Now Tibet Is Not So Far

When I packed my sleeping bag that early morning before sunrise for this longjourney, I placed a white (khatak) scarf at the altar of His Holiness and said Ihave decided, whatever happens, I will make my way through. Walking for almost70 days with 300 people covering more than 900 kilometers through Himachal,Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, we reached Almora town yesterday in the Kumaonmountains in Uttrakhand. From here, Tibet is not very far.

The march to Tibet began from Dharamsala on 10th March, the same day similaruprisings happened all around the world, organized by Tibetans and Tibetsupporters, even in Tibet -- a global Tibetan uprising. We started with 100 coremarchers, on our way many more joined us. As we leave Almora tomorrow into thehigh mountain valleys towards Tibet, we are 300 marchers and eight supportmarchers who are foreigners from different countries, some of whom have beenwith us from Dharamsala.

All along the route the Indian people have welcomed us with warmth, cheeredour spirit and in some places offered us water and shelter. At most places wespent our nights in Ashrams, Gurudwaras and schools, sometimes on empty groundson the roadside, where the local municipality provided water in tankers drivenby tractors. Indians have a culture of going for long journeys across theircountry for pilgrimages and therefore hospitality is a natural custom. Thepolice have been sending an escort all along the route in jeeps or on motorbikespassing the security duty from one district to the next.

Candlelight vigil in Nainital

You must be aware that we were arrested by Indian police in Kangra districton the 13th March and jailed for 14 days. The second batch of the March waslaunched three days later and that carried on the March spirit. After ourrelease, all 100 of us rejoined the march, but there is already a court caseslapped on us. At the end of the last month, Choeying, Lobsang Yeshi and I hadto appear in Dehra court and will have to do that again in June.

I learned that some people had the impression from various media reports thatthe march had been canceled. I myself received phone calls from few people whosedoubts I cleared. Seeing an imminent confrontation at the border, His Holinessdid advise the organizers against the continuation of the march, but afterseeing the courageous non-violent uprisings that happened all over Tibet and theongoing Chinese crackdown on our people in Tibet, our commitment was revitalisedby their sacrifice and inspired us. Now we can't stop it. So we re-launched themarch to Tibet from Delhi on the 19th April after a temporary halt.

The journey from Delhi passing through UP was difficult; it was extremelyhot, dry and dusty. The trucks and buses on the highway threatened to run overus sometimes rushing by our ears, and sometimes stopping by to pick our campaignflyers that we were handing out on the road. As we walked one after the other ina long single file like the multiple legs of a millipede -- one long body. Evenwhen the head has taken the next turn, the tail is still trailing behind fromthe last corner.

The marchers wake up at 4 am, after washing and packing sleeping bags, tentsand mattresses, we have breakfast and start walking at 5 am. Usually walking for6 to 7 hours a day, we cover a distance of 20-25 kilometers, sometimes walkingeven 27 or 28 kilometers. The logistics and kitchen team move ahead in trucksand set up the camp. At many places water is a luxury. We bathe under hand-pumpwater taps on the roadsides; scores of monks bathe together sometimes in wheatfields. It's a great experience answering nature's calls in open fields underthe moonlight with a jug of water by your side.

Most of the marchers are Buddhist monks from the three monastic universitiesin south India; some old people who escaped from Tibet along with His Holinessthe Dalai Lama in 1959, the eldest one being 78. The youngest are two17-year-old boys, born and brought up in India who have never seen Tibet. Thereare several young mothers who left behind their family in the care of theirhusbands. Our communication team tries to reach out to the outside world andalso arranges opportunities to talk to local media. During the eveninggatherings, after the daily prayer, the media coordinator tells the news. Manytimes, the marchers applaud Tibet support actions taken in different parts ofIndia and abroad. The protest against the torch in London, Paris, San Francisco,Canberra and Tokyo received huge appreciation. The ongoing Tibetan protests inKathmandu are highly appreciated understanding Nepalese police brutality.

We are now starting the last leg of the march. From Almora to the border isnow barely 200 kilometers, and it will now be cold as we ascend higher into theHimalayas. I know returning to a homeland that is still under foreign occupationis not easy. Chinese military will of course guard the border with machine guns,even Indian police will find an excuse to stop us. Confrontation is inevitable,but we are not stopping. We may even have to camp at the border for a long time,might have to call for international support and participation. We march intouncertainty.

The march to Tibet is a process for us to return to our homeland and reclaimour right to be in our native land in freedom. Whatever happens, we have deepcommitment to non-violence; we will not retaliate. We may be beaten, jailed oreven shot at, but we are not giving up. And for me there is no other plan inlife other than this march. For all of us marchers, this is our life commitment.

For daily updates and photos about the march, and to read personal stories ofthe marchers please visit this website: We have a number of non-Tibetan support marchers who have been walking with usfor a couple days or longer, and some right from the beginning. If you areinterested in joining please contact our coordinator SherabWoeser. If you are far away or can't join us, you can help spread the word.Donations of sleeping bags, shoes and mattresses can be of great use. Yourfinancial contribution can help feed the Marchers and give water to keep usgoing. I count for every Tibetan's contribution towards this movement.

Bod Gyalo! (Victory to Tibet!)

Tenzin Tsundue, on the way to Tibet
May 13, 2008
Almora, Uttarakhand,
India