By B. Blair Dedrick
Washington – A Jew and a Tibetan stood on the same stage. They both have known the hardship of exile. They both are refugees. They both have had to learn to carry their culture with them, away from their homelands.
The 14th Dalai Lama and Elie Wiesel stood there Tuesday and felt their similarities instead of their differences.
“The first question the Dalai Lama asked me, ‘You people left your land thousands of years ago, and you are still here. Teach me how you survived,'” Wiesel said.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, and the International Campaign for Tibet honored Wiesel, Lowell Thomas Jr. and Carl Gershman with Light of Truth Awards, which are given to individuals who have “made outstanding contributions to the public understanding of Tibet and the plight of the Tibetan people.”
The Dalai Lama’s 10-day visit, which included meetings with political leaders and leading scientists, will end Thursday.
In 1949, the Tibetan government invited Thomas, a filmmaker and an Alaska politician, and his father, a pioneering radio journalist and filmmaker, to Lhasa as international reporters in anticipation of the Chinese Communist invasion. At the time, few Americans knew about Tibet or the Dalai Lama, and the subsequent film and books Thomas produced brought the nation into the American public’s spotlight.
Gershman, president of the National Endowment for Democracy, and his organization have fought for a democratic Tibet. Tibet is one of the group’s largest programs.
With his numerous books, Wiesel has become the witness for millions of Holocaust survivors, said Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who introduced him.
“Elie has done more to change those perceptions of events than anyone else in the world,” he said. “The Dalai Lama summons us to help save another culture in danger.”
Wiesel, who is a close friend of the Dalai Lama’s, has helped bring attention to other people, including Tibetans, enduring similar events.
“Why should the Jew that I am help Tibet?” Wiesel asked. “Because Tibet is not free. I have learned I am not free because others are not free.”
The Dalai Lama said his vision for the next century is one in which people and nations understand the interconnectedness in their economy, environment and security, and he spoke of the “atrocities” he has witnessed in Tibet because of China as something people can learn from.
“I believe 21st century can become the most important century of human history,” he said. “I think world becoming some new reality. Whether this view realistic or not, no harm, make effort.”
The Dalai Lama spoke strongly about today’s focus on materialism instead of spirituality. In 1954-55, Marxist ideology gave the Chinese people something to believe in, he said. Today, as the Chinese economy is improving, that has been replaced by materialism.
“Materialism alone does not satisfy all needs,” he said. “More and more Chinese turning to spirituality. Eventually, I think, millions of young Chinese feeling something missing inside. I think Tibetan Buddhism can fill that.”
“So, that’s my dream,: he said.
