Parents of young man who set himself on fire appeal to young Tibetans not to hurt themselves but to fight with education and culture

19-year-old Tenzin Choeying set himself on fire in Varanasi. He died after a week later from 90% burns. He was cremated to at Dharamsala.

 


Dharamsala (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The parents of a 19-year-old Tibetan who set himself on fire in Varanasi on July 14, are begging Tibetans not to resort to self-immolation, but to fight for their cause through education and Nonviolence.

Ngawang Khedup and Tashi Yangzom, father and mother of Tenzin Choeying, spoke to the media, receiving the body of their dead son yesterday. Today, Tenzin's body was cremated after prayers at Lhagyal-Ri, Dharamsala, the capital of the Tibetan government in exile and official headquarters of the Dalai Lama.

The father of the deceased said: "Tibetans old or young, we all have a collective responsibility. For future generations, I insist on continuing to fight for the Tibetan cause with full education because it is a shame to lose even one Tibetan life. "

Tashi Yangzom, his mother, asked young people not to take their own lives, stressing the importance of preserving the legacy of Tibetan culture and language.

19-year-old Tenzin Choeying of Dhondenling (Kollegal) self-immolated on July 14 during a meeting with other young people at a conference held by Sikyong Lobsang Sangay. He was immediately admitted to the hospital in Varanasi, but then transferred to New Delhi. His condition became very critical because of 90% burns to the body. The young man died on 22 July.

Yesterday, all Dhondenling's Tibetan shops remained closed in respect. According to his cousin, the last words of Tenzin were "Bod, Bod (Tibet, Tibet)".

Since the beginning of the self-immolations in 2009, the Dalai Lama has urged young people who contemplate this desperate gesture not to do so because in losing their lives, they lose the opportunity to contribute positively to the rebirth of Tibet. He claims that these desperate gestures are the result of the "cultural genocide" that China is imposing on the Tibetan people. In all these years, more than 150 people have taken their lived by self-immolation.