Kunchok Dorjee

 
On Saturday the next morning (May 19), Kunchok came to the Green Hotel and Bryan, Nicole and I went up to his apartment as Bryan carried the suitcase given by Lama Deshek. Bryan went his way and Kunchok took us to the Tibetan Women Association where we talked with a member of the organization and bought some books.

 
We then went back to the hotel to give the rest of the group an opportunity to follow Kunchok along with us. Haley, Lauren, Alea, Phil and Bryan joined us as Kunchok guided us to the Tibetan Youth Congress. There, we sat with a member of TYC and had a clear and very interesting explanation of the Tibetan struggle and the Chinese invasion. We were explained the Dalai-Lama's Middle Path policy, demanding an autonomous Tibet, and the conflicting views of some younger Tibetans who refused to settle and who wanted no less than Tibet's total independence.

"The members of the Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) resolved to struggle for the cause of Tibet under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in the spirit of national unity without giving quarters to sectarianism and regionalism, to preserve and promote Tibetan culture and religion and to lay down their lives, if necessary, in order to regain Tibetan Independence."
We discussed the mission of TYC and learned about the Aims and Objectives of its members:
To dedicate oneself to the task of serving one's country and people under the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and Temporal Ruler of Tibet.
To promote and protect national unity and integrity by giving up all distinctions based on religion, regionalism or status.
To work for the preservation and promotion of Tibet's unique culture, traditions and the Dharma.
To struggle for the rightful independence of Tibet even at the cost of one's life.
(www.tibetanyouthcongress.org)


 

Kunchok then led us to the Lung-Ta House where we met members of the Former Political Prisoner's Association of Tibet. The organization receives and helps ex-political prisoners with food, shelter, financial assistance and psychological support. We visited a display room showing keys events through pictures of Tibet since the beginning of the Chinese invasion. Disturbing pictures showed the results of the torture inflicted to Tibetan political prisoners and some of the tools used to this end, such as miniature handcuffs designed to tight the thumb of each hand together. The visit was an emotional moment for all of us and the pictures moved us to tears.
(www.guchusum.org)
 

   
We went back into in McLeod Ganj's main street, looking around before splitting for lunch and joining the hotel where we rested on our balconies. There we enjoyed the views and spotted several monkeys on the roofs before us.