t h e   9-10-3   p r o j e c t

>  l e g s h e   t h a r c h i n

My name is Legshe Tharchin and I am 29 year-old Tibetan man. I was born in a village near Lhasa - the capital of Tibet. I grew up there with 10 other siblings and none of us got higher education opportunity because my family was very poor to provide the school fees which was too high for a farmer family. At the age of 18, I became a monk in a nearby monastery where I could obtain the opportunity for Buddhist studies and little bit of Tibetan language for for about 9 years.

However, having received the education of true Tibetan history and culture from higher educated monks in the monastery I understood that Tibet was an independent state and realised the significance of the freedom for the people of Tibet. Therefore, we some of the monks in our monastery stared organizing a free Tibet campaign through disseminating our free Tibet writings throughout the areas to open eyes of our Tibetan people in our areas in 1993. We disseminated a free Tibet writings three times and we also made several Tibetan national flags and were keeping them with our bodies to show the promise of our freedom struggle until Tibet regains its freedom from the Chinese consolidated occupation.

We were able to continue our campaign until 1995 when the local Public Security Bureau came to our monastery to search the rooms of the monks. At the time, the monks in our monastery were so united and they tried to stop the PSB officials searching our rooms. Nevertheless, the PSB officials got so angry and threatened the monks and finally they found the same writings that we had disseminated from one of the monks' room. This led them even more suspicious and they started arresting monks to who they had suspected to involve on the political activities. Totally, 35 monks got arrested and were sentenced. The minimum sentence that we got was 1 year. I was sentenced to 2-year imprisonment and later transferred to Trisam prison where over 30 different political prisoners were being detained at that time. I served the 2-year imprisonment during which I was sent to work on construction labor camp and to feed over 50 pigs.

I was released in 1997 and I then tried to re-join my monastery but I was not allowed to re-join the monastery because of my previous political activities. I was not even allowed to travel further than my village. Being an ex-political prisoner, the life was really hard in Tibet and even to live in my own village. Every time. The PSB officials would come to my family and ask questions without any particular reason. This made not only me in the state of limbo but also my whole family members. I therefore took the decision to leave Tibet for political asylum in India in order not to let my entire family suffer for me under the Chinese. I left Tibet behind in 1998 walked about 20 days over the Himalayan Mountains and finally reached Nepal and then Dharamsala where H.H the Dalai Lama resides.

Of course this was really the most difficult decision to take place because to leave my family, friends and my beloved motherland is to lead me to this present situation where I am not able to receive education without a scholarship. I am now living in Dharamsala where I study English. I would like to continue my English studies and to learn any kinds of studies when this would be help me fulfill my aim to serve the Tibetan community through which to restore the TIBET'S FREEDOM.

I am therefore requesting this from a kind generous person to support me for receiving education until I can stand on my own feet. This would be very much grateful and unforgettable in my whole lifetime. With my deep anticipation,

Yours truly,
Legshe Tharchin.

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