Quake survivors see ray of hope in Dalai Lama visit request
Monday, 19 April 2010
JIEGU, China, Apr 18 (AFP): Lhamo Yongsuo's black dress matches the mood in China's northwest quake-hit region where nearly 1,500 have died, but upon seeing the Dalai Lama's image the Tibetan woman brightens.
On the streets of Jiegu, the nearest big city to the epicentre of the 6.9 magnitude quake, conversation buzzed on Sunday about the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's request to Beijing to let him visit the disaster area.
"The Dalai Lama is our god. Yes, we would like to see him come back. It would bring us tremendous joy if the central government allows him to come home. The Dalai Lama is our sun," Yongsuo said as she bowed before his image.
Facing the photo of the Dalai Lama in the window of a taxi, two other women also bowed profusely with Yongsuo, who is in her fifties.
The Dalai Lama made his appeal on Saturday, saying he wanted to be with the earthquake victims in Qinghai, where he was born nearly 75 years ago. He has not set foot in China since 1959 after he fled a failed anti-Chinese uprising.
"To fulfil the wishes of many of the people there, I am eager to go there myself to offer them comfort," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said in a statement issued from Dharamshala, his home in exile in northern India.
On the streets of Jiegu, the nearest big city to the epicentre of the 6.9 magnitude quake, conversation buzzed on Sunday about the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's request to Beijing to let him visit the disaster area.
"The Dalai Lama is our god. Yes, we would like to see him come back. It would bring us tremendous joy if the central government allows him to come home. The Dalai Lama is our sun," Yongsuo said as she bowed before his image.
Facing the photo of the Dalai Lama in the window of a taxi, two other women also bowed profusely with Yongsuo, who is in her fifties.
The Dalai Lama made his appeal on Saturday, saying he wanted to be with the earthquake victims in Qinghai, where he was born nearly 75 years ago. He has not set foot in China since 1959 after he fled a failed anti-Chinese uprising.
"To fulfil the wishes of many of the people there, I am eager to go there myself to offer them comfort," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said in a statement issued from Dharamshala, his home in exile in northern India.