Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This week has been fascinating. I have got to know the boys (I call them boys but they are really young men) so well and I learn as much from them as they do from me. I have taken the lead in teaching them English grammar from some exercise books we found in the house. So far I, along with Amy and Craig have taught them the past and present tense and orders and requests. My immaculately prepared German lessons from school have stayed with me and I’m using all the techniques my old teacher Frau Anschütz taught me. I have made a role play using requests and complaints, complete with props, and have mixed board writing with group interaction. At the end of each lesson we are working our way through ‘Hansel and Gretel’ which I found on the internet and think is the right level for them. They each read out a section and we then discuss any words or phrases they don’t understand. One young boy, Tenzin has a short concentration span so I’ve set him the task of illustrating a scene from the story, as he loves painting. So far it has got him interested which is very rewarding.
The organization is not an official rehabilitation centre as its services are free of charge. They are reocgnised as a ‘House of Peace’ and their aim is to teach the boys moral values and how to be a valuable member of the community. Isaac is in charge and has recently taken over from his deceased father. The whole family help to run the organisation and also give support to the local Tibetan women who have many children. As soon as a boy is taken in, Isaac gives them a medical test, as unfortunately there are cases where the boy will have aids and have to be taken to hospital. Isaac also talks to them alone to make sure it is a personal decision to recover from their addiction and that they are willing to meet them half way. They have to stay for a minimum of two years, unlike the 6 months at a rehabilitation centre and the success rate is therefore much better. The organisation is know widely recognized, even among Tibetan communities in New York. They boys have gone on to become valuable members of the community, often running family businesses and one has even become a lawyer in New York. One man who is in his late 40s was taken in when he became mentally unstable after leaving the army. Psychiatrists told Isaac he was a lost cause but he has made vast improvements and you can see he is still there, he just needs stimulation.
I have talked to each of the boys individually and they are very open about discussing why they turned to drugs. I’ll write about a few cases, just to give an example of how they spoke to me about it.
Phuntsok is 33 years old and from Tibet. He had a very difficult life when he was young. When he was 8 years old his parents moved to a different state and he left school after Year 11. He came to India when he was 21 for a better life. He travelled by foot from Tibet to Nepal which took 24 days and was a frightening experience. He had to travel by night sometimes to avoid being shot by border guards. He travelled with a group of Tibetans and three died (2 young and one very old) from cold and exhaustion. As soon as he reached India he came to TYC for help. He had no addiction but needed to seek refuge and has been here ever since, now mentoring the younger boys.
Tenzin is 18 years old and has been here for 5 months, having inhaled glue for 4 months previously. His aim is to join the Tibetan Army and he is learning English.
Nyma is 28 years old. He was sent to boarding school aged 9 and was badly bullied. He started smoking before moving onto harder substances. He was sent to another school but left at 17 as he didn’t enjoy studying and felt pushed into it by his parents. He started using brown sugars and pills and then became addicted. His uncle sent him to rehab in Calcutta aged 19. He stayed for 5 months but tried to run away. He also got into trouble for hitting someone at the rehab centre. He was sent to another rehab centre in Delhi for 6 months but he was forced into it by his family. He admitted that he prefers to fantasise than to live in the real world. His brother from England came over and told Nyma to go into rehab again. While he was there his aunt died, whom he was very close to (his father died when he was 17). It was then, after lapsing again that he came to the Tibetan Corporation and decided for himself that he wanted to change and lead a sober life. I think he is the least stable at the centre; he is trying very hard to come off the drugs but has to be monitored closely. Unfortunately on Saturday he was taken to hospital as he lapsed again but I saw him today and he seems a bit better.
Each case is unique but they are all warm and gentle people. Some of them are extremely intelligent and have been teaching me about the history of Tibet, the importance of the Dalai Lamas and their views on the present situation. They all have a faith and it is either Buddhist or Christian. Many of them recommended “The Tibetan Book of Living And Dying” by Sogyal Rinpoche which I am reading now and it is fascinating. It is apparently becoming famous in the West. I also read a book about Issac’s Tibetan inheritance. His great grandfather was a master to the 11th Dalai Lama and was forced to flee Tibet due to a conspiracy that he had assassinated the Lama. He met two Christian missionaries and helped them translate passages of the Bible into Tibetan, although he still firmly believed in Buddhism. His son, however, was taken by Christianity and spent the rest of his life translating the Bible into Tibetan. It was finally published in 1948. So it was Isaac’s grandfather who introduced Tibetans to Christianity.
On Saturday 10th March there was a peaceful protest in Dehra Dun where all the Tibetans come together to remember that they are still fighting for Tibet to be free. Unfortunately it has little impact on China and I think many of them realise that they will never get Tibet back again. India has been very welcoming to the Tibetans and has given them good property in mountainous regions that they are used to.
Our days are very busy here but it is rewarding. We had a day-trip to Rishikesh on Wednesday where we visited some Hindu Temples. On Friday morning we all took part in their weekly community project. This week it was weeding at a local Tibetan school. We had half a day off on Saturday and have had the afternoon off today due to rain preventing our usual volleyball matches. Our 6am walks seem to have been abandoned which I can’t say I am sad about! I went on a run however which was lovely. Unfortunately, the next day I became ill….again! That was on Friday and I am still on antibiotics now to try and get rid of whatever keeps lurking in my body. I have felt slightly sick and tired but luckily I haven’t missed out on anything. Yesterday we all spent a day with a different Indian family from our project organisers, ‘Experiment India.’ It was a great day. Sally and I were put with a very well known Dr and his wife. They showed us around their children’s schools which are meant to be the best in India. They are the equivalent of Eton or Harrow and are amazing. There are 600 pupils and about 400 staff members. His eldest daughter is now a leader in hematology at Harvard. It was lovely to be mothered for the day, as his wife was concerned at how pale I was and told me to go to bed in the afternoon, which in fact I think I needed. In the evening we were taken to a local club, where membership is exclusive and it was just how I imagined it to be, from reading ‘A Passage To India.’ Still very influenced by the British, the upper class of society play bridge, drink and relax there. The evening ended with a South Indian meal (minus the spices for me!).
This week our day trip is a picnic in the mountains and a weekend shopping trip with Isaac’s mother for the girls! Everyday is packed full of different experiences so I am trying to make the most of it all, as time is passing quickly.
I shall stop now, even though there is so much more to say but I have a lesson to prepare!
I hope you are all well.
Lots of love xxxx
- comments