In the prison, young and more attractive women were called by the prison warden, Trang Tsong, to clean his quarters and do his laundry … We were all summoned in rotation and raped.

Separated from children

On October 16, 1958 six Chinese policemen came to Karze Darste-Do Monastery, Kham, (Sichuan Province) and arrested my elder sister's husband and myself. During my arrest my children ? Chime Wangyal, age three and Chimi Khando, age one ? were near me.  As the Chinese police tied me very roughly with rope, my little daughter laughed, thinking it was a game.
My three-year-old son was calling my name and jumping up at me, but was pushed back and kicked by the Chinese each time. Then, when the policemen began escorting me to prison, he again ran to me, crying, but was kicked aside by the police. Soon after my imprisonment he became mentally disturbed and died by jumping in the river.

Sentence of 16 years

I was taken to the Karze District (Sichuan Province) Prison and was thrown into the vehicle like luggage. During the interrogation, policemen kicked me and hit me all over my body with rifle-butts. They also forced me to kneel on two sharpened pieces of wood, with my hands raised.  They hit my elbows with a rifle-butt whenever my hands came down and I became very weak due to heavy beatings.
My husband and I were charged with being the key rebels in the Nyarong area (Sichuan Province). I was forced to watch my elder sister’s husband as he was shot dead and I was told, “the consequence will be the same for you if you revolt against the Chinese Communists”.  I was sentenced  to a 16-year prison term.

Prison, rape and starvation

In the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar, in 1959, I was shifted from Karze Prison to Dhartsedo Prison. Dhartsedo Prison was formerly Ngachen Monastery, the biggest monastery in the Dhartsedo area, but the monastery’s valuable statues, stupas (monuments containing sacred objects and relics) and other religious artefacts had been taken away to China. There were about sixty people, including learned geshes (holding a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy) and lamas, in the cell. Other rooms of the monastery were packed with about 300 women prisoners and 500 laymen. We had to labour every day.
In this prison, young and more attractive women were called by the prison warden, Trang Tsong, to clean his quarters and do his laundry. These women included Ngangtso Wangmo Lithang, Dolkar Chatring, Yangchen Chatring and me. We were all summoned in rotation and raped.

Food in Dhartsedo Prison was meagre of very poor quality. The mug in which we received our food was the size of a tea cup and so, after eating their share, prisoners fought with each other to snatch the bucket for any leftovers. They put their hands in it and licked it. The Chinese officials watched us battle over the wooden buckets and laughed at us. Prisoners also rushed to gobble up used tea leaves, thrown there by the Chinese police to create competition among us. Starving Tibetan prisoners even ate grass and worms. About ten Tibetans died of starvation every day.  On one occasion, Chinese doctors saw Zachukhapa Thubten Thargyal eating a dead prisoner’s leg and he was scolded during a meeting. Thereafter Tibetans were not allowed to go to the morgue.

Three prisoners slept together in a cell measuring one square metre. Every ten prisoners had one wooden bucket as a toilet and prisoners were allowed to go out of their cell once in the morning to empty it. The whole prison complex was like an uncleaned toilet. Prisoners were never allowed to talk to one another and were interrogated if caught doing so.

In 1962 prison supervisor Ma Ku Zhang was replaced by Be Ku Zhang. At that time, according to Ma Ku Zhang’s list, there were 2,319 prisoners, including the dead. This was known by some prisoners who were friendly with a Chinese official, especially Lithang Tenzin Sangpo, to whom the Chinese doctor gave the prisoners’ statistics.

The lead mines

At the beginning of 1960, I was among 100 young, healthy female prisoners and 200 male prisoners selected to go to the Golthok Lead Mines in Chajam district area, a three day journey on foot from Dhartsedo Prison. When we arrived there we saw the place packed with Tibetan prisoners; there were ten to fifteen thousand of them.

We had to work for four hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. In the evening there was a meeting and discussion for one hour during which those who had completed their day's allotted work quota were praised while those who had failed were criticised. The next day's work schedule and political education was then discussed.

One day I fainted and found myself in the morgue when I regained consciousness.  A few days later I could move and was sent to look after pigs. There were three other women tending the pigs. My physical condition became a little better then as I could eat some of the food meant for the pigs.

While many prisoners died, new ones kept on arriving. Towards the end of 1963 only thirty prisoners remained and the factory was closed. In one year over 10,000 prisoners died there and a similar number of prisoners died of starvation. It was also known that out of sixty trulkus (incarnate lama) in Dhartse-Do Prison, seven died of starvation. Some of these trulkus were: Choephel Gyatso, son of Lama Sonam Gyal, a religious teacher to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama; Tongkhor Trulku; Babu Trulku and Nyagye Trulku. Of the 100 female prisoners sent to Dhartsedo Prison, all but four died of starvation. The four of us were transferred to the Shi-Ma Cha vegetable farm labour camp in Chethok. There were already fifty women prisoners there, mainly from Lhasa and Kyekudo. I lived there for three years and my physical condition became stronger because of better food and opportunities to steal vegetables.

Forced blood extraction and “transformation”

In 1966 we were sent to a vegetable farm in Ra Nga Gang. The food served there was slightly better and we wondered why we were being treated nicely. Because of the heat from the stove and the drink, perspiration was streaming down our bodies and our faces became red. One hour later Chinese doctors arrived and started to extract blood from us. Being very weak physically, our bodies swelled up and we fainted.

Chatring Rinchen Dolma, Kanze Tsering Lhamo and Nyarong Yungdrung Palmo died from these blood extractions. I suffered from chronic spells of fainting and giddiness. There was a woman named Tikho who also became very weak and even today she cannot work.

In 1968 women prisoners were forced to cut their hair short in Chinese style. Ragged Tibetan dresses were taken away and burnt, and we were given Chinese clothes. Speaking in Tibetan was forbidden. Those speaking in Tibetan were sent for "mind transformation" classes.

“Release” and forced labour

One day in 1974 I was called to the office and told, “Your prison term of 16 years has been terminated. You will be marked as a political outcast, although you are not a prisoner now. You have not undergone proper mental transformation and remain stubborn.” I was ordered to work as a labourer in Ra Nga Gang Labour Camp, a brick factory. Political outcasts were called “capped ones” or “marked ones” and had to sit last in the row or move behind others. I was not allowed to socialise with others and officials could order me to work during leisure hours.

A person placed in a Work Brigade is also a prisoner. However, the Chinese maintained that the difference was that the government paid for the prisoners’ food while the worker in the Work Brigade was given a monthly wage. In addition, labourers’ rooms were not locked at night and we were allowed to go to market and visit our homes on Sundays if they were located nearby. In 1979 I was taken off the list of the “black-capped” ones.

Mrs. Tapontsang has written a book about her experiences - 'The Voice that Remembers', which is available from any bookseller.