"Mourning" - A Poem About the Self-Immolations

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a poem titled "Mourning" by a Tibetan blogger named Sengdor, the poem was posted online on October 11, 2011.

On October 7, 2011, two former monks from Kirti Monastery in eastern Tibet set fire to themselves in Ngaba county town and later died from their wounds. This string of self-immolations in Ngaba continue, with news of another self-immolation just yesterday, an emotionally distressing time for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet.

The poem "Mourning" is a response to these self-immolations and the post has received over 1000 views and 40 comments. To avoid repetition, High Peaks Pure Earth has translated just four of the comments below.

"Mourning"

By Sengdor

The sadness of living is more painful than death
Unbearable sorrow turned you all into glowing red skeletons

The mouth quivers with flames
The hands are pierced with flames
Flames burn in the breast
Rosary beads of fire scatter to the ground

Look at the smoke rising
from the monastery’s golden roof
Look at the doors of each monk's cell

In every moment
After a storm bursts on one grassland
Another storm bursts on the other grassland
Following the direction of the wind
Dark shadows move accordingly

                                  - Written on one night of October 2011

Comments:

#27. The light which is set on by the lives of the two heroes will shine their way and I believe the truth will eventually prevail. My condolences with a pulsating heart.

#29. I want to express my great respect to both the dead and living heroes. In the meantime, I want to say that the body, the base of the mind, should not be offered as a butter-lamp offering. If we were able to keep our language alive, protect the land of our father and house of our mother, the sky would turn into blue and the sun would rise from behind the clouds again. From Mindrug.

#30. A soul of determination disappeared in the grassland, warm blood washed over the snow mountain and a burden called for attention.

#33. I saw Mr. Gethiong and Sister Mindrug express their condolences. Thank you very much. Sister Mindrug said "It is important to keep your mind and that you should not offer your body as a butter-lamp offering." By Sengdor.

LATEST Smuggled Video From Tibet of Self Immolate Protests against China's Brutal Occupation

 A teenage Tibetan monk lies partially clothed on the street, his body smoking from setting himself on fire, in a video leaked out of China by Tibetans who believe it was one of several self-immolations in protest of Chinese 50+ years of Brutal Occupation of Tibet.

At least Ten Tibetans in their late teens and 20s have set themselves on fire since March, with five or more of them dying from their injuries.

The man in the video is believed to be Lobsang Konchok, who tried to set himself on fire Sept. 26 at Kirti Monastery in Sichuan province's Aba prefecture, where tensions between monks and the authorities have been high for months.

The shaky 34-second video begins after the fire was doused and shows white fire extinguisher residue covering Lobsang and the ground around him. A woman screams in Tibetan in the background and a police car and several uniformed People's Armed Police officers are visible behind his prone body, but do not appear to assist him.

One officer then approaches the camera and says in Chinese, "No filming," before the video ends. The Associated Press released the video Sunday.

The individuals who shared it with AP did so on condition of anonymity for fear the videographer and those who helped get the video out of China could be punished by the Chinese government.

STAND UP FOR TIBET ! SIGN This Petition: http://standupfortibet.org/enough/dk-speakup-petition-1/

Tibetans inside Tibet have been protesting for 50+ years for Freedom in Tibet from Chinese Brutal Occupation !

Other Self Immolation protests:
Link: http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=30179&article=A+Tibetan+nun+di...
October 17: Reports coming out of Tibet confirm the demise of yet another Tibetan, this time a nun, after she torched her body in an apparent protest against China's continued occupation of Tibet.

Tenzin Wangmo, around 20 years of age, set herself on fire at around 1 pm local time in the Ngaba region of eastern Tibet today.

The exile base of Kirti Monastery, citing eyewitnesses, in a release today said that Tenzin Wangmo self immolated on a crossroad near her monastery, the Mamae Dechen Choekhorling Nunnery, about 3 kms away from Ngaba County.
"Tenzin Wangmo was engulfed in flames as she marched on the streets for nearly 7 to 8 minutes raising slogans calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from exile and religious freedom in Tibet," the release said.

Tenzin Wangmo died immediately.

According to the release, nuns from the Mamae nunnery carried Tenzin Wangmo's body to the nunnery and despite repeated warnings from Chinese security personnel, refuse to give possession of the deceased's body.

