A Day of tribute to 'Pawos' and 'Pamos' of Tibet
“Let my blood nourish the root of freedom. Tell my people I love them, keep on fighting" read Sonam Lama of SFRTYC. The event was first initiated by Tibetan Youth Congress 11 years ago in response to the selfless act of courage by Pawo Thupten Ngodup, who self immolated himself during a hunger strike to bring awareness to the Tibetan cause.
April 29th marks Martyrs Day to commemorate all the courageous men and women of Tibet who have risked their lives or given their lives to keep our Independence movement alive. San Francisco Regional Tibetan Youth Congress organized this event to raise awareness of the sacrifice these freedom fighters took for the Tibetan cause.
The event included profiling of few selected individuals whose stories have inspired generations of Tibetans. Among them were Jampa Tenzin, Ngawang Sangdrol, Tanak Jigmey Sangpo, Ama Adhe, Palden Gyatso, and --. There was also a screening of Ritu Saring and Sonam Tsering’s documentary on the early armed resistance of Chushi Gangdruk and the CIA involvement called “ST Circus, CIA in Tibet”. SFRTYC president Tsering Dorje stressed the importance of taking the inspiration from the film and continue working towards our freedom struggle day in and day out on an individual basis.
Among the speakers were Tethong la who ---. He expressed his admiration for all the selfless Tibetans who tirelessly for decades gave their full effort in bringing about awareness for the Tibetan cause. He cited specific individuals who had gone out of their way and singlehandedly made major strides in bringing foreign government’s interest and action for Tibetans. His personal opinion lay in the fact that the real “Pawos” and “Pamos” were those that endured and resolved to fight for Tibetan freedom continuously for a long time, sometimes even paying the price with their lives. He still respects the idea of people going for protests once in a while or someone dedicates himself or herself to the cause for a short impulse of time. He does encourage people to have a longer range of dedication and resilience to continue our struggle to move on imminently.
