-Rinchen Angmo

‘The Voice that Remembers’ is a book by the late Adhe Tapontsang la as told to Joy Blakeslee. Adhe la’s account of how the Communist Party of China forcefully occupied Tibet, is eye opening to say the least. Like many Tibetans, Adhe la stood against Chinese occupation and participated in the freedom struggles waged in Kham (in eastern Tibet). Consequently, she was imprisoned for 27 years. Throughout those 27 years she was subjected to physical, sexual and mental abuse by prison officials under the Communist Party of China. Through her book, she recounts not only her own struggles, but also that of millions of Tibetans who perished under the Communist Party of China. Unfortunately, this brutal occupation continues till date and even as we speak many Tibetan political prisoners continue to face inexplicable tortures in the Communist Party of China’s prisons.

In this book Adhe la traces her life through the years. From her happy childhood in Kham’s meadows to the brutal years of imprisonment under the Communist Party of China to her newfound freedom in India to her decision to remind the world of the voices of the millions of Tibetans whose lives were silenced by the Communist Party of China. It is to break that silence that she dictated her account to Joy Blakeslee. Hence, there is a need to read such narratives in order to remember the voices that were buried brutally.

Nothing that I write about her account in this article can portray even one percent of what her narrative in the book brings to life. But I must write a little about it in order to encourage people to read Adhe la’s book, because in order for history to not repeat itself, one must read about the lived experiences of survivors.

The real life occurrences recounted in the book are scenes of sheer terror. One particular recounted scene that I found jarring was one wherein the courtyard of a monastery had been turned into a prison area. I found this particularly chilling because before having read this recounted scene, I could never have fathomed that a monastery’s courtyard could be turned into a prison. A monastery’s courtyard is in more ways than one, an arena that symbolizes peace and joy. Since it is here that monastic dances (Chham) are performed, it combines the tenors of religion and festivity. So reading about this particular scene was very chilling because what it symbolized was very sinister.

What Adhe la and fer fellow inmates went through becomes apparent through what one of her friends Bhumo had said: ‘ “It seems as if the events around us are happening slowly, slowly, as if we move and have no weight, no substance, no voice.” Bhumo whispered. “How can this be real?”’  I will leave it up to the readers to reflect on these words.

The book is a must read not only for Tibetans but also for Himalayans from regions that have close ties to Tibet; after all, the jarring accounts of Communist China’s simultaneous aim to destroy Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism need to be reflected upon. Moreover, it is a must read for every human being, because it recounts the lives and struggles of people who are not talked about in history textbooks.

Another aspect that her narrative brings out is that of compassion and friendship in difficult times. When Adhe la was sent food by her relative, she shared the little that she had with all her fellow inmates. She has also talked in the book about how she treasured her friendship with Tsering Yuden and Yeshi Dolma during the difficult years in prison. 27 years later, when she was released from prison, she met Yeshi Dolma but they did not know how Tsering Yuden had been.

Her narrative brings to light how Adhe la and her friends’ lives were torn apart bit by bit and yet they managed to come out of it alive and Adhe la managed to recount that journey in this book. I have not included too many accounts from her narrative here, because I feel that those accounts are not mine to tell; they can only be understood when people read them in detail as they have been narrated in the book.

To think that millions of Tibetans in Tibet as well as Uyghurs in Xinjiang continue to live in terror is very saddening and it would be sadder still to not do something about it by remaining apathetic. Raising awareness about these issues can be a necessary first step.

As Adhe la states, we should be able to see that the suffering of one is that of many, for one never knows when the tide changes. Hence, it is important, at all times, to try according to one’s abilities, to help those in need of help.

Most importantly, in order to try to understand what happened and what continues to happen in Tibet, such narratives become very important because they tell of us lived realities. And it is from those narratives of lived realities that socio-political contexts can be understood in depth. The detail with which she describes how the Chinese laid their plans for occupation can only be properly captured in personally narrated accounts like hers. For instance, she recounts how initially the Chinese soldiers pretended to have faith in Buddhism and how later those very soldiers desecrated monasteries ruthlessly. She talks about how the hospitals that were initially projected as social projects, later became backup venues for the Eigthteenth Army of the Communist Party of China.

Adhe la passed away in 2020. She endured 27 years of imprisonment to make her voice heard someday. In this book, she recounts those 27 years, she remembers the voices of those who were silenced, and she tells her account of how she fought for 27 years to hold onto the truth.

The book must be read in order to understand what Adhe la fought for, what her fight meant and continues to mean. After all, hers is not just a personal narrative, it is a symbol of struggle embodied by millions of innocent people suffering under totalitarian regimes world over.