Tibetan and Nepalese Utahns gathered in front of the mayor’s office on Sept. 23 to mourn the loss of life from the Nepal-Tibet border region avalanche and flood, which was triggered by a glacier collapse and 5.2 magnitude seismic tremor that occurred on Aug. 26th.
Wednesday was chosen as the day of the memorial because it is the Dalai Lama’s soul day, said Pema Chagzoetsang, the president of Utahn Tibetan Association, as the memorial began in Salt Lake City. Around 50 people attended the memorial. As people lit candles for the vigil, Chagzoetsang said “Each candle represents a life, a family, and a story. A reminder that behind every number is a human being who mattered. We call upon our fellow Utahns and the broader community to see beyond the silence, to remember every life lost, and to stand with the people of Nepal and Tibet during this difficult time.”
Representatives from both the Tibetan and the Nepalese associations spoke on memorializing lives lost on climate change disasters. Former congressman Ben McAdams who is running for U.S. Congress this fall in Utah’s 1st District also attended.
Climate change
Tibet is dubbed the “Third Pole” of the world, containing the largest store of glacial ice and freshwater outside of the Arctic and Antarctic Poles. This, and its elevation make it more susceptible to rising temperatures around the world. Karma Tensum, the Vice-President of the Utahn Tibetan Association, said “[Tibet] is fragile and sensitive because it is at such a high altitude in such ratified atmospheres, experts say that if the globe increases the global warming by one degree that in Tibet it translates to two or even three degrees.”
These rising temperatures are what triggered the collapse of the glacier, causing a 5.2 magnitude earthquake.
Tensum said that maybe the urbanization of Tibet and Nepal by Chinese occupation played a factor in the collapse. “Perhaps it is most likely epitomized by the railway line that goes from Amdo all the way to Tibet, digging about 36 tunnels to get it done,” he said. “Perhaps it can be epitomized by the crisscross of highways that now scatter all over Tibet.”
This causes the permafrost, which holds the glaciers together, to melt, he said. “When the permafrost begins to thaw, the substructure becomes weak. That is when glaciers melt. That is when glaciers collapse.”
Chinese industrialization of Tibet
China invaded Tibet in 1950 and began mining the country for resources in the 1960s. “The Tibetan environment is so important not only for Tibet itself but for about a billion other people,” Tensum said during the memorial.
Tensum said that things changed when China invaded. “For Tibetans, we would never think of tearing the belly of that earth or trying to alter the pathway of a river. Things changed around 1959 when Tibet got occupied,” he said. “For the Chinese leadership, the Tibetan plateau was just one more frontier to be conquered, to be engineered, to be subdued into the mainstream of the Chinese mainland, and from that perspective, things changed drastically for the Tibetan environment.”
Tibet holds various natural resources, including fresh water, lithium, gold and coal. “All these resources are being extrapolated from underneath the earth and that in turn causes immense environmental hazards,” Tensum said.
Change in the U.S.
McAdams ran his primary campaign for CD1 earlier this year against more progressive candidates like Liban Mohammed and Nate Blouin. During his tenure of the 116th Congress, McAdams was ranked as the most conservative democrat.
In an interview with The Daily Utah Chronicle, McAdams said that climate change will impact populations around the world. “It goes to show the unexpected nature of the immense change we’re seeing to our climate,” he said. “We can’t predict how it’s going to affect us.”
Changing how the United States generates energy and limiting greenhouse gases are key ways to fighting climate change, McAdams said. He said he believes the U.S. will transition to electric vehicles and prided the Biden administration on capping orphan wells.
Working with other members in Congress will be key to tackling the issue of climate disasters, if McAdams does win. “I think there are many Republicans who recognize … well, there aren’t many climate deniers on the coast of Florida,” McAdams said. “There are people who are counting on me, who expect me to sit down at a table and work to deliver solutions. At the end of the day, the climate doesn’t care what you say; it cares what changes.”
Gathering for remembrance
In 2026, a new law was passed in China called the Ethnic Unity Law, which would see China’s 55 ethnic minorities assimilated into a single community for the Chinese nation.
Biplov Lamichhane, president of the Nepalese Association of Utah, said that China is “trying to homogenize everyone into a mainstream Chinese culture. We want to keep our own identity to keep our own culture. We want to keep our own way of thinking.”
Grief can cross oceans, McAdams said during the vigil, but so can compassion. “Across the Himalayas, glaciers are retreating, temperatures are rising, and the risks that are facing communities are changing with them,” he said. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that the Earth is our home and our mother. We need to respect and to take care of her. And it’s time for the world to listen to his words of wisdom.”