By JARRETT MCLAUGHLIN
Journal Staff
ITHACA – The Women’s Community Building was packed Saturday with people trying to gain a greater understanding of what it means to be Tibetan.
During the lunch break at the 11th annual Tibet Day Celebration, some waited in line for Tibetan food, some browsed through CDs and books, and others conversed.
The Tibetan Community of Ithaca (TCI) has hosted the event since 1993. TCI President Tenzin Tsokyi said the event is held in part to raise money, as well as to preserve Tibetan culture, and to “increase awareness” of the Tibetan plight.
“There are people in Tibet struggling for freedom of speech, of language, of tradition,” she said.
She said that TCI donates some of the proceeds from the event (tickets were $10) to support Tibetan settlements in India. TCI does not take a profit, she said, and donates money to local organizations, such as the Red Cross.
Saturday’s event featured music and dance performances, as well as speeches and prayer. In October of 1992, a small group of Tibetans came to Ithaca to settle, said Tsokyi. The Buddhist Namgyal Monastery was founded in 1992 at 412 N. Aurora St. TCI now has 40 members in the area, and Tibetans hold jobs locally as librarians, cooks, and waiters, Tsokyi said.
Sonam Topgyal said he came to Ithaca from India 10 years ago as part of a Tibetan resettlement program. He found a part-time job as a library assistant at Cornell, a job he still has. He met his wife, who works at Green Star and is also Tibetan, in Ithaca, and is one of nearly a dozen families belonging to TCI. He said that those not familiar with Tibetan culture could get a good sense of it from Saturday’s event.
“When you enter, you see the typical Tibetan prayer flags, tangka paintings, typical folk dancing,” he said.
Wolfgang Moeder, a biology post-doc at Cornell, was book browsing at Saturday’s event. He said his interest in Tibet was sparked over 10 years ago when he heard the Dalai Lama speak and watched a documentary about the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
China first invaded Tibet in 1949, and the Dalai Lama, with many followers, fled to India in 1959.
Moeder said the cultural aspects of Saturday’s celebration were important for people who want to understand Tibet.
“We feel sympathy,” he said, “but we don’t really know much. It’s nice to see the cultural aspects of the festival — the songs, the dance … the important thing about cultural exchange is knowing each other.” Cornell faculty member Paul Curtis, who stood in line for food, said he has been a been a sponsor of resettled Tibetans in Ithaca since the early 1990’s. He said he has helped Tibetans find jobs locally, at “Wegmans and many other local businesses.”
At first, Curtis noted, Ithaca Tibetans all lived together in one house, on Aurora Street.
“Now they’re in several different homes and very well settled,” he said.
Contact: jamclaughlin@ithaca.gannett.com
