so I quit school.”

She did not quit school before she met her baby’s father who she called “a big cheat,” she insisted that they are not married. She said “he told me he didn’t have a girlfriend and didn’t have a wife so I went with him and I got pregnant. After I gave birth his wife and his kids came from Tibet.”

Tibetan and international NGOs do not help her. The only help that she receives from the Tibetan Government is tuition free education for her child, a service provided to all in the Tibetan Community. She gets up at midnight t to make momos 7 days a week, she doesn’t have the luxury to make plans with friends or plans for the future, she said “I am so poor, and my health is so poor that I am just trying to fix problems, I have no future plans for my daughter I only hope that TCV takes care of her.”

Official speeches, formalities, underscore the importance of community, huge crowds and competitive football matches demonstrate the unity within the Tibetan exile community and between India that has hosted Tibetans for 50 years. The 10 day Gaylyum Chemo Memorial Gold Cup commenced with an expedition match between Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV); "TCV united" and Himachal Pradesh (HP) police department. His Eminence Gyalwa Karmapa was the chief guest at the event, addressed the crowd of thousands gathered to watch the match “now Tibetan youth are facing difficulties in life, education and in work, in this tournament they have an opportunity to be free of these obstacles; freedom from these difficulties, if even for an afternoon is healthy and productive.”

The Tibetan National Sports Association (TNSA) organized an exhibition match between H.P police department “to show our gratitude to the government and people of India as Tibet experiences 50 years in Exile” an official press release said.

Before Chinese occupation in the 1950s in Lhasa, there were frequent matches between the teams and the Chinese military. These matches were popular events in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital city. The first tournament was organized in 1981 in memory of the late Great Mother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Since then it has been known as the Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial (GCM) Gold Cup the most popular tournament in the Tibetan exile community.

This year 275 players representing 19 football clubs from Tibetan settlements across India and Nepal will compete. The executive secretary of Tibetan National Sport organization, Kalsang Dhondhup made the opening remarks, “through this game Tibetans from across India will come to know each other, experiencing new adventures.”

His Eminence Gyalwa Karmapa admitted that as a monk he knows little about football, but he is dedicated to his people, his religion and Tibet issue. He said, “Lots of people have gathered here for the tournament indicating their interest and there is a strong sense of unity and cheerfulness, I do believe this football tournament is not just entertainment it has significant purpose. Here we can see the strength of the community united behind a single interest. The Tibet issue can not be solved by individuals, but by a united community like we can witness here this afternoon. Every Tibetan must put priority on the Tibetan cause.”

Mom sent Levi's and ray-bans it was a very exciting evening.

I feel that it is acceptable 5 months in to make a list of 5 things that I miss. Aside from the obvious friends family, and Titan, here they are in no specific order.
1. I miss walking on flat roads
2. The ocean and seagulls
3. Wine and cheese
4. Bathtubs
5. Going barefoot

And a list of my favorite things about Dharamshala, again no specific order
1. The monks that chant next door in the evening
2. Pink mountains at sunset
3. “Chitty chats” with my roommates
4. Rushing places by motorcycle
5. Drinking lassi’s guilt free because walking through town = mountain climbing

Yak butter, Indian streakers, and impending monsoons

It has been a long time… Timmy came to Dharamshala and we went on a 2 week wild adventure to the hinterlands (within walking distance of Tibet boarder), travel permits and nerves of steel were required gear for the region that boasts "one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth." Like being in "real Tibet" there were 1500 year old temples, yaks, and monks. Unlike "real Tibet" there was Freedom!



I brought home real yak butter home for my boys and they were so impressed, after looking for it everywhere and deciding it was not Kosher to beg some from the monks, I finally bought it from a family (Thanks Tim). It was a very delicate operation that involved at least 3 middle men, and the a crowd that smiled puzzled at the two westerners who were buying 2 KG pure yak butter.

We had a great journey, I will catch you all up some other time

Yesterday was the Tibetan football world cup, but in accordance with tradition it was as you may have expected dedicated to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s mother who was, in her day a huge sports fan! The 15the Gyalyum Chemo Memorial Cup was attended by 3,000 people and the guest of honor His eminence Gyalwa Karmapa (some people say he will take over as spiritual leader after HHDL dies before a new DL is ready to lead). The 23 year old Karmapa is, or appears to be a big grump. Luckily, I am an overzealous klutz and tripped in his path and was able capture a fleeting (although slightly mocking) smile from the holy man. And so the games began.

Perched on the hillside with my roommates we cheered for the Dharamshala team, “Tibetan Children’s Village”, who were pitted a bit unfairly against the local police department. The game was temporarily interrupted by cows who found their way onto the pitch. This I thought was streaking, India style. We chatted, drank juice boxes, (a Dharamshala staple that I am thrilled have been reintroduced since the days of lunchboxes) and enjoyed a great Sunday afternoon.

Work it seems is never ending but I like that. The monsoons are coming every afternoon there is thunder and lightning that usually knocks out power for an hour or so, frustrating but still thrilling.

Oh, I officially accepted my Peace Corps assignment looks like Amman in Oct! Oh boy

Love from the Himalayas
Rah