Joseph Vasile and students from Upper TCV with their peace flags
When Miami-based middle school teacher, Joseph Vasile, set out for Dharamsala he came with a mission. Bringing a passion for teaching to Lha’s conversation classes, he also brought with him “Peace Flags in the Wind,” a large-scale art installation begun by Vasile in his own classroom back in the US.
“It began as a way to show youth that although people have different cultures, religions, and backgrounds the one thing they all have in common is a desire for peace. In creating this, I thought about prayer flags, their history, and wind being a catalyst for prayer. If every person creates their own flag and we string them together, then all their messages are sent out, demonstrating all their different visions of peace in one united piece of art.”
“Peace Flags in the Wind” has held workshops all over the world, bringing participants together to create prayer flags with their own visions of peace as the design. Vasile has even brought his project to disaster-stricken areas like the US Gulf Coast after the 2010 oil spill or Haiti after its devastating earthquake.
In July 2012, the project made its way to Dharamsala. More than 500 flags were created by members of the Tibetan and Indian communities, at workshops held at Lha Social Work, Gu Chu Sum, Sarah College, Upper TCV, Yongling School, LIT, and the Tibet Hope Center. Vasile was also granted special permission to visit the Reception Center, where newly-arrived refugees from Tibet contributed their images of peace to the project.
“No two flags have ever been the same,” said Vasile. “People draw what’s around them and in doing so they change the environment of the place in an uplifting, inspiring way.”
In a grand finale, the flags were hung at Tsuglhakang Temple for the celebration of HH the Dalai Lama’s 77th birthday – a great honor for all the participants. “I saw my flag, made with my own bare hands, hanging there with all the others next to the Tibetan National Flag,” said TCV student Samdup. “I was so proud. I wish all those kids and people from other countries who made flags could have been there to see it, and to feel what I felt.”
Students at TCV Day School with their peace flags
For Vasile, also, it was a moving experience. “It felt like every one of the 4,000 people who contributed to the exhibit was there. To hear a national anthem that’s illegal in its homeland and for all these people from around the world to have their messages, words, and symbols for peace there… it felt like a universal experience.”
In August, “Peace Flags in the Wind” traveled to Ladakh and will soon return home to Miami. But the project is far from finished. For more information or to find out how you can contribute, please visit www.jvasile.net or www.whattheflower.com.
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