Representative Tashi Phuntsok with guests and members of Brussels Tibetan community at the Losar gathering. Photo/OOT Brussels
Representative Phuntsok wished the gathering a joyful and blissful new year. He also called upon the public to look back into the year gone by and vow that the wrong, the misdeeds, the unfortunate of the past are avoided in the new year. He recalled his oft repeated appeal to the Tibetans in the West to glean the best of the developed world, including giving and inspiring excellent education for the young.
He added that the Tibetan in the West have an additional and special responsibility to living up to advanced thinking in the unique opportunity afforded to them in the Tibetan Charter to elect their parliamentarians on the basis of local constituency, unlike in India, Nepal and and Bhutan. He ended his brief speech by praying for a very long life for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Cultural performance by young Tibetans at the Losar celebration. Photo/OOT Brussels
Giving awards and citations, followed – to the educational committee members and outgoing head and other members of the community school staff for their dedicated service. Dance and songs by children of the school regaled the audience, the parents eagerly falling upon each other to take pictures of the their sons and daughters in traditional dress and performing in front of them.
The formal function ended with a sumptuous dinner laid on two long tables on each side of the hall. Kelsang la and his gang of volunteers received much deserved applause and recognition for their untiring service for being the Chef and assistants in every Tibetan community event’s food and beverage section. No less can be said about the board members of the Community who work so hard to bring together the community and facilitate such events – year in and year out.
-Filed by Office of Tibet, Brussels-
Tibetan new year celebration in Brussels, Belgium. Photo/OOT Brussels