Solidarity Vigil For Tibetans inside Tibet in Canada, US, South America/ENG

2012. február 11./CTA/TibetPress

New York: Despite a cold wave that swept through many part of the north America this week, Tibetans and Tibet supporters came out in big numbers in many cities in Canada and the United States to take part in Global Solidarity Vigil on February 8.  Similarly, solidarity vigil and prayer service were also held in 16 cities in Latin American region.

Canada:  In Victoria on the west coast,  several dozens Tibetans and Tibet supporters, including a contingent of University of Victoria students, gathered in front of the British Columbia Legislative building and took part in a peaceful solidarity vigil, waving Tibetan flags and placards. Judy Tethong, a Victoria resident and president of the Canada-Tibet Committee, while speaking to Times Colonist said, “The world is not paying attention and Tibet is being brutalized…China’s continued crackdown in Tibet has provoked an unprecedented wave of self-immolations by Tibetan monks, nuns and laypeople.”

In Calgary in Alberta, dozens of Tibetans braved the chill and took part in a daylong fasting at the Olympic Plaza, which later culminated with a candlelight prayer service. Similarly in Toronto on the east coast, hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters gathered at the Nathan Phillips Square of downtown Toronto and staged a peaceful Vigil, expressing their grief over the loss of precious human lives in Tibet as a direct result of China’s inhuman brutality and showing their solidarity to the Tibetans in Tibet, who have been faced with untold sufferings.   

United States:  In the national capital in Washington DC, a large number of Tibetans and Tibet supporters staged a peaceful vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy in the capital city.  Speaking at the vigil, Chinese scholar and democracy activist, Dr. Yang Jianli, said: “The question of Tibet is not only a political issue but also a moral one. All of humanity is challenged. Every world leader must take this moral test, and just like any other test, one either passes or fails.”  He further said, “The sufferings of the Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese regime are unparalleled in the history of mankind, but so is their brave and peaceful resistance.”  (Read Dr Yang Jianli’s full speech)

Similarly in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco, hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters staged a peaceful vigil outside the Chinese Consulate in the respective cities.

A peaceful candlelight vigil was also held in other cities such as New York, Portland (Oregon), Salt Lake City, Boston, Minneapolis (Minnesota), Burlington (Vermon), and Philadelphia.  In New York City, hundreds of Tibetan gathered at the Central Square in midtown Manhattan to take part in candlelight vigil.  While speaking at the vigil, a Chinese independent writer and democratic activist, Chen Pokong, said, “It is a shame on the part of Chinese regime that they resorts to racial discrimination while dealing with Tibetan protesters in Tibet”.  “If a protest takes place in China, the authorities detain the key leaders and spare the protesters who took part in the protests, whereas in Tibet, the authorities do not spare the protesters and all are subjected to brutal crackdown,” he said.   

In other places such as Michigan, Ithaca, Indiana, Wisconsin (Madison, Santa Fe in New Mexico etc, the Tibetans and Tibet supporters took part in a prayer service.

Latin America:   Pained with the level of suffering the Tibetan people have been going through in Tibet, Tibet supporters and sympathizers in 16 cities took part in Global Solidarity Vigil on February 8.

In Mexico, candlelight vigil and prayer services were held in Mexico City, Morelia, Queretaro, Monterrey, and Ciudad De Aguascalientes.  During the vigil, the participants in respective cities also pasted their individual message of solidarity on the wall arranged at the venue which turned out to be quite emotional.  In Mexico City, participants also sang Tibetan national anthem led by a lone Tibetan doctor working at the Casa Tibet Mexico.

In Brazil, solidarity prayer services were held in Recif, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, and Florianopolis.  Several dozens Tibet supporters in each city took part in the event to show their solidarity for the Tibetan people inside Tibet.

A solidarity vigil was held in Montevideo in Uruguay, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Bogota in Colombia, San Jose in Costa Rica, and Cusco in Peru, where encouraging number of Tibet supporters took part in the event to show their solidarity for the Tibetan people.

At many of these vigils, poems on the current situation in Tibet written by Tibetans in Tibet were read to captivate the attention of the participants and onlookers alike and educate them on the situation inside Tibet.  The poems include “Fear in Lhasa” written by Tibetan poet and blogger, Woeser, “To Amye Machen” by an anonymous Tibetan poet in Tibet pen-named “The Plateau is My Home”, and ““Straying Far From Myself” by Dechen Hengme.  These and other poems were translated into Portuguese and Spanish.