Roots & Family


In May 1965 as a three year old little girl together with my family and some other Tibetan families we arrived in Switzerland, the country that was to become our new home. My family had to escape from Tibet in 1959 due to the Chinese occupation.
		Switzerland had kindly decided to grant a home to 1000 Tibetan refugees. This is the story how I, as one of the first Tibetan Children found a new home in Switzerland.
		Both our parents have a fascinating life story. Our father is a Tibetan Lama who was discovered as a three-year old boy as the reincarnation of the 5th Dagsay Rinpoche and was then raised in the monastery of Chokri in Eastern Tibet where he obtained all the spiritual education. 1959 when the Chinese occupied Tibet, Rinpoche had to flee to India in order not to get jailed by the Chinese.
Our mother, Yishi Tsedön grew up as the second of four children in Chözong, the Western Part of Tibet. She was the daughter of a well respected and traditional family.

		Her father, the late Yishi Gyurme Zatul was the Administrator of the Regent of Tibet, Reting Rinpoche. She was the sister of the lama of the Monastery the venerable Zatul Rinpoche. Together with her sister and her other brother they spent many years at the monastery school to obtain their education.

	After a long illness which she endured so bravely, she passed away on 8th March 2002. Her beauty, her bravery and her love will always remain in our hearts.