Tensions

Yesterday was a pretty rough day around Boudha.  Much of the Tibetan community around Nepal, including much of my Ama-la’s family, has descended on Kathmandu following the rash of self-immolations by monks and nuns in Tibet.  The regional Tibetan Youth Congress organized a meeting and mass prayer session which began three days ago.  A twelve hour hunger strike was planned for the first day and participants were writing blood letters addressed to members of the upcoming G20 summit.  Unfortunately both ‘anti-China activities’ and any congregation of more than four Tibetans is illegal in Nepal so clashes with the police were inevitable.

 The first day close to 60 Tibetans were detained in the morning and released in the evening but things escalated on day 2 as a woman leaving the demonstration poured kerosene on herself and tried to immolate.  She was stopped, as the image below shows, by people around her before disappearing into the crowd.  My ama-la’s brother, who has been sleeping in our apartment, was one of those arrested during the second day.  He was released in the evening but too late to come home to sleep, and so we only saw him the following morning.

Photo credit: Someone who is not me