As we stood in awe of the endless stream of students filling up every seat in the library of Osbourne Park Senior High in Manassas a teacher's statement struck me square on the jaw. She blurted "This is democracy in action" as the group of a hundred and fifty some odd young minds filled in the rows for our surprise visit. I thought about how true her statement was later the next day as we plied the marbled halls of Congress in an effort to lobby a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Funny, how a group of foreign nationals to bring me closer to my own country's culture and its processes, both of which are regularly taken for granted. Prior to this March none of the Americans on the March had ever participated in our democratic process by going to Congress in person to speak their minds. Perhaps this is due to the simple fact that we have a country but hopefully after our time in Manassas this won't be the case for those newly introduced to Tibet's plight. When asked how many of their parents were under the age of forty-seven, a heavy majority stretched their fingertips toward the ceiling. Their eyes flashed signs of the wheels turning within when told that all of their parents were yet to be born on the day when China 'peacefully liberated' Tibet by force. The world they know is of democracy, freedom of individuality, the right to speak their mind, and the ability to pursue a future as they see fit. For three generations of Tibetans none of this is true.

Later that evening when Tse Dorje rose to speak to the congregation at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fairfax on how he came to America the message was the same as it was earlier that day in the library. "I have been here in your country for one year and three months because China took mine away from me." He immediately became choked up and struggled to maintain his normally sturdy voice, but although his voice quivered his message was clear. "When I was in Lhasa, the city of my birth and the capital of my country, I always felt sad and depressed because everywhere I looked I saw that there was nothing for me here." He told me while we walked earlier in the day that he was not that worried about his picture being up on the internet declaring his desire to see Tibet free because he is distanced from his family and no true danger is posed to those still inside Tibet for his actions outside. The congregation sat at attention as his emotion streamed. "I would feel anger and rage almost everyday…" Even the simplest of actions like seeking sanctuary in the escapism of watching a movie would weigh upon him. "…when there would be scenes with patriotic themes I would become very sad and cry because I am not allowed to do the same. When I watch the Olympic Games and see every single country in the world able to represent their people, and all those national flags waving in the air I cry because I cannot even have my own country's flag in my home without being thrown in prison. Everyday I was wanting to do bad things like the rest of the world seems to be allowed to do…just like the Palestinians who blow up their enemies to protect their families, but my leader, my teacher, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says no! He guides us along a non-violent path in search of solutions to our problems because violent ones only create deeper ones, but I struggled every day with keeping these feelings from spilling out. And so I decided that the only way I could go forward in life was to leave Tibet because it was no longer Tibet." Tse Dorje emphatically relayed the story of how he left Tibet by riding a mountain bike from Lhasa to Kathmandu, Nepal in a clandestine protest of China's occupation. "Democracy is not allowed in Tibet, and I cannot wear Free Tibet on my chest like I can here in a good country like America, so I used my imagination and saw that a 4 could represent FREE, and a 5 for TIBET."

There is no doubt in my heart that every Tibetan inside Tibet wishes for freedom from China and the day when their internal feelings and determinations will be allowed to match their expressed ones. So many of the six million Tibetans, who only differ from Tse Dorje on the grounds that they remain within an occupied land, have perished or been tortured for attempting to marry these two faces, and it was along this line that the Marchers stood firmly in front of these students and congregations with their plackards silently screaming "China out of Tibet", "Independence for Tibet", "Human Rights for Tibet", and proudly holding their nation's banned flag. "We March for Tibet's Independence here in America because of all the Tibetans inside Tibet who cannot." said Jigme Norbu, who has been a figure head of these events for the past four years in an effort to carry on his father Takster Rinpoche's legacy of non-violent direct action.

The students at Osbourne Park Senior High sat rapt with attention as the Marchers shared with them some background historical information and then dug into the meat of the current situation which finds many high profile political prisoners languishing in captivity. The simplicity of their questions, yet their complex implications brought many on our panel to tears. The recognition of this complexity of the Tibetan plight, and how both internal and external movements need to be strengthened in order to achieve Tibet's long sought after independence through non-violent means gradually became apparent. The topic of the Panchen Lama was raised Dr Larry Gerstein, President of ITIM, who posed a question to the students "Why do you think the Chinese kidnapped Gendun Choekyi Nyima?" The ensuing responses of "to weaken the foundation of Tibetan Buddhist principles", "to influence the young boy in ways that would benefit the Chinese interests in Tibet", and "to control who would be responsible for naming the next Dalai Lama" clarified that many if not all in attendance had firmly gripped the reality of Chinese colonial expansionism in Tibetan culture.
Later that evening Ngawang Norbu brought the room to utter silence and sent one member of the March running out of the room crying when he held up a placard of the Panchen Lama and stated "This boy……is guilty only of being reincarnate." He honed in on the fear he holds for the next generation who may not have someone like His Holiness to curb these impulses to use violence. "Terrorists are not born, they are bred. The decision to use violence to achieve a goal is a reactionary one, and I fear that a day may come when the youth of Tibet, who grow ever so anxious about not having control of their country, may choose to defend themselves from oppression and murder, and in the process become branded terrorists."

Tsering Yeshi, from Vermont, also struggled to hold back tears as he addressed the room with a shaky voice. "I am here in America now and was born in India because the Chinese stole my country from me." The ironic sentiment in the room full of Tibetan Buddhists was one of attachment to something they have never fully known. Every one who spoke stated it as "their country" or how the Chinese stole "my country." But this is understandable. When I was given the opportunity to speak I focused on the vague and useless determinations for what constitutes genocide. I stated that although I am not Tibetan I feel as if I am because of how these people embrace me and how I can empathize even though I know I will never be able to truly comprehend their loss. I currently live and own a share of the home my great grandfather and grandfather built in New York during the depression. This is something that no Tibetan can claim and it is a shame. The killings continue and the world sits back and does nothing. The Chinese continue to hold down the Tibetans and other groups that they consider 'ethnic minorities' such as Mongolians, East Turkistanis, and Manchurians, while the world strengthens their lucrative business relationship with China. The simple truth is China would be half its recognizable size if it was stripped of all the land it has seized illegally.

As the Marchers discovered throughout the push to DC there are things on the walls of churches that drive home a sharp message. There is one eye watching, always there to observe and pass judgment upon your actions…to keep you mindful of the need to have your words and deeds become wholly one. The eye is always there in some form or another, either a literal one sketched upon some recycled 40 lb art paper by some young stranger who is part of a class that has collectively declared that "we work together" within the "web of life", or in the words that should bring everyone to their knees in reverence of a truth that is so obvious that it racks the brain to comprehend how universally misunderstood it is. One of their teachers wondered how successful we would be remaining non-violent and in response I chose to further liken the Tibetan struggle to that of the plight of African Americans who rose up in non-violent ways, and used the words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. to prove the point.

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact violence merely increases hate…Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive our darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that."
Some concepts can't be challenged. Some words are simply true.