The Struggle For Freedom and Dignity Completes 58 Years!
CSPA, Alappuzha, Kerala: CSPA, Alappuzha, Kerala: The 55th Wellbeing Tibetan Medical Camp organised jointly by Friends of Tibet Foundation for the Wellbeing and Men-Tsee-Khang, Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute was a special one this time for two reasons — one on March 10th, we commemorate the 58th anniversary Tibet Uprising Day. It was on this day in 1959 that the first armed rebellion was fought between the people of Tibet and China. On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa to protest against Chinese occupation of Tibet. As protests intensified, the Chinese troops responded with brutal force, killing thousands of Tibetans. This led to a full scale Tibetan uprising across Lhasa and other parts of Tibet. Tibetan martyrs who took part in the Tibetan National Uprising protests need to be respected for their courage, and should be forever remembered in our history. For the past 50 years, the Chinese government has done everything in its power to divide Tibetans and confuse the international community about the Tibetan issue. Tibetans from all walks of life have made great sacrifices, even giving up their precious life, to restore Tibet's freedom.
Secondly on March 9th we celebrate the completion of 19 years of "Friends of Tibet" as a Tibet Support Group. To commemorate these two special occasions, we organised a gathering of all the attendees of the medical camp — The Wellbeing Participants, well-wishers, the doctors from Men-Tsee-Khang and Members of Friends of Tibet.
At the start of the gathering, Team Men-Tsee-Khang offered prayer for the Universal Peace. The gathering at the 55th Wellbeing medical camp venue at Alappuzha, Kerala observed a 2-minute silence in memory of all those who sacrificed their life for Tibet's freedom and independence.
After the prayer, Dr Dorjee Rapten Neshar, Chief Medical Officer of Men-Tsee-Khang Bangalore branch spoke about the significance of the day and his experiences in exile in India and the eventful visits to the southern state of Kerala in the last six years. He was joined by other members of Men-Tsee-Khang including Dr Tenzin Methok.
It was then that Sethu Das of Friends of Tibet showed us a Radio used by His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama back in Tibet and in exile in India which came as a big surprise to both Tibetans and Indians who have not seen the historic devise before. He reminded the participants about the presence of the Tibetan people among us and the hardship they had to face to escape the Chinese occupation. He shared the opinion that a political tragedy that resulted in the fleeing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetan people six decades ago is now a blessing in disguise.
To commemorate the completion of 19 years of Friends of Tibet, Friends of Tibet produced a set of Post-Cards on Tibet with photographs from the Tibetan community in exile by renowned photographer Sarthak Banerjee — designed by BlackBoard Kochi. The gift set consists of 10 photographs is sold for a price of Rs 100/-.
Last but not the least, during the three days of the Wellbeing Camp, it was attended by hundreds of people with various wellness issues.
Friends of Tibet Foundation for the Wellbeing, PO Box 16674, Mumbai 400050, India.
(Report by Yazin T Azad, March 2017)
The first National Committee of Friends of Tibet (1999) with His Holiness the Dalai Lama: (L-R) Lobsang Tsering, Tenzin Tsundue, Prashant Varma, Sethu Das, Purnima Phansalkar, Harsh Piramal and Reshma Piramal. (Photo: Jacqueline Meier)
Email: wellbeing@friendsoftibet.org Web: www.friendsoftibet.org/wellbeing/
