Читать книгу Seven Years in Tibet - Heinrich Harrer - Страница 4

MESSAGE

Heinrich Harrer and I first met because he and my elder brother, Lobsang Samten, had become good friends and even got up to mischief together. Eventually, I asked him to come and see me on the pretext that he could help me work on the generator for my movie projector. We too soon became good friends.

Now, as we both grow older, we remember those happy days we spent together in a happy country. Harrer was one of the few people living in Lhasa in the twilight years of Tibetan freedom, able to photograph people and scenes from all walks of life. These photographs form a valuable record of Tibet as it was and I am glad that they are being exhibited, so that others may witness the contentment that was ours.

It is a sign of genuine friendship that it does not change, come what may. Once you get to know each other, you retain your friendship and help each other for the rest of your lives. Harrer has always been such a friend to Tibet. His most important contribution to our cause, his book, Seven Years in Tibet, introduced hundreds of thousands of people to my country. Even today, he is still active in the struggle for Tibetans’ right to freedom and we are grateful to him for it.