Name: Kalsang Dolma
(Alias: Yes)
Gender: Female
Interview Age: 58
Date of Birth: 1952
Birthplace: Phari, Utsang, Tibet
Year Left Tibet: 1974
Profession: N/A
Monk/Nun: No
Political Prisoner: No
Interview No.: 56M
Date: 2010-04-14
Language: Tibetan
Location: Doeguling Settlement, Mundgod, Karnataka, India
Categories: Oppression and Imprisonment
Keywords: brutality/torture, business practices/livelihood, childhood memories, Chinese -- oppression under, Chinese rule -- life under, Cultural Revolution, environment/wildlife, farm life, forced labor, imprisonment, thamzing/struggle sessions, Utsang
Summary:
Kalsang Dolma is the eldest of five siblings. Her father owned a horse-cart and earned a living by transporting wood from the forest of Dromo to the Chinese army camps. Later when her father was imprisoned, she carried on the work of her father. She recounts her experience during the Cultural Revolution. She describes how her parents were arrested in the middle of the night, imprisoned, tortured and labeled as "Dalai Clique."
The different kinds of thamzing 'struggle session' inflicted on the prisoners are discussed in detail. Kalsang Dolma talks about the ordeal she and her mother went through to obtain food for the younger children and imprisoned father. The miserable life of her family and other Tibetans during this period and her desperate wish as a child to see a miracle of His Holiness the Dalai Lama appearing in the sky are some of her vivid descriptions.
Kalsang Dolma is concerned about the environment of Tibet and talks about how the Chinese denuded the forests of Dromo and carted away centuries-old wood to China. She describes the serious impact it has had on the environment such as the melting of snow and rise in temperature.
Interview Team:
- Marcella Adamski (Interviewer)
- Tenzin Yangchen (Interpreter)
- Pema Tashi (Videographer)
