Journey From Zanskar

Fredrick Marx

By: Allison Coe

The Questions

• Could you leave home for 10 to 15 years?• Could you let your children leave?• Would you do it if it lead to a better life for

you and your community?• These are all questions that the families of the

Zanskar must ask themselves before they can make the journey to Manali for their education.

Zanskar

• A small area of northern India surrounded by Pakistan and Tibet

• Very small Buddhist culture is slowly dying out.

• To Manali: Pakistan border is dangerous for Buddhist, Tibetan border is narrow and treacherous, straight through has formidable weather.

The Movie

• Two monks are commissioned by the Dali Lama to sponsor 17 children to go to school.

• The politically safest way is straight through dangerous mountain passes.

• They are, at first, thwarted by deep snow but use the second safest route along high, narrow mountain passes, which is successful.

• Months later the children are taken to the Dali Lama to be recognized.

Central Message

• Seventeen children are leaving their homes, not to see their families for a decade or more, all to get an education. Without this opportunity they would be stuck on their farm, most of them unable to read or write, as their parents were. Is this worth it? Would you leave your family for a chance at a better life? Could you leave your children in the care of strangers if it gave them a better chance?

Message Communication

• As many documentaries are, it felt long winded. Had the documentary been twenty minutes shorter it would have sufficed. The film makers wanted to show the western cultures exactly what the need for education is in poor parts if the world. And to show how desperate some people are for a better life for their children.

The Truest Sources

• The sources that the film makers used were the families themselves. They showed people living in unimaginable conditions to drive home how desperately their children need a brighter future.

The Individual in the Modern World

• This film shows that everyone can make a difference. That one should not be afraid to reach out. By helping seventeen children these two monks have given hope to an entire area who previously had none. Everything one does to help is needed and will be worth the risk.

My Questions

• What would have happened to these kids and their families and eventually an entire culture if these monks had not been so determined? What will become of the other children in the villages? Will the monks return every year to gather children?

Final Thoughts

• If one person stand up and decides to make a difference many tragic past events would have, more than likely never occurred and many people would have a brighter future.

The End