Published by: World Tibet Network News, Sunday, March 3rd, 1996
Contact: Glen Kelley President, Williams College chapter of Students for a Free Tibet S. U. Box 1400, Williams College Williamstown, MA 01267 413.597.6428 / 96gnk@williams.edu
On February 14, 1996, Williamstown resident Aaron Jorgensen left home to walk 400 miles in 25 days to Washington, DC. His goal-to raise awareness of Tibet and its 40-year occupation by China, and to experiment with taking direct personal action on social issues.
Since that time he has covered exactly half the distance,almost entirely on foot, walking an average of 16 miles per day with afull pack. He has followed small highways, avoiding the traffic oflarge interstates, and during some days last week followed the Hudson River south. Near the border of New York and New Jersey he got loston small back roads, and spent an uncomfortable night on the outskirts of New York City suburbia, unable to find an empty place to camp. Tsering Yangdon, President of the Tibetan Women's Association, contacted by phone the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in Washington, NJ, where he was when he last contacted Williams on the 28th.
Jorgensen has spent about half the nights outdoors, in a small tent he carries, staying the other nights in the homes of contacts he set up through friends and the scattered but substantial Tibetan-American community on the East Coast. As part of his itinerary, Jorgensen is visiting several of the college campuses along the way with one of the more than 70 Students for a Free Tibet chapters across the country. Jorgensen eats simple foods he carries with him, and does day-by-day shopping in grocery stores along the way.
Along his route Mr. Jorgensen has visited two of the many Tibetan monasteries on the east coast, including the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in Washington, New Jersey, the first center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism in America. His experiences during these visits, and the inspiration he has received from members of the Tibetan-American community are described in his journal entries attached.
The one time Jorgensen was in serious danger from the elements was his first night out of Williamstown, with temperatures below the zero degree mark and high winds. Unable to reach his 26-mile destination of Pittsfield in the first day with an too-full backpack, he was forced to camp, and found his several layers of clothing inadequate to keep him warm during the night.
Mr. Jorgensen's walk is in part inspired by the major Washington - New York March for Tibet's Independence being organized by the International Tibet Independence Movement, based in Indiana. As explained in the accompanying informational release, this march will cover the 300 miles between the two cities in 45 days, stopping often for press conferences and special events at universities along the route.
The march is being led by Takster Rinpoche, elder brother of the Dalai Lama, and Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan monk imprisoned by Chinese security forces who has since testified before U. S. Congress with torture implements he smuggled out of Chinese prisons in Tibet. Jorgensen will be meeting the march at its start in Washington on March 10, and will walk for a few days with them towards New York.
Mr. Jorgensen's walk is being supported by the newly formed Williams College chapter of the national student movement Students for a Free Tibet. The group has as its goal spreading awareness of Tibet and China's exploitation and suppression of the Tibetan people. Mr. Jorgensen's funding is in the form of personal donations.
