[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1495-E1496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HERO DAJA WANGCHUK MESTON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 2010

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I want to share with our colleagues the 
untimely passing of a brave and heroic man who made the cause of 
fighting for the people of Tibet his life's calling.
  Daja Wangchuk Meston served as my guide when I traveled to Tibet in 
1997. Accompanied only by my late chief of staff Charlie White and 
Daja, I was at the time just the second sitting member of the U. S. 
House of Representatives to visit Tibet since the Chinese occupation 
began in 1959. We traveled with U.S. passports and on tourist visas 
issued by the government of China. At no time did anyone ask nor did I 
make known that I was a member of Congress. Had I done so, I am sure 
that my visit would not have been approved, just as other members of 
Congress requesting permission to visit Tibet have been turned down.
  I couldn't have made the trip without Daja. He knew the Tibetan 
people and their struggles against iron-fisted Chinese rule. He opened 
the doors for my meetings with persecuted monks, men and women on the 
street and others who risked their personal safety and well-being to 
steal a few moments alone with me to reveal the unspeakably conditions 
in Tibet and to petition help and support from the West. He later paid 
the price for his heroism when he returned to Tibet to investigate the 
Chinese government's population resettlement program underwritten by 
the World Bank. He was subsequently captured, tortured and imprisoned 
by Chinese authorities, and badly injured when he tried to escape by 
jumping from a window. He endured a harrowing experience before his 
release.
  In our search for modern-day heroes, Daja Wangchuk Meston is a true 
hero. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to know him. I submit 
for the Record a moving account of Daja's life written by Linda Anna 
Mancini, coordinator of the Boston Tibet Network, who worked closely 
with Daja. The Boston Tibet Network links various Tibetan support 
groups, local individuals, national and international organizations, 
and the Tibetan Association of Boston.

       Daja Wangchuk Meston was beautiful in his modesty, strength 
     and honesty. Powerful in his choices. This hero would not be 
     called by that title when he was with us, but now that he has 
     left us, I feel compelled to name him the hero that he was. 
     Brave in the face of danger, with strength above tragedy, 
     Wangchuk was a hero. It was my honor to know him. Such a 
     beautiful man.
       With so much sadness at his death, I look at his brave life 
     for comfort. While remembering his work, I can treasure his 
     dignity and all that he achieved. May the memory of his 
     beauty and achievements sustain his family and all who loved 
     him and cherish him still.
       Certainly His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the most 
     significant treasure to Tibetans and Tibet supporters. He is 
     a great leader. And, as he knows, the actions of many others 
     also shed a light--Wangchuk was one, a bright light. We are 
     all indebted to him. The moment of his capture in Amdo in 
     1999 galvanized the Tibetan struggle into the unified grass 
     roots movement that has held strong since that time.
       The Tibetan issue in itself is truly an ocean of suffering. 
     Each person's story is distinctive, whether born in Tibet, or 
     India, or the states--or, in Wanchuk's case, an American 
     raised as a Tibetan. Wangchuk was born in Switzerland, child 
     of Americans who traveled to Nepal where his mother placed 
     him with a Tibetan family and later, when he was 6, into the 
     monastery. His mother lived as a nun in India, while his 
     father returned to California burdened with great personal 
     challenges. At 17 Wangchuk left the monastery and came to the 
     states. After a few years, he attended Brandeis. How valiant 
     he

[[Page E1496]]

     was when he first arrived, young teenager alone, wearing 
     jeans, not maroon robes. Looking for his birth family, an 
     education and his American self. He found his dear wife--they 
     understood too well both tragedy and exile. They courageously 
     trusted each other, shared love and pain and family, and the 
     struggle for human rights in Tibet.
       It was the spring of 1999 when I met Wangchuk. He was 
     impressive, knowledgeable. We were just a group of people 
     interested in Tibet who gathered to share ideas. We formed an 
     alliance, the Boston Tibet Network (BTN) to share information 
     and be able to act on it. Present were Tibetan Buddhists, 
     folks from Amnesty, a scholar archivist of Tibetan Buddhist 
     texts, a Harvard professor, those interested in Tibet, in 
     Buddhism, in social justice. All concerned about the well 
     being of Tibetans in Tibet and those in exile, about human 
     rights and non-violent action. The network still exists, we 
     now know each other well and continue to work toward the same 
     goals.
       A few months after our first meetings, Wangchuk went to 
     Tibet. He went in August to investigate, see what was 
     happening to the nomads in Amdo at the hands of the Chinese. 
     He was outstandingly brave to do this. He knew there was 
     danger. The Tibetan movement had learned that the World Bank, 
     contrary to their own mandate, had financed Chinese 
     population resettlement. Tibet supporters worldwide protested 
     loudly with marches and more. Bowing to international 
     pressure, the Chinese government said all were welcome to 
     visit and explore their nomad resettlement project which they 
     claimed was beneficial; yet the pattern was set--the Chinese 
     were perpetually hard about all things Tibetan. Wangchuk was 
     one of those who decided to take them at their word and go 
     and see their project.
       Once there Wangchuk was quickly captured by the Chinese, 
     questioned and tortured. Despairing of ever being released, 
     he jumped from a window trying to escape. He was seriously 
     injured and held in a nearby hospital by the Chinese.
       For BTN our first group action was to announce the terrible 
     news that Wangchuck was imprisoned. We begged the Chinese 
     government to release him and lobbied our own government to 
     assist in freeing him. The Chinese made his release 
     difficult, so Wangchuk's wife Phuntsok and their friend, 
     Carl, went to China to get him. A harrowing experience but 
     finally they returned to the states and he was admitted to 
     Brigham and Womens' Hospital for a long stay.
       August of 1999, Wangchuk's imprisonment, his subsequent 
     injuries and release, world protests--all this was a pivotal 
     moment for the Tibetan movement. The World Bank relented to 
     demands and stopped the funding to the Chinese for nomad 
     resettlement in Amdo. The Tibetan movement was energized and 
     Tibet supporters became a strongly united grass roots 
     movement that has continued to grow powerful all these years 
     since.
       Wangchuk was heroic to go to Amdo. He was brave when he 
     endured the endless surgeries needed to rebuild his shattered 
     feet. He was generous to write his autobiography ``Comes the 
     Peace'' and share his personal life, thoughts and feelings. 
     He was happy with his wife and their boutique ``Karma'' where 
     they shared workdays and he told stories to friends and 
     shoppers, and enjoyed his Newton Center community.
       Yes, it hurts that he is not with us anymore, and that he 
     chose to leave us. But I am so grateful to have known 
     Wangchuk, he was a hero. Such an honest man, he took my 
     breath away. He is remembered well.

                          ____________________