Returning expat proud of historic advances

Shagkor Yeshe Palden, an 83-year-old living in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, makes WeChat calls every day to his two daughters and grandchildren in Switzerland, where he lived for nearly 30 years.

During the calls, he updates them on what’s been going on in Tibet since he returned to China in 1994.

Shagkor Yeshe Palden was once a Living Buddha at the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, but his peaceful life was disrupted in 1959 when a rebellion against the central government broke out.

He fled to India, where he met his father, who had also fled.

In 1967, Shagkor Yeshe Palden moved to Switzerland and was given a job in a paper mill. He taught himself German and changed careers several times.

Meeting other Tibetans in Switzerland from time to time became Shagkor Yeshe Palden’s way of finding a sense of belonging. It was during this period that he decided to resume secular life. He married a Tibetan woman and had two daughters.

But family life didn’t cure his homesickness. “I missed Drepung. I missed my mother in Lhasa. But before China’s opening-up in 1978, news from my homeland barely reached me in Switzerland, let alone finding a way back to Tibet,” he said.

Shagkor Yeshe Palden observed Tibetan traditions in daily life. He drew up a set of rules for the house. For example, his daughters were required to speak Tibetan when they came home after school, and he passed on Tibetan traditions.

In 1984, as a result of opening-up and the policy of welcoming back Tibetan people from overseas, Shagkor Yeshe Palden visited Lhasa for the first time since he had left 25 years earlier. Setting foot again in his homeland, he said he was surprised to see that many great changes had taken place in society and in people’s minds.

Because his daughters were still quite young, Shagkor Yeshe Palden returned to Switzerland to care for them, but he never applied for Swiss nationality throughout his 28-year stay. “Fallen leaves return to the roots,” he said. “I wanted to return as soon as possible.”

In 1994, after 35 years living overseas, Shagkor Yeshe Palden returned to Lhasa. He has been living in Lhasa ever since and has witnessed the rapid development in Tibet. He said that huge progress has been made, especially in terms of economic growth, livelihoods and environmental protection.

At the same time, Shagkor Yeshe Palden has been taking part in building a better Tibet. As a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Standing Committee of Lhasa and Tibet, he has put forward a number of proposals, including those on waste sorting, underground water protection and cultural preservation.

Shagkor Yeshe Palden often invites his daughters’ families to Lhasa. His Swiss sons-in-law tell their friends in Switzerland the stories about Tibet.

“They see Tibet with their own eyes. The important thing is that what they see is real,” Shagkor Yeshe Palden said.