By: Stephanie Prokop
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIPWalking to Tibet from Bordentown may be an impossible feat, but a number of Tibetans and their supporters made their way through the area early this week as they participated in the 100-mile March for Tibet’s Independence.
The walk is the 13th major march or bicycle ride for Tibet’s independence organized by the International Tibet Independence Movement (ITIM) since 1995.
Larry Gerstein, who is the president of ITIM, said in a statement the group is demanding that China grant independence to Tibet, East Turkistan, Southern Mongolia, and Hong Kong, and that it "respect Taiwan’s sovereignty."
Protesters say China has for decades destroyed Tibet’s culture, customs and environment, and allege that it has abused many of Tibet’s inhabitants. China claims Tibet has always been a part of China, but supporters of Tibet say that it is an independent state being illegally occupied by China. Tibet borders India, where many Tibetan refugees seek safety.
ITIM was co-founded in 1995 by Mr. Gerstein and Thubten Jigme Norbu, who is recognized in Tibetan Buddhism as the lama Takster Rinpoche. He is the oldest brother of the Dalai Lama. While in his 70s, Takster Rinpoche led a number of the early marches. At the age of 85, he helped launch last week’s walk that began June 27 at the Chinese consulate in New York City and was scheduled to end July 4 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
As of Monday morning, Mr. Gerstein, and Takster Rinpoche’s son, Jigme Norbu, and the group of 30 walkers were walking down Route 130 approaching Florence Township, walking at about 2.5 miles per hour, and they were approximately two miles ahead of their schedule, Mr. Gerstein said.
He estimated that in the entire time they had been walking, most passers by had been really friendly, especially since they were carrying a large sign that read, "Honk for Tibet."
"In the last few days, I would say that we only have gotten screamed at a couple of times," said Mr. Gerstein.
The group is also handing out fliers, which are serving as educational tools to explain the current situation in Tibet.
The group walks for most of the daylight hours, with bathroom breaks and a lunch break. Mr. Gerstein and a few others travel along with the group in a van, supporting the team logistically, and making sure that the group stays hydrated and injury-free.
So far, the walkers’ major health issue has been blisters.
Mr. Gerstein describes one woman’s blisters as particularly painful. "I don’t know where she took her mind to with that pain, but she certainly transcended it," he said.
The group includes 26 native Tibetans from 13 to 77 years old, who come from New York, Massachusetts, California, Chicago, Indiana, Philadelphia, Vermont, Maryland, Virginia, and India.
The group has stayed at various churches along the route where they continue to do programs to educate various communities on the movement for Tibet’s independence.
The group is accompanied by several filmmakers making a PBS documentary that will tell Tibet’s story to an even larger television audience.
Along the way, the group has been giving interviews to news media in New Jersey and New York.
For more information on the group’s stance on Tibet’s current political situation, and Mr. Gerstein’s ITIM group, visit www.rangzen.org.
