ABSTRACT
I come from a village in Eastern Tibet. My family is semi-nomadic, raising livestock and farming. Before the Communist Chinese entered Tibet, my family was rich and well-respected. When the Chinese invaded our country, there was huge discrimination by the Chinese against the Tibetans. They treated us badly and said we were anti-Communist for favoring His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. The Communist Chinese arrested my father and uncle for demonstrating against the Chinese occupation. They were sent to prison and tortured. Finally, they were released, but they had to report to court twice a month. Because of my father and uncle’s case, the Communists wouldn’t let me marry a Tibetan woman. The Communist Chinese have never given the rights and opportunities to Tibetan people that they give to Chinese people. My family is devoted to the Buddhist religion and believe in His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. But in Tibet we do not have religious freedom; the Chinese government represses the Tibetan people’s faith and trust in their spiritual leader, and they forbid the Tibetan people to follow their religion.
