Tenzin Tsering, 22, has never been to Tibet, but she dreams that someday she'll return with her parents to the homeland they fled before she was born.
China still occupies Tibet, and on Wednesday, Tsering was among about 2 dozen Utah Tibetans who marked the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics in China with a protest of the nation's human rights policies. As celebrations marked the countdown in Beijing, members of the Utah Tibetan Association joined with Tibetans across the country and globe in decrying China's occupation of Tibet and dismal human rights record. They held signs and urged people to sign petitions first at the state Capitol, then at the federal building.
"We've never seen our land," said Tsering, who was born in India. "We can hear stories from our parents."
The protesters, members of the Utah Tibetan Association, said it goes against the spirit of the Olympics to allow China — which has occupied Tibet for half a century — to host it. They say China hasn't improved human rights since the International Olympic Committee announced the Games would be held there.
"The Olympics is about equality, it's about not discriminating against a nationality," said Tenzin Dichukhang, 32. "It's about human rights. This is what is not happening in China or Tibet."
Tsering, a political science student at the University of Utah, said if Tibet were free she'd move back there with her parents.
"We belong in our homeland," Tsering said. "I would like to see my parents growing old with their grandchildren in their homeland."
The protesters saw a sense of urgency in their message. The Dalai Lama, who has been a voice for peaceful resistance, is aging, and many younger Tibetans are losing hope and interest.
"No one is going to fight for Tibet," Tsering said. "Time is running out for Tibet."
E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com