Tattoos of Tibetan Refugees: Palbey

[VIDEO] Palbey is a ‘new arrival’ in Dharamsala, he only arrived from Tibet four months before he got this tattoo. He and his family are just one of the countless victims of the protests that swept Tibet in 2008, calling for freedom under Communist oppression.

In his youth, Palbey was a nomadic farmer. Not fully aware of Tibet’s history, he thought the stories of the invasion and suffering were just stories.  During the uprisings in his community in 2008, he witnessed firsthand the brutality used by the Chinese government.  In his interview, he said, “Since 2008, I’ve realized the Communist government are murderers.  In 2008, we really saw the truth, the suffering of people who lost their freedom.  The communist government, they forced people who were suffering to die, and peaceful people to suffer.”

His tattoo was done by Tamding, a Tibetan artist who tattoos Tibetan political messages free of charge.