Santa Barbara deems March 10th “Free Tibet Day,” Interfaith community prays for peace
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Locals from different faiths prayed for Tibet— a region of 3.6 million people that's governed by China but has a fierce independence movement with support around the world.
“From a multi-faith perspective, if someone's pain is there, that should be your pain, too. So we come to stand together to really say, ‘Hey, this shouldn't happen the way it's happening.’ Let's stop and let's end conflict,” said Mahomed Khan, who lives in Santa Barbara.
Sixty six years ago, in March of 1959, the people of Tibet took to the streets to protest against the communist China takeover.
The Chinese military brutally suppressed the uprising, and thousands of civilians died.
Thepo Tulku was only 5 years old when china took over, but he remembers that day like it was yesterday.
“ I remember the how much fear people have, and also we took like six months to reach to India because we have to skip through the mountains— mountains and caves,” said Tulku, who is the Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet Co-Founder.
Sixty six years later and protestors say China has turned Tibet into a resource extraction colony.
“ They take all of the resources that Tibet has and takes them back to Beijing so that the communist government can continue their power. There's spy apps on their telephones that they have to have. There's their kids are taken away from them and put into boarding schools. There's just a whole litany of things where Tibetans have no more rights in in communist China,” said Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet Co-Founder Kevin Young.
While the push for independence continues, locals raise their voices and the Tibetan flag.
“While they can’t raise Tibetan flags without being put in prison, we in freedom loving countries, we have the ability to protest,” said Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet Co-Founder Kevin Young.
March 10th has been deemed “Free Tibet Day” in Santa Barbara, and Thepo Tulku now calls Santa Barbara home.
