By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, August 14: His Holiness the Dalai Lama Saturday led a mass prayer service for the victims and families of those who died in the recent flash floods in Ladakh and Pakistan, wildfires in Russia and mudslides in Drugchu in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo.
“I have been deeply saddened by the loss of many lives and the destruction of property caused by the floods in Pakistan and India. I have offered my condolences and prayers as well as token donations towards relief and rescue work,” His Holiness the Dalai Lama said in a statement posted on his official website.
“I am also very sad that there has been a massive landslide in Drugchu (Chinese: Zhouqu) in the south-east of Kanlho, (Chinese: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province in which many people have lost their lives. It is reported that this is one of the deadliest incidents in decades. I understand that Premier Wen Jiabao visited Zhouqu to oversee relief and rescue work.”
His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa also joined the prayer service, which was attended by hundreds of Tibetan and sympathisers. Ministers and staff members of the Tibetan government in exile, Tibetan parliament members and representatives of various NGOs and institutions also attended the prayer gathering.
“According to experts these very unusual floods and the devastating fires in Russia are symptoms of a deeper malaise occurring due to unprecedented global warming and other environmental causes,” the Dalai Lama said in the statement.
His Holiness said that a concerted international effort was “needed to think about measures to preserve our common and delicate ecology.”
Speaking briefly during the prayer session here this morning, the Nobel Peace Laureate said: “Our effort should be that our heartfelt prayers and sympathy must reach out unconditionally to all the victims of disasters regardless of where they took place.”
The prayer service held at the Main Tibetan Temple here was jointly organised by the Department of the Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration and the Central Executive Committee of Dhomey (Amdo) in Dharamsala.
The president of the Central Executive Committee of Dhomey Mrs Yeshi Dolma, who is also a representative of Dhomey in the Tibetan Parliament, said a relief programme for flood and mudslide victims in Drugchu was already underway.
The Kashag on Thursday sent an appeal to “all the Tibetan Monasteries, Co-operative Societies, Charitable Trusts, Private organisations and individuals across the world to give monetary and material contributions” through the organisation.
In the statement, the Kashag expressed hope that “collective efforts of Tibetans in exile will be of utmost importance for the temporary and long-term well-being of Tibetans both in and outside Tibet.”
As of Friday, the death toll from Drugchu landslides has reached 1,156 and an estimated 588 people are still missing, according to Chinese state run media. The disaster has caused large-scale damage to property and has left many people homeless and injured.
