Georgetown students were among the thousands that gathered on the West Lawn of the Capitol as the Dalai Lama received the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday.
President Bush attended the ceremony, making this the first time a sitting U.S. president has had a public meeting with the Dalai Lama since he was exiled from Tibet in 1959.
After the proceedings, the Dalai Lama was introduced by Richard Gere, the current Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Richard Gere, banned from ever entering China due to his dedication to the Tibetan cause, applauded Speaker Pelosi’s commitment to freeing Tibet.
“There is not greater friend to the Tibetan Independence Movement than Speaker Pelosi,” Gere said.
Speaker Pelosi, given a white scarf symbolizing an enlightened mind by the Dalai Lama, utilized the platform to harshly criticize China’s policy on Tibet.
“There needs to be substantive talks in Beijing now,” Speaker Pelosi said.
Those in attendance, including a large number of Tibetans and Buddhists from around the world, stood in honor of the Dalai Lama as he spoke almost entirely in Tibetan.
“I am no one special,” the Dalai Lama said.
“I accept this award on behalf of the principles of … religious understanding. This honor is an affirmation in support of a nonviolent and just cause and paves the way for others engaged in a similar struggle. If nonviolence can succeed … it can be an example to many other people.”
“He was more humble than I expected,” Colin Nagle (COL ’11) said. “What you see with a lot of public figures when they get awarded is that they make it all about them yet the Dalai Lama made it clear that he was grateful for the honor and that there was a bigger issue at stake. It took a lot of class to take a step back even though it was a day to honor him. It was true to his people.”
While students were inspired by the speech, few expressed optimism about imminent freedom for the people of Tibet.
“The speech was absolutely resonant, and struck me at the core of what I believe,” Ian Villeda (SFS ’11) said.
“Although I love what he said, I think it falls on deaf ears as most of the people there were already convinced of his message,” he said.
