Leaving Tibet, A Woman's Story.

The year was 1958 and the young Punchok Angmo was told by her parents that they would be leaving their homeland Tibet for Nepal. She was 7 years old and did not quite understand why she needed to leave her home set in the highlands.

I was sitting in a small Tibetan cafe set back away from the bustling streets of Pokhara when a kind voice from behind me asked where I was from. I turned around to see the aging yet gentle face of a Tibetan woman. We introduced ourselves, her name was Punchok Angmo, though she asked if I would call her Aama, Nepali for Mother. This is what most people call their elders here as a show of respect for the older generations. Aama invited me to sit and have tea with her. Her English was very good despite never having a formal education. I asked Aama if she would tell me the story of her leaving Tibet. She gazed into the distance as if to look back on her childhood in a land forgotten, a tear slowly rolled down her face.

"That was a long time ago." She began. "My family were herders on the great plains of Tibet, we had yaks, goats, sheep, and horses." In the summer months Punchok lived a nomadic life following the herds living in a mobile hut made from yak hides, she travelled with her three siblings, and older and younger brother and a younger sister, along wither her grand parents and aunt and uncle. "Life was simple there, we would work and pray." In the winter months they had a small home in a village in central Tibet located near many friends and family.

"One day we were told the Chinese were coming, and we heard the Dalai Lama had left the country." Punchok and her family packed up some supplies and left most things behind. "We could only travel at night, because the Chinese were looking for us during the day and would catch us." Every night they would move slowly through the country towards refuge over the border in Nepal, though this was no easy task. "It was always very cold, and there was always a lot of snow." Their journey into Nepal took almost an entire year, travelling only at night, with only the moon and stars to light their way. "I felt very scared, I was afraid of the dark, and I was afraid the Chinese would find us and kill my family." Though it was not the Chinese who would be their only mortal danger. "We had to cross the high mountain pass to come into Nepal. There was much snow and ice, and it was very cold. My father became very ill and weak from the cold, and then my older brother." One night high up on a mountain pass Punchok's father lay down in the snow and did not get back up. "I had to watch him die there, I was very sad, but my family made me keep going and we left him behind."

Punchok's family arrived in northern Nepal in early 1959. Her brother's condition worsened and he died soon after their arrival. The hard times did not end there. Her mother also became very ill after the journey and in a years time she also passed away before the family relocated to Pokhara, Nepal. She lost almost her entire family all before she was 9 years old. "When we arrived at the refuge camp in Pokhara, I was relieved to be there, but life here was so hard." Despite the country offering refuge to Tibetans there is very little more available. "They do not let us have jobs or citizenship." Times are hard for the Nepalese, though they are harder for the Tibetans. There are very few jobs to go around for the natives, and the ones available are reserved for citizens of the country. "Things got better when I married my husband at 25, he had a job and we raised a family." Things went well for their family for some years until the Maoist up rise. "The Maoists do not want Tibetans to have jobs, so they took away my husband's job and gave it to a Nepalese." Out of work, Punchok's husband turned to alcohol. "He drank much alcohol, and his liver stopped working. Without money we could not get him medical help, so he died." Punchok's two sons are also out of work, and her older son (age 27) has also developed a serious drinking problem. "Many Tibetan people have drinking problem. It is all they can do."

Punchok shows me the contents of her small backpack full of handmade jewelry and explains to me that this is the only way the people in her community can make money, in dire hopes that they can sell a few pieces to passing tourists. "I buy beads when I have the money, I make crafts everyday. Though it is very hard to sell to tourists without a shop." This explains the many Tibetan women in Pokhara walking the streets desperately trying to pull you aside to look at their handicrafts. "When I sell crafts, I buy some food, and send money to my sons so they can eat." I asked Aama if she has hope for her homeland or her people. "I pray everyday, sometimes I say 'Om Mani Padme Hum' ten thousand times or more." This is the Buddhist prayer for compassion. Punchok explains that she has faith in the Dalai Lama, and hopes that one day her children or grandchildren can return to the homeland that they have only read about in books.

I invited Aama for a walk and we talked some more, she taught me some Tibetan words and gave me a small necklace bearing the Buddhist symbol for protection. We parted ways and made plans to meet for tea the following day. When she arrived I purchased a handful of her handmade jewelry. She took my hand in hers, her skin was dry and cracked. She had a large smile on her face. "I knew when I met you that you would help me, you have a very good soul. Thank you my son." She gave me a hug and returned to her home at the refuge camp.
For a long time I have read about Tibet and the Chinese oppression, though to meet someone who has lived through it and is a victim is a humbling experience. To learn more about Tibet and Tibetan people please visit http://www.savetibet.org/.