Tibetans in Exile

Over 60 years ago, the People's Republic of China ordered its troops to spread into the region southwest of its borders to start campaign of “cultural cleansing.” The troops quickly invaded the sovereign nation of Tibet and seized control. As the following months turned to years and years turned to decades, Chinese government continues its campaign, committing relentless, terrible acts of violence on Tibetans forced to endure the brutal encounters. More than 1 million Tibetans have been killed.

The occupying Chinese military has destroyed 6,000 Buddhist monasteries, and the government currently holds an estimated 3,000 religious and political prisoners either in prisons or tortured and placed in work-camps. The XIV Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled his country after the 1959 Tibetan Uprising. For the past 53 years, he has lived in India as an exile. The mountain town of Dharamsala in the Indian province of Himachal Pradesh provides sanctuary to the Dalai Lama and has become his home as well as home to hundreds of Tibetan refugees who have founded the headquarters for the Tibetan Government in Exile.

Experiencing the bold friendliness of the Tibetan people as I walked the meditation path through the forest to the mountaintop temple has strongly instilled in me new concepts on how a collective of people can embrace and struggle against terrible injustices committed against them with astounding resilience and loving patience.

These thoughts stuck with me as I approached the Tsuglagkhang temple. Above a series of Buddhist prayer wheels, I saw a sign standing reading, "These wheels containing Avalokiteshvara's mantra 'Om Mani Padme Hum' are built with the prayer that his holiness, the Dalai Lama, lives for many eons and all all his wishes be fulfilled. Pray and show our solidarity for those brave men and woman of Tibet who lost their lives for the cause of Tibet. Pray for the happiness of all sentient beings".

Hours later when leaving the monastery I couldn't help but smile when passing a roadside sign that read, "Better late than never."

A Tibetan doctor diagnosing a patient by feeling their pulse - Dharamsala.

A faithful Buddhist woman in prayer - Gyuto Ramoche Monastery.

Monks in prayer- Tsuglagkhang Temple.

Child monk ascends the monastery stairs - Gyuto Ramoche Temple.

Studying Tibetan scripture - Mcleod Ganj.

Urban Slums of Srinagar, Kashmir

With the cold winter weather approaching fast I decided to travel into Kashmir with the hopes of documenting the lives of the struggling lower class before the inevitable snow storms hit the region. Although I was lucky enough to avoid the incoming storm, the weather was still freezing with temperatures dropping to -7 degrees at night. Trudging through the frozen mud I made my way through the urban slums Naidyar and Sheikh colony in Kashmir's capital city, Srinagar. According to the locals I conversed with, the main struggle of the lower class is not owning land (most families have land and houses passed down from previous generations) but finding a job with a high enough income to support the entire family. Life inside the Naidyar and Sheikh colony slums is a hard one and can be considered modest at best. Many of the houses are held up by tin sheets or torn tarps stung up to make an impromptu wall. For those living in the center of the slums, clean water is hard to come by and each family is tightly packed together in the maze of small, squalor soaked alleyways.

Even with the current lull in violence from the Indian army the effects of a constant military occupation on a region's economy is still very clear as life can become a day to day battle for the lower class.

Man walking down a waterway path - Naidyar slum.

Boy in an alleyway - Naidyar slum.

Brother and sister - Sheikh colony slum.

Girl being lectured by family in candle light - Naidyar slum.

Photo shy girl - Sheikh colony slum.

Kashmir: 65 Years of Occupation

Since the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947 the state of Kashmir has been divided and controlled by both countries. Over the past 65 years Kashmir has fluctuated between moments of peace and revolt. Violence has been committed by both sides with the killing of Indian soldiers from nationalist rebels or religious extremists (Kashmir is predominantly Muslim compared to the southern Hindu region of Jammu or the eastern Buddhist region of Ladakh). As with most military occupations, whenever there is militancy against the ruling power it is almost always the civilian population that suffers the consequences. Military checkpoints are placed along the roads and night raids into private homes can be frequent. There has also been reported incidences of mass rape (Kunan Poshpora village) committed by the Indian army as well as thousands of civilian arrests and imprisonments without a stated cause or due process.

My next post will cover the lives of people living in the urban slums of the Kashmiri capital city of Srinagar. For the few days it took to set up that story with my contacts I lived on the outskirts of the city in a small village nestled on an inlet of Dal Lake to do a small story on rural life. This massive lake dominates the landscape and many of the local farmers and fishermen rely on this body of water for their livelihoods.

A woman transporting her crops.

A man farming for edible underwater roots.

A woman rowing into town.

The Golden Temple of Amritsar, Punjab

I was on my way to Kashmir to document a story on the urban slums when I passed through the city of Amritsar along the Pakistan border. The city is home to the most sacred sight for the Sikh religion, The Golden Temple. This being my first time encountering a large Sikh community I was profoundly humbled by the openness and compassion showed to pilgrims and travelers alike. Everyone is welcome to stay and room on the temple grounds and a 24 hour free kitchen is offered to all. Dozens of volunteers sit chopping and pealing vegetables to feed the hoards of people eating together in several row on the floor in a great hall. People walk up and down the rows gifting food to whoever holds out their hand. No one is allowed to go hungry. Rich business men sit and eat with the poor. There is no difference in class; we are all equal.

Man admiring the Golden Temple.

Sikh pilgrim by the sacred pool.

Sikhs are historically known as strong warriors.