Tibet Oral History Project: Interview with Kalsang Dolma (alias) on 4/14/2010

The interpreter's English translation provided during this interview is potentially incomplete and/or inaccurate. If you are not fluent in Tibetan, please refer to the interview transcript for the complete and correct English translation. Read the interview transcript in English at http://tibetoralhistory.org/Interview...

** This interview about life in Tibet was conducted by the Tibet Oral History Project. This non-profit organization aims to preserve the history and culture of the Tibetan people by interviewing elderly Tibetan refugees about life in Tibet before and after the Chinese invasion. Learn more at http://www.TibetOralHistory.org.

** Interview 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.