Passang Lhamo

Passang Lhamo is a Tibetan nun, activist, and singer.

Lhamo, a Tibetan Buddhist, was ordained as a nun aged 14. However, on 25th May 1994, Lhamo, along with four other nuns, went to Lhasa to shout slogans and to protest over Chinese rule. They were imprisoned by the Chinese and placed in the notorious Drapchi Prison in November 1994 along with 13 other nuns to serve a 5-year sentence, charged with endangering state security. In April 1996 all the inmates of Unit 3 of Drapchi prison, consisting of nearly 100 female political prisoners, went on a hunger strike in protest of the harsh treatment they believed they were receiving in Drapchi. The week long strike caused the prison officers some concern that it might damage the reputation of the prison further if the inmates died as a result. They promised an end to the brutality. cite web|url=http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/drapchipassang.htm|title=Testimony given by Passang Lhamo, Tibetan nun and former political Prisoner, to the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus|Publisher=Government of Tibet in Exile|date=May 6 2002|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2008]

Lhama was eventually set free on 24th May 1999, after five full years in Drapchi. She briefly returned to Penpo, but fled in exile to Dharamsala in India where she now serves as a nun at the Ganden Choeling Nunnery, near the monastery and residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Since, she has done much towards the cause of Tibetan independence, including numerous performances singing at various traditional festivals in the United States and Canada.

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsEDDATppZM Singing performance on YouTube]