Choukyi is beautiful. She sits before me, smiling. I can' t imagine where she finds that smile, but there it is, beautiful as day. She is a very petite woman. She told me proudly that once upon a time she was very fat, but ever since her 13 year sentence in China she found it hard to eat. Apparently they used the prisoners feces as fertilizer, and never washed the vegetables.

Choukyi decided young that she wanted to be a Buddhist Nun.It just seemed like the right lifestyle for her advancement in this life. She entered the Nunnery at age 17. Around age 23 the Chinese soldiers were destroying the monasteries in her area. Choukyi and some of the other nuns formed a peaceful protest in the streets. The organization was quickly broken up by the Chinese soldiers. They beat the group of Nuns. They raped them with their billy-clubs then shoved it in their mouths, breaking their teeth. Choukyi was tortured for 20 days and given a 7 year sentence.

They kept 11 women in a small room with a concrete floor. Towards the end of her sentence Choukyi and some women began writing songs about the treatment of Tibetans, both in prison and out. She sang one of these songs to me in a small, meek voice. The melody was lovely, but the meaning of the words were not. Somehow the gaurds found out about these songs, Choukyi and all of the women involved were badly beaten. They added 5 years more to her sentence.

Upon her release from prison she had nowhere to go. Her Nunnery had been destroyed and nobody would hire her out of fear of the Chinese. That is when she decided to make her escape to India. It's the same story I hear from all of the students; They walk 20-50 days, mostly in the night so that the Chinese soldiers don't see them. Oftentimes they walk in the winter becasue there are less people on patrol in the harsh Himalayan environment.

Sometimes she gets afraid to raise her voice because she is worried about China taking her family. I have no reason not to raise mine. Later she asked me if I miss my family. "Very much" I replied.

"Me to" she said.

I realized just how lucky I am to know my family is safe and that I can see them at anytime.

High levels of cultural genocide and torture are happening at this very moment. Spread the word.

Appreciate what you have.

Stand-up for Human-rights!