SANTA FE: Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, declared 2 December as the Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay Day in honour of his visit to the region. The proclamation was made by the representative of Mayor of Santa Fe, Mr Javier Gonzales, when he met Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay on that day.

Addressing the Tibetan public in Chicago, Sikyong said “Tibetans should not study simply for career but for cause as well.” In response to a question by a young Tibetan woman, he said younger generation should follow their passion and that they should do what they are good at and where their interest lies.

“Those who are interested in international affairs should join the White House, State Department, Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committee and those who are interested in international development should seek career in USAID or major philanthropic organizations like Gates and Ford Foundation and help the Tibetan communities in Tibet or in exile.  Even if someone works in the corporate sector he or she can contribute for the Tibetan cause,” Sikyong said.

He further said that during the Indian freedom struggle, people from corporate world also contributed by funding activities led by Mahatma Gandhi. “Whatever young Tibetans pursue you can always contribute to the Tibetan cause,” Sikyong added.

Day before his arrival at Chicago, Sikyong addressed the Tibetan community members in Wisconsin. He said that the Tibetan people have international support and it is mainly due to leadership of His Holiness and the humility, integrity and resilience of Tibetan people. We should not loose this. He also spoke on Tibet 2020 in his talk.

Speaking at the University of Wisconsin on “A Solution of Tibet?”, Dr. Sangay spoke on the historical relationship between China and Tibet to the present repression of Tibetans. Few Mainland Chinese scholars in the audience asked questions on definition of Tibet, prospect of violence and treatment of Chinese in the post solution in Tibet. Sikyong addressed all the questions comprehensively. He said: “The Middle Way Approach is win-win solution for both the parties. Environmentally Tibet is important for the world, particularly to Asian countries, which are dependent on rivers flowing from Tibet.” He quoted experts saying “before wars were fought over land, now wars are fought over energy and soon wars will be fought over water”.

On his final leg of US tour he stopped over at Santa Fe, the capital city of State of New Mexico for a night. He was received at the airport by the Presidents of Santa Fe and Albuquerque along with fellow Tibetans residing in the two cities. Before addressing the Tibetans Sikyong was honored by the representative of the Mayor of the City, Mr. Javier Gonzales declaring 2 December as the ‘Day of Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay.’ Addressing the Tibetans he reiterated his policies on education and stressed on the importance of culture and language preservation at this critical period in the history of Tibet. He said: “We have a culture of more than two thousand years and it must be preserved. Tibetans are very hard working people and we should be proud of being Tibetan.” He also addressed a group of students from the United World College, which included some Chinese students along with a student from TCV Selakui.

Sikyong Dr. Sangay left Santa Fe to Delhi after his tour of eight cities in twelve days in US and Canada. He will arrive in Dharamshala on 5 December.