For Tsering Kyi, 19 yrs old student of the Tibetan Middle School, who self immolated on March 3 2012 in Machu town, Kanlho, Amdo, Tibet. She set fire on herself in the vegetable market in the town. The witness said Chinese vegetable traders threw stones and soil on her body and police on the scene beat her to attempt to put out flame. She died on the spot.
She grew up in a nomad family and loved herding but always wished to study, so was sent to the boarding school in town, where she was excellent with all studies especially Tibetan. She was also good at singing Tibetan folksongs.
There were major protests throughout Tibet in 2008, in which hundreds of people were killed and many arrested, and immolation protests was on increase since 2009.
In 2010, the educational reform of decreasing Tibetan classes triggered peaceful protests among students to demand the freedom and right of sustaining the mother tongue Tibetan in the area. Testing kyi participated in the protest with other students, for which her school principle was forced to leave his job as a punishment.
Through witnessing these incidents, her concern about her people, culture and language must have kept increasing to the point she decided to take such a painful form of protest for the dignity. She kept saying to her mother
"I want to do something for Tibet. There is no point of living with no action."
The night before her passing in Machu town, she was in her nomad home and insisted on sleeping besides her mother all night.
Her last words to her mother were " I am very happy" and "I will get married so may not see you again".
With her late daughter's necklace of coral-coloured beads on her, Tsering's mother said
" I am not sad. My daughter decided it herself with a firm belief and dignity".
Note: episodes were directly recorded by the fellow Japanese journalist, translated into English.
http://www.47news.jp/47topics/tsutaeru/post_20160617140706.html ( Japanese)
