Lhakar as prominently known in the Tibetan community for every Wednesday as a mark of a revolution to dedicate the day of the week just for Tibet, bluntly translates to White Wednesday. Here is a Tibetan immigrant in London who dedicates every Wednesday to raise awareness about Tibet issue through a peaceful demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy there.
Lobsang Palden aka Tenzin Yignyen is a Tibetan activist who makes peaceful demonstrations in front of the Chinese Embassy in London every Wednesday along with other British Tibet supporters like Chas and Cees, holding flyers reading ‘Tibet is not a part of China’, sporting the Tibetan national flag that is banned inside Tibet.
When Tibetan Journal interviewed Tenzin, he explained that when he first migrated to London more than almost a decade ago, he encountered an elderly British woman who has been a staunch supporter of Tibet inviting the Tibetan people to take part in an activity called Wednesday vigil at a gathering of Tibetans and Tibet supporters there. The Wednesday vigil was part of those Tibet supporters’ activity to create awareness about the Tibet issue by making a peaceful demonstration in front of the Chinese Embassy in London, distributing the information of truth about China’s force annexation of Tibet to the public passers by.
Following that invitation, Tenzin has been taking part in this Wednesday vigil or Lhakar program since 2009 and most of the times he has also been known as the lone Tibetan activist who never gives up in making the demonstration near the Chinese Embassy in London every Wednesday over the last decade, recognised for sporting the ‘Free Tibet Save Tibet’ head band and the majestic Tibetan flag flying alongside him.
According to his opinion, it is his hope that their Wednesday vigil is able to create awareness about Tibet to the general public passing through the locality, especially he believes is significantly making an impact upon the tourist groups passing through their regular venue as well as during occasional international gatherings that take place within the Chinese Embassy. This is the driving force behind his continued inspiration to keep going with the demonstration despite there are no visible results to measure yet!
When China completely invaded Tibet after a tragic military coup in 1959, thousands of Tibetans followed their spiritual and temporal leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to exile in India. While China imposed policies to eradicate the Tibetan traditions and culture, under the leadership of His Holiness, Tibetans rebuilt their cultural centres in exile, especially in India and revived the Tibetan traditions. While Lhakar is a revolution to embrace Tibetan root, many Tibetans in the diaspora indulge in spreading the word of truth about Tibet in the communities they live.
Leave a Reply