San Francisco – Over 100 members of the San Francisco Bay Area Tibetan community and Tibet supporters gathered on Monday, May 19th, to pray for victims of the recent earthquake in China’s Sichuan province, and to collect donations for an earthquake emergency relief fund directed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government-in-exile.
“We are gathering in sympathy and solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Tibetan people suffering unspeakable grief and hardship in the areas affected by the earthquake,” said Ngodup Tsering, president of the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC). “We are joining Tibetans all over the world in this effort, including Tibetans inside Tibet.”
The Tibetan government-in-exile has called on Tibetans everywhere to provide relief to the Chinese and Tibetans in the earthquake zones. His Holiness the Dalai Lama told reporters on Tuesday that he felt “very, very sad” on first hearing the news of the quake, and later offered his “deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences to those families who have been directly affected by the strong earthquake. I offer my prayers for those who have lost their lives and those injured.”
The local Tibetan prayer session – which was held in Berkeley, and covered by San Francisco’s Fox TV station, KTVU – included prayers and rituals for the good rebirths of the dead, as well as for the alleviation of the enormous suffering of the injured and those who have lost family and friends in the tragedy.
Tsering Gyurmey, TANC General Secretary, noted that “despite any differences the Tibetan community may have with the Chinese government, the Chinese earthquake victims are all human beings. We feel great sadness when we see the images of parents who have lost their children or ordinary people who have lost their homes, and we want to do all that we can to help.”
Over US $1000 was collected for the quake victims on the first day of a week-long donation drive.
