Dharamshala — A Tibetan activist living in Australia has won a poetry award for his poem entitled “One Human Family”, which was given by the Bill Crews Foundation. Here is an extract from his poem: “We do not need more weapons. We do not need stronger walls. We need stronger hearts. If we teach our children from the moment they are born about kindness, wisdom, and shared responsibility, they will grow not as divided nations, but as united humanity.”
TPI interviewed Tsundu Oser (also known as Minyak Tsundu Oser), Tibetan activist. Oser spoke about his commitment to the Tibetan cause, his support for Tibetans newly arrived in Australia, and his involvement in organising protests against the Chinese communist Party’s oppressive actions and policies in Tibet, and detained several times for the protests.
When he introduced himself, he said, “My name is Tsundu Oser. I fled to India in 1997 and had studied in India and Nepal until he arrived in Australia in 2005, where I also learned English. I often take part in demonstrations against human rights violations committed by the CCP in Tibet and meet with community leaders, MPs and government representatives to raise awareness of the critical situation facing Tibetans in Tibet. Having spent many years in Sydney, I have gained experience of life here and helped newly arrived Tibetans in Australia. I have also served three terms as a member of the Regional Tibetan Youth Congress and I remain a member. I have also served two terms as a member of the Tibetan community in Sydney.
When asked about his activism, he replied, “I have done what I could for the Tibetan cause and for my Tibetan brothers and sisters in Tibet. My most significant actions were unfurling a large banner on a prominent Coca-Cola billboard in Kings Cross (the largest billboard in the Southern Hemisphere), which read “Enjoy Compassion – Always Tibet” and “Talk to the Dalai Lama,” when the Chinese Olympic torch arrived in Australia on April 23, 2008.
Another action involved a large-scale protest organised on July 22, 2015 in front of the Chinese consulate in Sydney by around 50 Tibetan protesters, including myself, to denounce the sudden death of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a renowned Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, while he was being held in a Chinese prison. When truck drivers drove into the consulate grounds, we took the opportunity to enter as well, waving Tibetan flags. One of us climbed the flagpole and took down the Chinese flag in an attempt to raise the Tibetan flag, which prompted police intervention. These protests were covered by national and international media, including ABC, SAS, Reuters, The Diplomat, and The New York Times.
TPI asked him how his activism began. He replied that, during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Australia in 2008, he had met with the local Tibetan community. During that meeting, His Holiness the Dalai Lama told us: “We all have a responsibility to protect the Tibetan language, culture, and religion. Never forget that we are Tibetans, and we are the representatives of the Tibetans living in Tibet.” His Holiness’s words left a deep impression on me and made me reflect. Since then, I have strived to devote all my energy to the Tibetan cause and to fight for the human rights and freedom of Tibetans in Tibet.
When asked how Tsundu Oser had won the poetry award, he explained that the Rev. Bill Crews Foundation organised a poetry contest among several communities in the Sydney area, including the Tibetan community. He entered the poetry contest as a representative of the Tibetan community. The awards ceremony was held in Sydney on March 21, 2026, in the presence of Reverend Bill Crews, founder of the Rev. Bill Crews Foundation. The participants read their poems, and the judges selected the winners of the poetry contest. Tsundu Oser won the <<Lyrical Illuminated Award>> and the <<BCF Voices of United Award>>.
TPI asked what he thought of the award, he replied, “I didn’t expect to receive this award, but I am very happy to have received it on behalf of Tibet. I was extremely happy and honored, when Reverend Bill Crews presented His Holiness the Dalai Lama with the booklet containing my poem and my photo, on April 11, 2026. At that moment, I realized that what I had done and what I continue to do was truly worth it.”
When asked where he got the ideas for this poem and why he had titled it “One Human Family,” he replied that, given the wars currently raging between Russia and Ukraine, the United States and Iran, and so on, it is very important to think about peace, compassion, tolerance, kindness, and humanity, rather than war, murder, and torture.
Here are a few excerpts from his poem: “In this vast world, we draw borders on maps, we create different religions, we speak different languages, and we carry different colors on our skin. But when a baby is born, does it carry religion? Does it carry nationality? Does it carry hatred? No. It carries breath. It carries hope. It carries the same heartbeat that beats inside all of us.
“One day, every one of us will leave this world. So why do we choose war when we could choose peace? Why do we choose control when we could choose compassion? Today, some nations fight. Power speaks louder than kindness. Fear grows faster than understanding.
“We do not need more weapons. We do not need stronger walls. We need stronger hearts. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama teaches us “If you cannot help others, at least do not harm them,” such a simple word, and yet powerful enough to change the world.
“If we teach our children from the moment they are born about kindness, wisdom, and shared responsibility, they will grow not as divided nations, but as united humanity. The future is not written in stone. It is written in our choices. And today, we can choose differently, not as separate religions, not as separate countries, but as one human family.”
