Kalsang (25), Ngawang (22), and Dechen (21), three nuns who had just arrived at the Dolma Ling nunnery in India after fleeing Tibet. In 1992, they were arrested, beaten, shocked with electric cattle prods, and imprisoned two years for placing posters in Lhasa protesting the occupation of Tibet.
By the time he met the young Tibetan woman behind the organization Tibetan Rights Campaign, Phil Borges had grown restless. A few years before then, he’d fully transitioned from a career in orthodontics to one in photography; but, at that point, he was primarily shooting images for romance novels. What were his next steps, he wondered, until the woman told him about the various human rights violations underway in her country. Clarity suddenly struck: he should travel to Tibet and photograph those impacted by the ongoing atrocities.
And so, in 1994, he did. First, he visited Dharamshala, a hillside city in India surrounded by cedar forests and nestled on the edge of the Himalayas. Other than its astonishing landscape, the city is most known as the home of the Dalai Lama, who, by then, had already fled Tibet due to persecution by the Chinese government.
“I wanted to interview everyone, from the Dalai Lama himself to the most remote nomad,” Borges tells My Modern Met. “When I arrived, I had an interpreter that helped me interact with people.”
While in Dharamshala, Borges conducted dozens of interviews, focusing specifically on Tibetan refugees. Their journeys from Tibet to India unfolded across 30 days, over rugged terrain, deep snow, steep glaciers, and often under the cover of night to avoid detection. Many had recently escaped prison, where they were regularly tortured. One man had lost 20 teeth in one beating alone; another woman named Dechen could barely stand to recount the trauma of imprisonment.
“Several times while talking, she broke into tears, quietly excused herself, and continued relaying her story,” Borges wrote of the experience.
Even so, those he met exhibited a remarkable sense of resilience. They may have had “horrible” experiences, Borges says, but they “weren’t downtrodden,” and instead “sang, joked, and laughed.” It was as though they could locate an internal peace through these small but radical acts of humanity.
“Would I be acting like this, had I left my home and my family?” Borges asks. “I was impressed. Here were all these human rights violations, but this was how the Tibetan refugees were handling it.”
His travels ultimately resulted in The Power of Compassion. The photographic series encompasses countless portraits of Tibetan refugees, each rendered in a subtle color palette and tight composition. Some are somber, their gazes cast down as if in deep contemplation; others flash small smiles or a laugh; but all of Borges’ subjects offer an indispensable glimpse into their endurance, culture, and personality.
My Modern Met had the chance to speak with Phil Borges about The Power of Compassion, discussing its legacy more than 30 years after its creation. Read on for our exclusive interview with the photographer.
Jigme (8) and Sonam (18 months), sisters from a nomadic family who had just come down from the Himalayan highlands to their 16,500 ft. winter camp on the Tibetan Plateau.
Lobsang (67) and Tensin (13). Lobsang and 66 fellow monks were imprisoned in 1959. When released 21 years later, he was one of only three survivors. While in prison his best friend, a rinpoche, died in his arms. Tensin was later discovered to be the reincarnation of that friend. Lobsang said there are so many characteristics of his old friend in the young boy.
Shelo (20) and Benba (17), best friends since childhood, were working as hostel maids in Nyalam, an old Tibetan village that had recently become a stop over for climbers on their way to Mt. Everest.
What originally drew you to photography as your preferred medium?
When I was a medical student at the University of California in San Francisco during the 1960s, I participated in a work-study program where I interviewed local hippies that were shooting drugs. I was supposed to find out whether they would use free, clean needles if they were given access to them. At that time, there was such a cultural shift—it was just this overnight explosion of cultural norms, especially with sexuality and fashion. I thought that the hippies I spoke to looked so unique that I bought a camera and started taking portraits of them after their interviews.
That’s when I really started falling in love with photography. It grabbed me to such an extent that I almost dropped out of school. I did end up completing dental school, but I didn’t take up photography seriously until my first son was born 18 years later, since I’d taken out the camera again to record his birth. Eventually, I sold my orthodontics practice, moved to Seattle from San Francisco, and declared myself a photographer.
Tamdin (69) was imprisoned and tortured for taking part in a demonstration in Lhasa protesting the occupation of Tibet in 1987.
Ngawang’s (22) lifelong desire was to become a nun but could not due to restrictions in Tibet. When she learned of the religious freedom and educational possibilities that were available in India, she made the difficult decision to leave her family and home.
