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-Right Where We Belonged-
Prior to joining up with old friends on the March for Tibet's Independence from Indianapolis to Chicago it had been nearly six months since I had been able to share my experiences and creative work inside the Tibetan community with a group of high school students. There's something about walking into a gymnasium saturated with orange light shimmering off the hardwood floors of a basketball court and hearing the clanging of feet as they race up and down the retractable grandstand. The students at Hanover Central High had just begun to fill in as we arrived to set up for what proved to be the most intense and rewarding presentation I have been a part of when it hit me like a brick. This is where I belonged- inside a school gymnasium that smelled slightly like the feet of those who with some guidance could potentially change the world. I spoke with Larry Govert, the World History Teacher who had arranged for us to come speak to his classes on our slow yet steady way up to the windy banks of Lake Michigan. I verbalized to him that if I was lucky he was me in three years. Things seemed different from when I was in high school though. I sensed in this particular school a great drive to understand things. As the students passed me and jockeyed for position upon the outstretched grandstand there wasnıt a single frown upon the faces of those soon to be introduced or re-introduced to the horror that is Tibetan History. Quickly everyone was in position and waiting for us to begin. As I stood in front of this crowd of teenage strangers I thought how amazing it was to have this many young minds about to listen to what we had to say. It was our time to do some convincing through the truth and clear delivery of the irrefutable facts- Tibet has been illegally occupied for nearly fifty years; 1.2 million Tibetans were squashed beneath the brutally indiscriminant boot of the Chinese Government Policy of Ethnic Cleansing; Tibet was an independent nation with its own language, currency, art, religion, and culture up until the Communists arrived; Without the support of the International Community the Tibetan people face extinction as Chinaıs uncompromising steel hand comes crashing down on their way of existence; The killings in Tibet have got to stop! Tenzin Delek Rinpoche is scheduled to be executed sometime within the next thirty days for being a Teacher; Lobsang Dhondup was executed in January of 2003 for the very same charges that Tenzin Delekıs life hangs now in the balance. A five year old boy was kidnapped nearly ten years ago by the Chinese Government for being recognized by the leader of Tibetan Buddhism as an important spiritual teacher to come. Unfortunately the list of irrefutable facts that Chinaıs leaders deny and sidestep every chance they can get continues to grow. I wanted to show them what it was all about. I wanted them to gaze through a cultural window, which yielded enough inspiration and motivation for me to be standing in front of them along side these frustrated people in the hopes that at least a handful of the 300+ students in attendance would walk away with some inspiration and motivation of their own. I wanted to make them see that freedom for Tibet means more than simply getting China off their land, that it goes straight to the core of what it means to be human and put someone elseıs betterment first. During the two hour presentation, which brought images and music from Tibet and personal accounts of the Walkers lives and struggles, it was easy to take pictures without a flash because no one was restless and no one was trying to figure out crafty excuses to get a hall pass for the bathroom. Jigme and Ngawang spoke eloquently upon the broad points as usual and Tenzin even got the huge crowd of students to break into laughter several times. Passang and Ngawang Dolma, whose children have stood up to defend their country in recent events with ITIM, both shared their own tales through Tenzinıs translation in a way that made it clear why they both came all the way from Minneapolis to be a part of this important action. Jamyang Dolma, also a mother of one of the PeaceRiders who rode their bicycles from Washington D.C. to Toronto this past April for similar reasons, spoke smoothly about her family and desire to return to her home country as a free Tibetan woman with rights and advantages. But the questions that followed really blew me away. How is the Dalai Lama selected? Why did China invade Tibet in the first place? Are things getting better or worse? What was Tenzin Delek Rinpoche accused of bombing? How do you fight back against all of this? How long do you think it will take to get your country back by using peaceful means? Even though it is against your religious beliefs, would you ever consider accepting military assistance from the United States or any other supportive nation? And they went on like this for an hour. Guess the return on our investment of time, energy, body, sweat, and blood paid off quite handsomely here in Cedar Lake. How did she put it? ³Iım a senior here at Hanover² I think is how she started, ³and that is the best presentation I have ever seen. You had everyoneıs attention² she continued, ³Everyone was listening. It never happened that way before. Thank you for coming to my school and sharing your story with us.² Collectively I believe we were successful in doing exactly what we had set out to do. Perhaps the spontaneous FREE TIBET chant started by the students during a standing ovation gave this one away. Douglas
Herman |
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