I was reading my newsletters tonight about the current situations in Tibet, and I found out that April 25, 2011, was the 22 birthday of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, better known as the Panchen Lama. For those who don't know (though I'm imagining most do, especially if you are friends with me. I bitch about this a lot, and shove his picture in everyone's face), Nyima was "disappeared" when he was six years old. That means that the Chinese government essentially kidnapped him. He was taken away and hasn't been seen since. And why, exactly?
The Panchen Lama is the second highest religious figure in Tibet (after, of course, the Dalai Lama). After taking away Nyima, the Chinese government chose their own Panchen Lama, one of Chinese descent, and put him in the role of Panchen Lama. I obviously do not blame this person. He had nothing to do with what happened. But the fact remains that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has not been seen in sixteen years. SIXTEEN.
I would REALLY like to believe that he was still alive to celebrate his birthday this year, but I don't. I really don't. In the eleven years that I have been studying Chinese occupied Tibet, I have been reading articles about the fights and petitions to at least see one bit of evidence that Nyima is alive, even if it is just letting one person visit him. No progress has been made in all of those sixteen years. No one has seen him in all that time. And if he IS alive, it's more than likely he is suffering severely, given the accounts given by Tibetans formerly kept prisoner.
No matter what, I will continue to keep Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in my prayers. Hopefully someday we will see his face again. Hopefully he is still alive. Hopefully, he at least is not suffering.
Please, everyone, pray for Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
No comments:
Post a Comment