By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, March 5: Early this morning, the remains of the teenage Tibetan boy who self immolated on February 29 and passed away on March 3 reached Dharamshala, a place many regard as the exile capital of the Tibetan Diaspora.
An ambulance carrying the remains arrived in McLoed Ganj amidst a swarm of saddened Tibetans expressing solidarity with his family and to commemorate the boy’s sacrifice. The Tibetan Youth Congress undertook the logistics and the transfer of Dorjee Tsering’s remains after it was released from the Safdurjung Hospital in the Indian capital yesterday.
The family of the deceased teenager appeared visibly devastated by the loss of their youngest member. Nyima Yangkyi, the mother of the 16 year old said, “I want to tell everybody that although Dorjee saw it (self immolation) as a resort, I want to urge the youngsters that there are other ways to serve Tibet by educating oneself and working for Tibet. I urge the students not to self-immolate but contribute through other means. I urge them to fulfill His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s wishes and have good intentions. I am a simple housewife and I do not know much other than that.”
Thupten Tashi, the father of Dorjee Tsering, recounted the sad and horrific details of the day, struggling against overwhelming enormity of his loss. He recounts, “I went to give him some parting advice as he was going back to school (Tibetan Homes Foundation) that day but I couldn’t find him inside the house. I then saw a person engulfed in flame, my elder daughter shouted, its Dorjee, please stop him. His mother dragged him under the tap and put off the flame. After finding a car, we took him to the Leman Hospital (Herbertpur Christian Hospital) where they instructed us to go to a bigger hospital citing inadequate facility to treat the boy. After reaching Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital in Dehradun, he was treated for two or three hours. The staff there advised us that the best treatment would be possible at Safdurjung in Delhi”.
“The videos of him speaking which all must have seen, he clearly says that he committed the act for Tibet’s independence and to garner global attention for Tibet. Later in the hospital, I told him that his sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed. I told him that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Karmapa have taken notice of the incident and many prominent people, students and common Tibetans have come to meet him. He seemed pleased after I told him those things,” said the bereaved father. He thanked the Delhi settlement officers, TYC, TWA and individuals who came to visit them and helped his family through the ordeal.
“It took almost an hour to find a car. He was shivering and asked for water and also asked to be covered with a blanket. My boy’s skin dripping off his body but he never once shrieked in pain. He said he did it for Tibet. I told him that he would be given pain killers to ease him but he said, ‘you know how strong I am right? I am okay, just don’t look at me’. He didn’t want me to see him in that state,” his mother said.
The TYC President Tenzing Jigme told reporters, “The death of Kalsang Wangdue and Dorjee Tsering is an immeasurable sacrifice. It is very difficult to tell people what to do and what not to do especially to the Tibetans inside Tibet who are undergoing repression on a daily basis, However, I request the youngsters to consider other ways to contribute to the cause through education, their lives are precious. Although we must acknowledge that the sacrifice of the two young Tibetans who had their whole lives in front of them is truly commendable.”
The remains of the 16 year old will be taken to Lhagyalri in Mcloed Ganj for a ceremony and prayer tomorrow morning. He will be cremated tomorrow in accordance with his Tibetan astrological last rites readings.
