Echoes of Drapchi Prison: A Reunion of Tibet’s Singing Nuns

Aim of the project: In 1993, fourteen young female Tibetan prisoners of conscience had their sentences extended by up to nine years for recording freedom songs which would later be heard around the world. The aim of this project is to reunite six of these former political prisoners in Europe in 2008 to record a CD, embark on a concert tour and make a documentary film.

Background: By the mid 1990s there were known to be more than 164 female political prisoners held in Drapchi Prison, Tibet – a country under Chinese occupation since 1950. The majority of these female political prisoners were nuns, some as young as fifteen years of age, imprisoned for their religious and political beliefs, and for taking part in peaceful demonstrations calling for Tibetan freedom. They were subjected to inhumane treatment including interrogation, torture, solitary confinement, beatings, and years of malnutrition.

 

“Disgusting food will not change us, body or mind.
Never can we forget the harsh beatings…”

For many of the Tibetan nuns and monks confined to Chinese prisons and re-education through labour camps, singing songs was a vital source of comfort; a way of expressing solidarity and support for each other – and an expression of determination and defiance. These songs often used metaphors to describe loyalty and devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Holiness the Panchen Lama, and a longing for the freedom of their homeland.

“I looked out from Drapchi prison
There was nothing to see but the sky…
Our hearts are not sad;
Why should we be sad?
Even if the sun [the Dalai Lama] doesn’t shine during the day
There will be the moon [the Panchen Lama] at night.”

“A time will come when the sun [the Dalai Lama] will emerge from the cloud and shine clearly.”

In Drapchi Prison in June 1993, fourteen nuns secretly recorded pro-independence songs on a cassette recorder borrowed from the ‘criminal’ prisoners (as apposed to ‘political’ prisoners who were not allowed such luxuries). The tape recorder was passed from cell to cell in bundles of clothes. Taking it in turns to record each song at night while the night-watch was out of earshot, the nuns’ songs told of their unwavering devotion to the Dalai Lama and of their yearning for the freedom of Tibet. One of the tapes was smuggled out of the prison and copies were later distributed literally around the world. Meanwhile, when Chinese officials learnt of the recordings, the nuns were interrogated and beaten, and their sentences were increased by between five and nine years each.

Of the 14 ‘singing nuns’:

• Ngawang Lochoe died in custody in February 2001, aged 28.

• Ngawang Sangdrol, who was just 15 when the recordings were made, was released in 2002 on medical parole following international pressure after serving 10 years of a 23 year sentence. She now lives in the U.S.

• Phuntsog Nyidrol was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award in 1995 while still imprisoned in Drapchi. She was released on medical parole in 2004 after serving 15 years of a 17 year sentence and now lives in Switzerland.
• Following their release from Drapchi Prison, Gyaltsen Drolkar, Namdrol Lhamo, Rigzin Choenyi and Lhundrub Zangmo escaped to Nepal – Gyaltsen Drolkar and Namdrol Lhamo subsequently settled in Belgium.
• Seven of the ‘singing nuns’ remain in Tibet.

According to Ngawang Sangdrol, "We recorded the songs to let our families and the Tibetan people know that we were still alive, about our situation and our love for our country. I had no idea until I arrived in America that people all over the world had heard those songs. This inspires me to continue our campaign for freedom and justice."

Singing Louder in 2008: As Beijing launches the 2008 Olympic Games, the Tibetan Community in Britain (TCB) will be bringing six of the ‘singing nuns’ together for a reunion in 2008. By releasing a CD and organising a short concert and speaking tour, TCB wants to ensure that the voices of these former political prisoners are heard across the globe.

As well as highlighting the lack of human rights and freedom of speech in Tibet at the time of the Beijing Olympics, Singing Louder will commemorate the tenth anniversary of protests inside Drapchi Prison in 1998, after which five nuns were tortured to death.

A decade later, the situation has not improved, as evident by news footage last September of the death of a teenage nun – shot dead in cold blood by Chinese soldiers while she was trying to escape across the Himalayas to freedom.

By holding the Singing Louder reunion in London, the city that will host the 2012 Olympics, Tibet's critical situation and the plight of Tibetans must be recognised throughout the world.

2008 itinerary:

• 1 March: arrival in London
• 4 March : recoding songs
• Saturday 8 March: participation in a demonstration on the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising;
• Saturday 8 March: Singing Louder – reunion concert in London
• Wednesday 12 March: Participation in Tibetan Women’s day (Riga Wangyal)
• Thursday 13 March: Public talk at London Metropolitan University (details to  come)
• Saturday 15 March TCB official Reception in London
• 18 March : Singing Louder – reunion concert in Torrington
• 19 March : Singing Louder – reunion concert in Plymouth
• 29 March: Singing Louder – reunion concert in Oxford
• 2 April: Singing Louder – reunion concert in Edinburgh
• 4 April: Singing Louder – reunion concert in Manchester (details to come)
• 6 April: Tibetan Freedom Torch Rally London
• 7 April: Tibetan Freedom Torch Rally Paris France
• Saturday 12 April – Farewell from Tibetans and supporters London

“To the direction of our homeland we sing a brief song of truth!
Oh, wind, if you are conscious, carry our song to our birthplace…
Please do not be sad!  The day of our reunion will surely come!”

 

 

*Note: The schedules may change at short notice due to factors outside our control. So please do visit www.drapchi14reunion.com or www.tibetancommunity.org regularly

For more information about Echoes of Drapchi Prison: A Reunion of Tibet’s Singing Nuns,  
please visit www.drapchi14reunion.com or contact Dalha Tsering  on 07939987882