SFT in DC

Posted by SFTHQIntern on Jul 21, 2011 in General | 0 comments

Hey everyone! Elyna here.

I know that its been a while since I’ve posted an entry, but we’re all still recuperating from our trip to Washington, DC and the utter chaos that is Kalachakra 2011. Overall, it was a great, stressful, scorching hot success; thousands of people from all over the world came out in the DC heat to support SFT, Tibet, the Tibetan community, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

As a volunteer, I was able to attend some of the teachings. The earth ritual dance – contrary to what Tendor told me – was nothing like “The Lion King”. It was, however, incredibly beautiful. I found myself in sort of a trance as I sat through the dance; other parts of the dance inspired me to meditate. Many people were prostrating toward the mandala, and others I spotted were fast asleep. But despite the faint snoring coming from the upper levels of the Verizon Center, the arena was filled with peace and compassion.

This spirit of Kalachakra really translated into our “Free Tibetan Heroes” campaign. I spent most of the time standing next to three huge, 6-feet tall posters of Tibetan political prisoners, getting people psyched on signing petitions to set them free. My success probably had something to do with the silly vest I was wearing to gather donations.

Rungye Adak was the political prisoner I spent the most time gathering signatures for. In 2007, Adak openly announced at the Lithang Horse Racing Festival that Tibet will not be free unless HHDL returns home. He then proceeded to call for the release of the Panchen Lama and other Tibetan political prisoners. Just a few moments later, the Chinese government arrested him for attempting to “subvert state power”. Yeah, right. But with the notion that Tibetans inside Tibet are willing to risk their lives for freedom, we were able to obtain thousands of signatures for the release of Adak, and several other political prisoners, too. To learn more about Rungye Adak and other political prisoners inside Tibet, visit freetibetanheroes.org.

We’re all settling in the office now, getting back into the swing of things. Stef and TenDolkar are preparing for Action Camp in Germany, and there’s going to be a bunch of really awesome Lhakar Wednesday events coming up! Keep coming back to stay posted.

Take care!

~Elyna

Nap time! Tsonam attempts to recover from the Kalachakra heat and hard work.

 

A Colorful Day in Union Square

Posted by SFTHQIntern on Jun 28, 2011 in Activism & Tibet, Direct Action, General, Students For a Free Tibet | 0 comments

Hey readers! My name is Elyna. I’m interning at the SFT headquarters this summer. Just bringing you all up to speed with what we’ve been up to.

If you haven’t already heard of Lhakar (“White Wednesday”), it is a Tibetan-born, non-violent form of protest that promotes Tibetan culture. Every Wednesday – in honor of the Dalai Lama’s soul day – Tibetans make a special effort to, essentially, be Tibetan. This summer, Tenzin and I plan to do celebrate Lhakar by spreading awareness regarding the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Last Wednesday afternoon, I was standing in the middle of Union Square wearing the Tibetan flag as a cape, and a sign around my neck, reading, “CHINA: STOP FORCING TIBETAN NOMADS OFF THEIR LAND”. It was most certainly not a familiar feeling for me. In fact, I don’t think it was for anyone who passed by me, either, considering how many funny looks I received from the countless New Yorkers passing by. Zaeda and Tenzin wore paper-constructed yak masks along with their flag-cloaks.

I wasn’t even aware of the nomad rights violations taking place in Tibet until the four of us starting researching about it. In 1998, Qi Jingfa, China’s Agriculture Vice Minister, announced “all herdsmen are expected to end the nomadic life by the end of the century”. That goal was not met, but the Chinese government is still doing what they can to force Tibetan nomads – who have lived nomadically for approximately 9,000 years – to settle.

We were able to collect 80 signatures in Union Square supporting Tibetan nomadic rights. Those signatures were signed on postcards, all of which are addressed to Ban Ki-moon, the current secretary general of the United Nations.

We’re planning on doing something a little more creative with the postcards than just simply mailing them, but that’s something we’ll keep you updated on. As far as our Lhakar Wednesday goes, I’d say it was pretty successful. After all, it’s always fun making friends with perfect strangers!

If you’re at all interested in learning more about what’s happening in the world of Tibetan nomads, visit http://nomadrights.org/ for more information.

For more information on Lhakar, visit http://lhakar.org/.

 

Preparing for take off!