SPECIAL EDITION
• April 20, 1959 • 48 years ago

It was 48 years ago, in the spring of 1959,
that a simple Buddhist monk,
as he likes to call himself,
made the cover of one the most influential and popular magazines in America.
And an entire culture, in order to preserve itself,
began a long journey into exile and into the public eye.
Before this event hardly anyone knew or even cared
about an obscure country called Tibet.
It was said that when the Dalai Lama gave his first talk in the United States,
less than 50 people - mostly scholars, attended this meeting.
But gradually this changed to the point that for the last couple of years,
stadiums and gigantic halls were never large enough to meet the demand.

• 1960 • 47 years ago

In 1960, Hergé published Tintin au Tibet -
what was at the time, just another fabulous adventure story.
Over the years it has been translated into nine different languages :
Mongol, German, English,
Spanish, Italian, Portuguese,
Esperanto, Japanese, and Tibetan!
Oh, does this mean
that more and more Tibetans
are reading comic books?
Or is there a more subtle message being sent ;
a very simple one, that states that
one positive gesture is better
than tons of negative criticism,
that compassion, and fidelity can save
and even allow one to conquer what might seem to be invincible mountains.

click here to see
the English version of the film
Tintin in Tibet

The road to freedom is never smooth and easy
and those who expect and demand it to be
are ignoring the sacrifice of those who originally built the path.
Remember and honor the sacrifice of others.