Name: Yeshi Wangdu
(Alias: No)
Gender: Male
Interview Age: 73
Date of Birth: 1934
Birthplace: A-nyong, Amdo, Tibet
Year Left Tibet: 1959
Profession: Dairy Farming, Farming
Monk/Nun: No
Political Prisoner: No
Interview No.: 78
Date: 2007-07-03
Language: Tibetan
Location: Dickey Larsoe Settlement, Bylakuppe, Karnataka, India
Categories: Resistance and Revolution
Keywords: Amdo, childhood memories, Chinese -- first appearance of, Chinese Nationalists/Kuomintang, Chushi Gangdrug guerrillas, Dalai Lama -- escape, escape experiences, monastic life, refugee in India -- life as
Summary:
Yeshi Wangdu hails from Gyerong, which is located between the Tibetan provinces of Dhotoe and Dhomay. His hometown is close to the Chinese border and had been dominated by the Nationalist Chinese for many years before the Communist Chinese invaded. Yeshi Wangdu's family engaged in farming as well as cattle-rearing.
His mother refused to accede to the Chinese' demand to send him to school in China and instead she sent him to Lhasa. In order to survive there, Yeshi Wangdu donned monk's robes and joined the Drepung Monastery near Lhasa.
Later, hearing about the Chushi Gangdrug Volunteer Force fighting the Chinese, Yeshi Wangdu left the monastery to join the Force. He describes how the Chushi Gangdrug guerrillas escorted His Holiness the Dalai Lama safely out of Lhasa. He also describes how he confronted Chinese soldiers at Yarlung Phodang and the protective amulet he wore, which he believes protected him from the Chinese bullets.
Interview Team:
- Martin Newman (Interviewer)
- Lhakpa Tsering (Interpreter)
- Jeff Lodas (Videographer)
