From March 13th – 17th 2006, the Leeds University Free Tibet Society held a week of events aimed at promoting the Tibetan cause, as well as Tibet’s unique culture.
Review
Tibet week began with exhibitions in the Riley Smith Hall and the Parkinson Court. We also held two Talks, the first on Wednesday 15th, ‘A history of Tibet since the Chinese Invasion’, by Tsering Tashi, who works in Tibet Office in London. The talk was very interesting. The talks purpose was to explain the Tibet situation to those who didn’t know a great deal about it. Tashi started with a brief introduction, then we were shown a video about the current situation and religious restrictions in Tibet, including footage of the beating of Tibetan monks by Chinese authorities. He then went on to answer questions from the crowd.
The following day, Phuntsog Wangayal of The Tibet Foundation (the largest Tibetan Charity in the UK) gave a talk entitled ‘How can we help Tibetans?’. This talk was a bit more eventful- firstly; five Chinese girls came to the talk to hold a small protest. They held up banners with slogans such as ‘Tibet is an inseparable part of China’. Phuntsog was very friendly towards them, telling them he was not there to do a political talk- he was there to raise awareness that many Tibetans live in extreme poverty, and we have to help them. He pointed out that if Tibet was a part of China, a ‘communist’ country, then surely they should be helping the Tibetan people out more rather than worry about calls for independence. He commented how there would be no ‘Free Tibet’ issue if there was no poverty in Tibet, and everyone was treated fairly and kindly by the Chinese Authorities. Later on in the talk, we also had an unexpected guest talk from an Indian man, who’s name we failed to catch, who began to talk about Sustainable Development for Tibet and sand levees, but we had to point out this wasn’t his talk. It was all quite bizarre, but it was interesting to see the Chinese government supporter’s protest rather than us! We hope to have further contact with these and other Chinese students- issues of Tibetan freedom and past events aside, we need to help the Tibetan people together, and work for a better future for them.
The 2 exhibitons were also very successful- especially the one in the Parkinson Court, partly due to the huge number of people walking through every day. It especially got a lot of positive feedback, and hopefully provided people at Leeds University with ‘A View of Tibet’, as it was titled. The second exhibition, held in the Riley Smith Hall, was entitled ‘Tibetans in Exile: Nepal and the UK. This contained photos of Boudanath, monks at Swayambunath and Seto Gompa in Kathmandu, as well as pictures of Tibetan refugees and photos taken at Tibetan protests in London.
The Leeds Free Tibet Soc also held it’s first annual AGM- click for more details.
Next month, we will be continuing in our efforts to raise money to sponsor Tibetan Refugees, but adding a new dimension to the project. We are also going to collect your old unneeded Teddy Bears to take them to newly arrived Tibetan refugees in Nepal. Many of the Tibetan kids who arrive in Nepal have been sent to be educated in India, without their parents going with them. Despite being fairly happy kids much of the time, and many get homesick and miss their parents- this is where the Teddy comes in. Most of the refugees have few belongings of their own upon arrival in Kathmandu- frequently the possessions, jewellery and money they have is taken from them by Maoists and even government soldiers. Without their parents, and with unfamiliar surroundings, I’m sure everyone can appreciate what a comfort item teddies would be to the Tibetan children. So, from the 24th onwards, we will be doing a ‘Teddy Bear Amnesty’.
E-mail: unitibet@leeds.ac.uk if you can help.
