Feeling the Warmth of the Motherland
NAMGYAI
During the armed rebellion staged by a small handful of reactionaries on the upper echelon of the ruling class in Tibet in 1959, some innocent Tibetans were brought outside China by Tibetan separatists. From then on, they lived an exile Life.
Time passed ruthlessly, but this has never put down their desire for return. In the last 20 years, some 50,000 Tibetan compatriots have returned for visit. Of them, 2,000 have settled down in their hometown in Tibet and other Tibetan areas in the three provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan.
Wishes of Gungtang Ozhub
Before he made up his mind to return, Gungtang Ozhub who had resided overseas for close to 30 years returned for visit five times. Once settled down, the man said with great relief: “Oh, so good sleeping soundly at home.”
In 1958, Ozhub, then a Lama with the Labrang Monastery in Gansu, was misled by rumors and fled to India. “We had some 5,000 people from Qamdo, Qinghai and Gansu. Gradually, we became separated from the 14th Dalai Lama and his men,” Ozhub said.
As a group leader of Tibetan compatriots, Ozhub enjoyed handsome income. However, he missed Tibet very much.
In 1983, he finally returned home to the warm welcome of local government. His six brothers and sisters invited him to settle down. Out of his insufficient understanding of the domestic situation, he didn’t.
Nonetheless, changes in his hometown made a deep impression on him and reinforced his determination to go back to settle.
In 1990, Ozhub sold his factory and store and returned to settle down in Lhasa. He was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC Tibet Committee.
Now, Ozhub lives in a building with a total floor space of over 100 square meters.
Enjoying Twilight Life in Hometown
Renqin, now 82, lives in a house in Lhasa, which was built specially for returned Tibetan compatriots.
Born in Dege, Sichuan Province, Renqin went to India in the 1950s for pilgrimage purpose. When growing old, he felt lonely and decided to return.
“The government is good to me,” she said. “People around me are just like my children.”
In the house there is also Toinzhub Yugyai. He separated with her wife for 20 years, and the old lady brought him back from India to Lhasa in 1981.
Now 76, Toinzhub Yugyai said: “I used to be a platoon leader in the old Tibetan army. I fled abroad following the failure of the armed rebellion in 1959. I didn’t expect to see my wife was still waiting for my return although we separated for 20 years. I did Evil things for the motherland, but the government is good to me.
Return the Only Way Out
Yexei Doje, 54 this year, was born into a manor owner’s family in Shannan. His land was confiscated and distributed among the serfs in 1959 when the Democratic Reform was conducted.
“I fled abroad together with my brothers because of this,” he recalled. “I plunged into activities geared to tear Tibet away from the motherland.”
“However, I decided to return in 1981 and did so the following year.
“I was happy to see mother who was 81 then.
“In 1985, I brought my wife and two children back to settle down in Shannan. I continued to be a carpenter and made a lot of money.
“With money thus made, I bought a house with a floor space of over 100 square meters. I plan to run a school at a cost of 300,000 yuan to repay the Kindness of the government.”
Contributing to Hometown Construction
Guisang, 75, enjoyed good Life abroad. However, he returned to Nylam where he runs a Tibetan medicine factory.
Dainzin Wangdui is also a returned Tibetan compatriot. When he was elected village chief, he led the villagers to build irrigation works and the village becomes comparatively rich today.
Zhaxi Wangdui is now a deputy to the Lhasa People’s Congress and a member of the CPPCC Lhasa Committee. He is also famous for his contribution to local construction.
Many returned compatriots have done a lot for their hometown.
Recent years saw Tibetan compatriots residing in over 20 countries including India, Nepal, Switzerland and the United States have donated 15 million yuan to construction of schools and hospitals in Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas in the three provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.
They include Gyhaisoi Dainzin, who has built nurseries in Tibet and Yunnan, which receive 52 Tibetan orphans.
“Although I created the nurseries, I can’t do it without the help of the local governments,” she explained.
