Tibetans in Belgium celebrated Tibetan New Year with much joy and fanfare as most of the Covid-19 restrictions have been removed.
Tibetan Association of Chushi Gangdrug in Belgium, organised the Losar Guthuk celebration of the year 2149 at Antwerpen which has the largest Tibetan population. The day-night long community get-together saw an impressive participation by the Tibetans.
Tsering Namgyal, president of Tibetan Association of Chushi Gangdrug welcomed the chief guest and other guests. In his opening remark, Namgyal said that the improvement in the pandemic situation had given them the opportunity to organise this year’s Losar Guthuk.
Representative Tashi Phuntsok attended the celebrations as the chief guest. He did so to encourage the Tibetan community in holding such community activities more and more. He said that organising such community activities would set good examples to the younger generation to inspire their willingness to imbibe the Tibetan culture.
He highlighted that Tibetan cultural would include practice of positive characteristics of kindness, compassion, and tolerance. These unique features have created a special love for Tibetans by the people of the world while we are under occupation of China.
He concluded his brief speech by highlighting His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s extra ordinary leadership and Tibetan people’s spirit for freedom which has kept Tibetan freedom struggle alive for the last six decades.
Tibetan Community leader of Belgium, Palden Tsering greeted the audience and wished long life to our root Guru His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He prayed all the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama would be materialised and that we would celebrate the next Losar in Tibet.
He also listed number of activities that the Tibetan community has carried out during the last seven months, including green book campaign, boycott of Beijing winter Olympic campaign and activities with Latin Americans in Antwerpen etc.
Besides the Guthuk celebration, various Dho-kham communities performed a number of cultural songs and dances followed by fashion shows of Tibetan traditional clothes.
Thinley Wangdue secretary of Office of Tibet, Belgium accompanied Representative Tashi Phuntsok to the function.
