‘We are still here we are still in pain’
A day after pro-Tibet protesters disrupted the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco about 30 Calgarians — mostly members of the Tibetan community — marched through waves of wet snow downtown April 10 to mark the one-month anniversary since the Chinese crackdown on Tibetan monks.
Carrying a mock coffin placards with names of Tibetans who’ve died in the crackdown and Canadian and Tibetan flags the marchers began in front of the former A & B Sound building on Stephen Avenue and walked west to the Chinese consulate. “We’re just trying to… keep that awareness especially here amongst Calgarians that Tibet — we are still here we still are in pain” said Tenzin Khangsar one of the protesters. “We’re still suffering."
When a man outside the King Henry VIII pub shouted “go back to where you came from” one of the protesters ran across the street and amicably offered him a pamphlet. Khangsar says most people are receptive to the pro-Tibet message. “A lot of people are extremely business-minded here so they’re a little worried about the economics and stuff behind it” he says. “But the majority of people are very supportive.”
