My Story:
I have more time for the cause of my country than I do for myself. I have resolved to make the best use of this, my only life, to carry forward the legacy of my forefathers. To fight for the rightful cause of my country is the dream that occupies every one of my sleepless nights.
I was born and raised in a beautiful region of Kham, Tibet, where life is sustained by the soil and the seasons. While my parents were busy with the hard labor of winnowing, tilling, and threshing, I grew up under the tender care of my great-grandmother. As a naughty, snotty-nosed six-year-old, my world was small: my toys were the pebbles I found in the dust, and my companions were the yaks and goats I grazed across the vast grasslands.
As I grew strong enough to support my family, they taught me the art of tilling and showed me the greener reaches of the plateau where I would herd our livestock, my voice echoing across the hills. At that time, my imagination did not extend beyond the boundaries of our village. I knew only my animals and my home. It was a time when the tragedies of our history were buried behind fake smiles and sweet words, hidden away to protect the innocence of the children.
But behind the silence lay a “Great Depression” of socialist suppression. My father had endless stories of how his own father was tortured in a cell. My mother carried memories of how her mother was tormented by enemies who dragged her domestic animals to their deaths and beat her until her last breath. It was a dark and blind era, where violence took place in a terrifying silence. It was a time of red stars striking the snowy mountains, where the smell of blood-stained streets hit the senses. I was born just as the dust of that era began to settle, though the debris remained untouched.
Under the guise of providing “educational opportunity,” the Chinese government is coercing Tibetan families into enrolling their children in a vast network of state-run colonial boarding schools. Beneath this facade of care lies a calculated campaign of Sinicization—a systematic erasure of Tibetan identity through Mandarin-only education and political indoctrination. My parents recognized this attempt to sever my roots and transform me into a loyal tool of the state. Fearing for my future, they made the difficult decision to send me to India, ensuring I could grow up with my own culture and contribute to the survival of our cause.
One day, my parents asked me if I wanted to go to India. I had no idea where it was, only a vague notion that it was the place where our Holy Guru was educating children like me. Excited by the prospect of seeing what lay beyond our village, I accepted. Accompanied by my ten-year-old cousin, we were handed over to a stranger who promised to guide us.
The journey took thirty-five gruelling days. We bore every hardship imaginable to reach Nepal and, eventually, India. We hid under the blistering sun to avoid the galvanized guns of the Chinese patrols. We moved like owls under the cover of night, stepping out only when the enemy was out of sight. When we thought of the bars of the prisons behind us, we crept and crawled like victims of war. We escaped through the crests of high hills and through the biting winter chills. We crossed rivers at their coldest stage, finally leaving behind the boundaries of the “Great Wall.”
By the time we reached the border, our food was gone. We had to knock on doors and beg for bread just to sustain our final breaths. We exchanged our very clothing for scraps of food, eventually crossing countless mountains to reach the Tibetan Reception Centre in Nepal.
When we finally reached India, we received the blessings of our great guru, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. I was educated under the guidance of the Tibetan Children’s Village, which enlightened me, transforming an uneducated nomad boy into an educated human being.
Since then, I have lived the life of an exile. The saddest part of being a refugee is realizing that there is nothing around you that you truly own; even the heart in your chest chooses to run away every now and then, fleeing back toward the homeland. We live with such haste, our bags always packed, ready to move from one temporary place to the next. That is the challenge of having no place to call “home.”
I hold onto the hope that one day we will stand upon the land we have dreamt of for so long. I am hopeful that I will see my parents again, whom I have not met for 23 years. I am hopeful that we will resolve our cause and reunite with our countrymen before they pass away, one by one, into the night.
By Sonsnow
I love words and find it extremely difficult to find the right ones for you now. That is an amazing sacrifice to leave your family for a better life so in turn you could help give not only your family but your country a better life. It breaks my heart you cannot and have not seen them. I am humbled that you shared your story with me. Thank you.
Glad that you have gone through all of it, everyone of us have a story to share and it will always helps us to understand and console overselves when we know that there are many others out there, who are undergoing the same situation.
Thanks for your words
stay healthy !
I have a big story to tell. I just have not had the time to put it out there yet. I could actually write a book. My childhood was very different. I wish so many people could have experienced what I did growing up. We were not rich financially, but we grew up in a very loving home. It was truly magical. This is why my heart is so broken. Since my father has died our once close family is divided and crumbling. They have always been my anchor when I’m spinning out of control. Now I just spin.
Ya it’s good to write them in the form of a book, so that it can be passed and shared with many generations to come, and they won’t feel lonely when things gone out of their control.
Thanks for sharing all these and hope you will take care of yourself in this difficult time.
I saw my counselor this morning and my daughter is in her appt now.
Do you stay in touch with your family? Is there a way for you to ever go back to visit?
Oh that’s good, ya I am in debted to technology for keeping me stay touch with family, as of now I am not finding any way out to get there, but I will surely get back oneday and hopefully they will stay happy and healthy till then.
