Dalai Lama’s nephew walks 900 miles to NYC for Tibet

NEW YORK – The Dalai Lama’s nephew has finished a 900-mile walk across America to protest what he calls Chinese suppression of Tibetans.

After the four-week trek from Indiana to New York, Jigme Norbu’s feet were full of painful blisters and were missing nails and the feeling in one toe.

“But I feel energized, because the cause itself energizes me,” Norbu said Saturday, a day after emerging from New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Capping his “Walk for Tibet,” Norbu led a noon rally Saturday in front of the Chinese consulate on Manhattan’s West Side.

He started his walk in Indianapolis on March 10, marking the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan rebellion against Chinese rule that resulted in the exile of the Dalai Lama over the Himalayas into India.

Step by step, Norbu covered about 30 miles a day on roads and small highways, passing through Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington and Philadelphia. In the big cities, he led rallies, speaking about Tibetans’ struggles.

A year ago, an anti-Chinese riot in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, left at least 22 people dead, igniting protests in surrounding provinces that ended with Beijing flooding the region with troops.

Earlier this month, a Chinese court handed down death sentences to two Tibetans accused of starting deadly fires in last year’s anti-government riots.

“When I walked, I thought of my people – how they’re suffering, what they’ve been through,” said Norbu, a 43-year-old New York native who works in real estate in Bloomington.

A van with supplies followed, driven by a former member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama is based. Carrying their own sleeping bags, the two stayed at the homes of people they met along the way, in churches, Buddhist monasteries and, occasionally, motels that offered discounts or free lodging.

“Our supporters were Americans, people who live in communities that gave me water, food, housing, money,” said Norbu, who went through three pairs of shoes before arriving in New York.