World Sindhi Institute, USA

Press Release

Culture as a Strategy for  Survival

During a trip to New York City to attend the UN ECOSOC sessions the directors of WSI  Humaira Rahman and Munawar Laghari met with Mr Rinchen Dharlo , President of the Tibet Fund located in Manhattan,  New York  on 16^th May 2006 . The purpose of the meeting was to become informed  about the strategies for  Tibet’s struggle in trying to  survive as a nation and to preserve its culture.

As President of Tibet Fund, Mr. Dharlo coordinates the efforts to help the Tibetan communities both in exile and within Tibet by executing the Board’s decisions, raising funds to support the Tibet Fund’s projects, and supervising the administration and activities of Tibet Fund. Mr. Dharlo has thorough knowledge of and extensive experience working within the Tibetan community.  He served for ten years as His Holiness’ Dalai  lama Representative in Nepal, where he established a number of Tibetan schools.  He also served for ten years as His Holiness’ Representative to the Americas where, in addition to his regular duties, he co chaired the Tibetan U.S. Resettlement Project which had successfully resettled thousands of Tibetan refugees in 21 cluster sites throughout the United States.  

According to Mr Dharlo , despite over 40 years of  occupation  the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated . Mr Dharlo said that  a combination of demographic and economic manipulation, and discrimination, aims to suppress the Tibetan issue by changing the very character and the identity of Tibet and its people, . However through non violent resistance and the maintenance of strong cultural and linguistic activities  the Tibetan people continue to survive as a consolidated nation  and their issues are now well known to the international community.

After a very detailed and informative discussion regarding the activities of the Fund as well as the Tibet Office some information , views and news of Sindh was shared with Mr Dharlo., who listened keenly . It was agreed that essentially, the right to self-determination is the right of a people to determine its own destiny. In particular, the principle allows a people to choose its own political status and to determine its own form of economic, cultural and social development. Mr Dharlo was informed that WSI too believes in  Sindhis right to exercise self determination and  that WSI strives to achieve human rights and security for Sindhis in a stable Pakistan.

For further information on Tibet please visit  http://www.tibetoffice.org