On a quiet fall day in 1987, an aspiring photojournalist named Steve Lehman noticed a crowd in front of the palace.
At first, Lehman dismissed them as part of a festival, but his instinct told him to take a closer look. Camera in hand, he moved through the throng of bystanders and came face-to-face with a group of monks carrying homemade Tibetan flags.
Lehman immediately realized the implication of the young men's actions in Chinese-occupied Tibet -- they would be killed or imprisoned for their public demonstration.
"Looking into their eyes, seeing a young person giving up their life for a greater good, forever changed me," Lehman later said.
The Chinese police arrested the demonstrators and confiscated one of Lehman's rolls of film, but the surviving roll became international news when Lehman broke the story of Tibetan unrest. Last night in Alumni Hall, 15 years after witnessing that demonstration, Lehman shared his story and presented his book, "The Tibetans: A Struggle to Survive."
At the invitation of Dartmouth Students for a Free Tibet, Lehman told an audience of several dozen students, professors and community members what it was like to live in Tibet during a time of great violence and oppression.
First drawn to the area while traveling as a student in Asia, Lehman studied in China to learn the language and the ways of the Chinese government before obtaining his residency permit and attempting to hitchhike into Tibet.
During his first day in Tibet, Lehman was attacked by guard dogs at a truck stop and had to seek help at a hospital in a neighboring village, where a doctor took pity on the young American and invited him into her home.
"I walked in the door, and there was an elderly man whose face showed that he had experienced trauma," Lehman said. "I learned that he had spent 13 years in prison for his role as a Tibetan guerilla fighter. For three years, he had lived in a small dark room with only a cup of barley and a cup of tea a day."
That experience changed Lehman's view of Tibet. Most publicity of the nation revolved around "its religion, or anthropology, or Mt. Everest," Lehman said, but the land he was beginning to see was far different.
Lehman had begun his first journey in search of a remote village of mountain-cave dwellers, but soon realized he was seeking something else.
"I realized there was something wrong with the idea of looking for the last untouched place," Lehman said. "Everywhere has been touched."
After breaking the story of unrest, Lehman returned to Tibet six more times, capturing heart-rending images of a beautiful land and a fascinating people burdened with deep sorrow and hardship.
"The land has so much power," Lehman said. "I wanted to live there."
After showing a sequence of slides, Lehman answered questions about the future of Tibet. He believes that someday there will be an end to the conflict and independence for Tibet.
"I am an optimist," Lehman said. "Both nations have to deal with the trauma they have suffered. But there is a whole new group of Chinese leaders who know that [the occupation of Tibet] is impractical."
After traveling in Tibet over a period of 20 years, Lehman had his own trauma to deal with.
"I went through a lot of pain, and much of it had to do with the trauma I had seen as a photojournalist," Lehman said. "I was able to transcend pain though forgiving."
He no longer works as a photojournalist, partly because of the birth of his son and partly because of the rigors of the job.
"I initially began to photograph because it gave me freedom and clarity. Over time, I lost my freedom to the profession," Lehman said. "It was a struggle."
