Washington DC: The Office of Tibet-DC and the Board of the Tibetan Community Development Fund, a non-profit 501(c)(3), would like to acknowledge and thank Late Tsewang Topgay la for his generous donation of USD $887,969.54. The Board will honour the donation as described in his will: in loving memory of his parents, Tashi and Nyima Rithar, the donation will be used to aid poor, disabled and elderly Tibetans, and the donation will also be used to help preserve Tibetan language, culture and Buddha Dharma. The obituary below was written by his niece, Tenzin Dolkar Khashitsang, who currently lives in Portland, Oregon.
In Memory of Tsewang Topgay
Tsewang Topgay, a business entrepreneur and founder of Everest Imports, was born in Tibet in 1943. Tsewang escaped Tibet in 1960, making his way to India through Sikkim, Kalimpong and finally Dharamsala, where he was reunited with his family. During this time, Tibetan families were separated and forced to flee from Tibet in small groups for fear of being persecuted under the oppressive Chinese communist regime. Historically, tension between India and China resulted in multiple violent encounters with its ongoing dispute over the border demarcations between the world’s two most populous nations. This led to the Sino-Indian War of 1962. While in Dharamsala, Tsewang and other Tibetans were arrested and imprisoned in Rajasthan as the late influx of Tibetans making their way into India prompted suspicion for the Indian government, for they feared the late escapees to be working as spies for the Chinese government. Once deemed innocent, Tsewang and others were eventually released.
With his aspirations to seek an education, Tsewang enrolled in a program offered by a Christian missionary school based in Mussoorie. The program aided students who excelled in their studies in finding sponsors in the United States aimed at offering opportunities for higher education. As he hoped to provide financial support for his family, Tsewang left Dharamsala in 1966 and arrived in Southern California where he would attend the University of Redland. He struggled financially as he worked multiple jobs in an effort to make ends meet, including working in the trades as a landscaper, a chimney cleaning technician, a restaurant busser, and a suit salesman. Juggling numerous jobs while earning his bachelor’s degree, he managed to send what little money he was able to make to his family in India.
Tsewang’s ambition to venture the world of business was the driving force that led him to start his own company. In 1991, he moved to Denver, Colorado where he established Everest Imports, a general merchandise wholesale company of home décor and gift items. Business flourished and remained in operation for over a decade until 2003 when he sold his company and retired, moving back to Southern California. There in Southern California, he would reside until his passing in 2019. Tsewang Topgay passed away peacefully from natural causes, surrounded by his family during his final moments of life.
It is one person’s life story, yet at the same time, it is an experience that is shared by many. It is the story of an immigrant facing countless vulnerabilities as they begin a new life in their non-native country with the mere hope of a better future for their families. Embracing times of hardship with that of humble milestones, immigrants work tirelessly to make an earnest living. Encountering challenges of new societal norms, culture and language, the story of immigrants is one of resilience. However, the story of Tibetans bring with it challenges of a reality that evokes profound emotions. Tibetans living inside Tibet endure religious and political persecution, whereby in desperation over 150 Tibetans have self-immolated.
Bearing the status of a refugee, Tibetans living in exile are thousands of miles away from their homeland and unable to set foot in their own country. Nevertheless, Tibetans living in exile have never forgotten their roots and the significance of preserving their language, culture, and religion from one generation to the next. Hence, it was Tsewang’s final wish to donate his remaining assets to the central Tibetan government in exile in loving memory of his father Tashi and mother Nyima Rithar. He envisioned that the funds be allocated towards the maintenance of existing Tibetan establishments in exile, helping to improve the lives of the most economically deprived Tibetans who are poor, disabled, elderly, and the ill. Equally important, he also wished for the funds to be distributed for the preservation of Tibetan language, culture, and Buddha dharma. Throughout his life, Tsewang Topgay kept his family close at heart, his devotion deeply rooted in His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and his unwavering love for his country always remained.
– Filed by Office of Tibet, Washington DC