"The Chinese authorities have given the nuns an ultimatum to either hand over the deceased's body or bury Tenzin Wangmo's body by tonight," the release said.

The situation around Mamae nunnery, which is the largest nunnery in the Ngaba region with over 350 nuns, is being described as tense.

This is the ninth incidence in this year alone when a Tibetan has been driven to the extreme sacrifice of burning one's own body as a last resort of peaceful action against the Chinese government's repressive policies in Tibet.

The first 17 days of October has already witnessed five self-immolations in Ngaba region.

Khaying, Choephel, and Tenzin Wangmo succumbed to their injuries while Kesang Wangchuk is being described in critical condition. There is no information as yet on the whereabouts of Norbu Damdul who was last seen being taken away by Chinese security personnel on October 15.

The Central Tibetan Administration in a release earlier today said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be presiding over the "grand prayer service to mourn the tragic self-immolations in Tibet" scheduled for October 19 in Dharamshala, north India.

Lobsang Konchok,18 years old from Kirti monastery, set fire to himself on September 26, 2011. He waved the banned Tibetan national flag and called for religious freedom, and "Long live the Dalai Lama" before he self-immolated. His well-being and whereabouts are unknown.

10 Tibetans have set fire to themselves this year in protest. Stand up for Tibet and the Tibetan people now: http://standupfortibet.org/

Tibetans Burn Fur to Protect Animals & Show Loyalty to The Dalai-Lama

If they CAN, why CAN'T we?

This powerful video recently* received from Tibet shows a dramatic scene from early 2006 in Machu County in Amdo, eastern Tibet. Thousands of Tibetans, mostly nomads can be seen making religious offerings for the protection of wildlife, praying for the Dalai Lama’s long life, and jubilantly discarding animal pelts into a massive bonfire while screaming “Long live the Dalai Lama” and “Victory to Tibet!”

The burning of animal fur, some of which had the monetary value equivalent to a car, was carried out in response to a statement by the Dalai Lama in which he said he felt “ashamed” when he saw Tibetans wearing the pelts of endangered animals such as tigers or leopards.

Within days of the Dalai Lama’s appeal, tens of thousands of Tibetans from across Tibet held massive gatherings where animal skin hats, shirts and Chubas were thrown into large bonfires.

For background information on the 2006 fur burning campaign and analysis on how wearing exotic pelts is not part of traditional Tibetan culture, read “Burning the animal skin, revolution sparked in Tibet.”

Since 2006, Tibetans in Tibet have consistently shunned the practice of wearing clothing decorated with furs. In many cases Tibetans are ordered to wear expensive furs during traditional festivals to provide tourists with an image of Tibetan culture that conforms to Chinese stereotypes. In a dramatic assertion of Tibetan identity, this state sponsored re-invention of Tibetan culture has been rejected by Tibetans.

Many Tibetans across Tibet are engaging in a self-reliance movement by taking concrete, sustainable actions as part of Tibet’s Lhakar or “White Wednesday” movement.

For more on Tibet’s Lhakar movement, go to:http://lhakar.org

Please sign this statement in support of global diplomatic intervention for Tibet, and to stand up for Tibetans who have the right to live in peace and freedom like every other human being.

Nine young Tibetans have set fire to themselves in eastern Tibet since March 2011; seven since 26 September. Five have died including a nun. These unprecedented and truly desperate acts are a cry to the outside world for help.

Seven of these self-immolations are linked to Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, one of the largest and most influential monastic institutions in Tibet. China’s merciless and violent crackdown in Ngaba and throughout Tibet is intensifying Tibetan grievances and exacerbating the resentment and desperation felt across Tibet

This growing tragedy, if left unchecked, could spiral even further into a nation-wide crisis, unless the world acts now.

The international community, both citizens and governments, must Stand Up for Tibet. Global diplomatic intervention now will save Tibetan lives.

We demand a coordinated international response by world leaders to condemn China’s repressive measures in Ngaba and across Tibet, and to institute multi-lateral mechanisms to advocate for the Tibetan people. Most immediately, we call on China to withdraw its security forces from Ngaba and across Tibet now, and stop the ongoing harassment and torture of monks.

http://standupfortibet.org/enough/dk-speakup-petition-1/

Source: waxpolitical

Ninth Tibetan, a Nun, Immolates Herself in Anti-China Protest