What first compelled you to travel to Tibet in 1994?
I met a young Tibetan woman in Seattle who ran an organization called the Tibetan Rights Campaign to bring awareness to what China was doing in Tibet. I had seen Free Tibet bumper stickers but didn’t know about the history and the specific atrocities going on there. Once I learned more, I felt compelled to go there and tell the story through portraits and testimonials of the people affected by the Chinese takeover. For context, Mao invaded Tibet in 1949 and the 14th Dalai Lama was forced to escape to India in 1959 and has lived there in exile since then.
I started by interviewing the refugees fleeing from Tibet in 1994, and then later went into Tibet as an unaccompanied single traveler with plenty of photo equipment. I had to sneak in by pretending I was part of a small group authorized to travel in Tibet. Once inside, I became friends with an American and his Tibetan girlfriend who worked for an NGO focused on maternal healthcare.
I ended up traveling with them throughout the Tibetan plateau, and I managed to avoid Chinese guards until I was leaving Tibet. That was when I was accosted by a Chinese guard that demanded all of my film. I gave him the used, gooey backs of my Polaroid film, and he was satisfied to tear them up with his teeth. I left with all my film.
Samdo (50) and Kunga (18) at their camp.
Botok (76) and Tsangpa (78) were classified as wealthy by the Communist authorities in 1962 because they owned almost 1,000 sheep and goats. Threatened with imprisonment, they fled across the border into the Indian state of Ladakh.
Ahidha (10 months) and Sonam (21 months) are Muslim children who, at the time of being photographed, lived near their mosque in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet.
How would you describe the experience of photographing these Tibetan refugees?
It was very humbling to meet refugees, immigrants, and people who had to escape their country for fear of their life, and yet they seemed to be living in the moment. I’ll never forget it. Being in Dharamshala when I first started the project was like magic.
Palden (62) was arrested at his monastery in 1959 and spent 24 years in prison, where he was tortured frequently. He managed to flee Tibet in 1987 and came to Dharamsala.
Pemba (4) had come to the little village of Trak Tok with her mother and sister to see the shum dance festival on a sunny but bitterly cold December day.
What was one of the most meaningful or significant moments for you while traveling through India and Tibet for The Power of Compassion?
A notice went up in Dharamshala saying that the Dalai Lama was going to give a public address. When I attended, I looked out at the audience, and I saw many of the refugees I had interviewed. During his address, the Dalai Lama said something that changed the project’s entire focus: “Treat your enemies as if they were precious jewels, because it’s your enemies, not your friends or family, who are going to teach you patience and tolerance on the way to your own enlightenment and freedom.”
That made me kind of mad at first. There were these human rights violations being committed throughout Tibet, and the Dalai Lama wasn’t advocating for his people to stand up against these enemies. As I spent more time with the Tibetan people, though, I was impressed with how they were in the face of what they’d been through, and how they implemented the Dalai Lama’s advice in handling what they’d experienced.
Yama (8) came with her parents and three sisters on a 6 week pilgrimage to the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa from the province of Kham.
Tseten (81) was one of 2,000 Tibetans living in a refugee camp near Choglamsar, Ladakh, where he had only one goat and a small plot of ground to grow some vegetables.
Over 30 years later, what do you hope current audiences will take away from The Power of Compassion?
Look at the conditions we’re facing right now. There’s so much animosity, intolerance, and hate speech that we need a good dose of compassion. I’m 82 years old, so I’ve lived through major historical events, but I’ve never seen it this bad. Even during the 60s, it was nothing like this.
I worry about things now in a way that I didn’t before, but Tibet has a lot to offer us in their philosophy. If they can overcome their hatred, anger, and tendency to retaliate against an oppressor who is torturing and killing them, we certainly can apply their practices when we are confronted with the everyday issues that can anger us. They have a practice that they’re very devoted to, and even with all the police surveillance in Tibet, they’re still out spinning prayer wheels and reciting their mantras. They really practice what they preach.
Lelung (24) was asked by the Dalai Lama to go to Tibet and rescue the written works of his previous incarnation the last Lelung Rinpoche. Although the monastery had been completely destroyed, he was able to locate the writings and get them safely out of Tibet.
Dawa (15) is the eldest son of a barley farmer. Although responsible for his families herd of 400 goats, he would spend most of his free time reading—especially anything written in Tibetan.
Phil Borges: Website | Facebook
Interview has been edited for length and clarity. My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Phil Borges.
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