Tsewang Dolma at her office at the Tibetan Youth Congress.
Tsewang Dolma is the International Relations and Information Secretary for the Tibetan Youth Congress* (TYC) and has served as the first female president of Kathmandu’s Regional TYC. After spending only a little time with Tsewang, it becomes very clear that she is a brave and dedicated woman, and this passion for the Tibetan cause has taken her to the very heart of the fight for Tibetan Independence.
Tsewang’s upbringing in Jawalakhel Kathmandu, Nepal’s largest Tibetan settlement, put her on the front row of the fight for the Tibetan cause.
Growing up as the daughter of a Tibetan Buddhist monk turned freedom fighter, Tsewang’s youth provided plenty of opportunity to take up the Tibetan banner. Surrounded by other Tibetan refugees and so close to her ancestral home, Tsewang yearned for the wide open plains of her native Tibet.
“It was really unfortunate, to be born with a refugee identity, knowing that you will never see your fatherland. When people spoke of Tibet, their childhoods and the land, it made us very jealous, you know? We wanted to see it, to feel the air, to play on the mountains. It is something very sad, to be born in exile…”
Recalling her father’s work for the Tibetan army, Tsewang speaks often of her feelings of personal responsibility for aiding suffering Tibetans, at home and in exile.
“I would see my father and his team, and how much they sacrificed. When they were young, they wanted to do anything to protect the land. When we hear their story, and how they have done so much, we realise that now it’s our time. We should do something. So that’s what I’m trying my best to do.”
Living near a local elderly peoples’ home, Tsewang became familiar with the problems faced by elderly Tibetans. So in 2008 she started making T-shirts, fundraising and printing photographs to help the elderly peoples’ home in Jawalakhel settlement. Tsewang was also concerned for the future of young Tibetans. With few opportunities available in exile, many young Tibetans turn to drugs. Tsewang’s second project was a drug intervention program.
Nepal police disrupt a solidarity peace prayer by Tibetans
Kathmandu, November 2011.
Her work came to the attention of local Regional TYC executives who asked if she would like to join the local Regional TYC. “It was such an honour, you know, I was elected and people had faith, and had voted for me. And I feel very fortunate, to be part of the TYC.”
China’s influence in Nepal created difficulties for the TYC’s work with the Tibetan community. Any Tibetan event attracted a heavy police presence, and many pro-Tibetan activists were arrested without cause. Kathmandu RTYC members also received frequent threat calls, trying to scare them from their work. However, Tsewang was not so easily shaken “We used to get threats a lot. They tried their best to discourage us, but I would always tell them that their calling me really helped me a lot, to give me more strength, to do more, and I also welcomed them to call me again. And sometimes they got really pissed off [she laughs].”
Having earned the confidence of the Tibetan community, Tsewang was elected to the central committee in McLeod Ganj during the TYC general body in June 2013. She now serves as International Relations and Information Secretary for the TYC.
Tsewang Dolma
In just five years, Tsewang has made the journey from friendly neighbour to the top of the world’s largest pro-Tibetan NGO. Tsewang is a strong and motivated woman, but still she holds herself with all the grace and humility of a true Tibetan. These are her final words to Contact Magazine:
“I really want to thank your magazine for doing this article, because that’s how many people come to know about the issues of Tibet. I believe in the power of the media, when it tells the truth…
The truth always wins in the end.
Thank you.”
* The Tibetan Youth Congress is a Non Governmental Organisation set up in 1970. The organisation pursues four objectives: to serve Tibet under the guidance of our leader HH the Dalai Lama; preserve its culture and traditions; to promote solidarity and to work for the independence of Tibet, even at the cost of one’s life.
The TYC is the largest Tibetan organisation in exile, with 35,000 members and 88 chapters worldwide.
You can visit the TYC website at:
http://tibetanyouthcongress.org/
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