I am not trying to be nosey or too personal by any of my questions, but is it finances that keep you from going or you will not be able to get back out.
It’s the political reason which didn’t allows me to go back, the visa problems etc.
That makes me so sad for you. I could and would have been so willing to help you financially to get a flight there and back
That’s so kind of you! Thank you for your kind gesture, it means a lot to me.
It’s only the political problem which parted me out of my homeland. My only hope of getting back to a free homeland keeps me active and alive.
I want to extend my sincere thanks once again for your kind motivation of helping others.
I have suffered my losses. The positive is it has made me more loving, compassionate, I feel things deeper now. I have been lucky to make a good living the last year, and I have been paying that forward. I wanted to help you see your family if I could. Are they able to communicate with you with a computer, facetime, etc?
Sorry to hear your losses and my prayers and condolences are awlays with you. There isn’t any better gift than loving and kindness, which we can give to anyone else around us, and I am glad that you got those treasures which can’t be hunted by anyone else.
Ya I am fortunate enough to get a glimpse of them through video chat, which we do once or twice after every three months.
We do send each other voice messages quite frequently.
If I get back sooner or later by means of any fortune, you will be one of the first persons I would share my success story.
My personal email address is lisaricard227@gmail.com if you would like to chat there anytime. It humbles me to know your sacrifices. I have never had to make a choice to leave my family and country to hopefully one day set them free.
Thanks, so good to know you and will surely catch you through your address.
I look forward to sharing our stories and truths.
It is 2am in South Carolina. I am going to sleep. Blessings to you my friend.
Good night my good friend!
I hope you go back and meet you family, your homeland. 14 years is too long… Hope all your dreams come true Sonam… And I know it’s belated.. but welcome to India…
Thank You so much! I am grateful to India for the kind gesture we have received in the last 60 years. It has been a home away from home to me and many others, for which we will remain indebted to this great nation.
Wow! felt warm and fuzzy, reading your comment. Stay happy buddy!!
What powerful, powerful writing Sonsnow. You are an astounding human being. I stand with you in your struggle. Stand your ground and fight your fight. Your words are a powerful sword and touch the hearts of many around the world. May God continue to use and bless you and your people. We are all pilgrims and refugees on this earth…
Thank You,
“We are the pilgrims and refugees on this earth”, so true.
I am not sure what drew you to my blog, but I welcome you heartily and am now following yours as well. I am grateful to have virtually made your acquaintance and wish you peace and strength in your important work. I look forward to supporting you on your journey to find the equity and justness that you seek and deserve. I see so much promise in your intelligent dedication to the path you have set for yourself.
All good wishes,
Annie
I follow everyone whose words of wisdom enlightens me. So, thank you for your encouraging words and I will definitely keep your words in strengthening my spirit.
Reblogged this on Stories of Hope and commented:
http://www.journalistandwriter.wordpress.com
Hi Sonam
Thanks for the follow and likes.
if you want to follow me, go to
https://craigsbooks.wordpress.com/2019/09/18/craigs-list-of-blogs-about-300-of-them-at-wordpress/
(to find one or two of interest…perhaps)
and/or https://www.facebook.com/craig.lock.31
+
https://www.facebook.com/Uplift-Encourage-and-Inspire-479972392393133/
# Though my family and close friends say it would be far more entertaining with a video-camera* in the “real world”, rather than in cyberspace!)
* By the way, do they still make them in today’s ever-faster changing world..or is it all done with mobile phones?
(get with the times now,”luddite”* c – it should be a smart phone)
* or so I was often called by my “my techno-geek” friend, Bill (“the gonk”)
“total non-techno” c (who doesn’t possess a mobile phone, after a rather eventful’ experience some years back, whilst trying to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time) #
The impossible we do immediately; however miracles take a little longer!
* (You may think I’m joking, but just ask my friends!)
Who says men can’t multi-task!
Men…Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em!
“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”
– Colette (nice name for a girl, btw)
http://www.craigsquotes.woespress.com
All the best with your blog
Shared by “early bird” (very) * craig
* my “best” time (by far)
“Information and Inspiration Distributer, Incorrigible Encourager and People-builder” *
* not bridges (thank goodness)!
Well my family and friends say I’m “safest” just writing and sharing
Still
Driven to share, uplift, encourage and (perhaps even) inspire
PPS
“Live each day as if it’s your last…
and one day you’ll be right!
Don’t worry about the world ending today…
it’s already tomorrow in scenic and tranquil ‘little’ New Zealand
I read your story and I felt like you very much. Very good young man you are now. By you with your friend, escaped from Tibet to India at teenage, challenged all of the hardships and dangerous to such a successfully. I am also escaped from Vietnam to Australia with my three children by boat… In 1977. I miss my country very much, but, I only come back there when there are no more communist in there. I wish you well and do all the things you like. DTQT.
Thank You for your kind words, wishing you a happy and healthy year ahead. Stay safe in the midst of the outbreak of Coronavirus. I am also hoping to see my home (snowy mountain) one day when the Chinese communist party ends its occupation of Tibet.