My name is Khando Langri and am currently completing an internship at Machik. I am a fourth-year student completing a joint honours degree in anthropology and political science. I recently completed my anthropology honours thesis on Tibetan Sign Language. I am interested in the intersection of identity, disability and colonialism in the context of Tibet. Having myself been diagnosed with degenerative sensorineural hearing loss at age ten (for which I have worn hearing aids ever since), I have always been passionate about issues around accessibility within grassroots organizing and education. My goal interning at Machik was to learn how to be of service to the contemporary Tibetan community, meaning Tibetans both inside and outside Tibet. To do so, never having been to Tibet, I wanted to learn as much as possible about daily life inside Tibet and the different challenges (both systemic and personal) faced under the Chinese government. Additionally, I wanted to bring my own skills and perspective as a disabled person to Machik.
Machik is a non-governmental organization based out of Washington D.C. Run entirely by Tibetan women, it was spearheaded by Dr. Losang and Dr. Tashi Ragbey, two Tibetan sisters born and raised in Lindsay, Ontario. Machik came about from their passion for learning and community service. Its goal is to incubate social innovation for Tibet by developing opportunities for education and capacity building on a grassroots level. Their mission is to address challenges faced by Tibetan communities in Tibet through creative and sustainable initiatives which uplifts local communities. Machik strives to create partnerships and synergies that will ensure a bright future for the Tibetan Plateau; a place within which Tibetans face continuous marginalization and dispossession.
Currently, Machik has several initiatives connecting Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. They organize community screenings showcasing Tibetan made films, host a curated discussion series named Khabda which faciliates conversations on a broad range of topics from feminist art to rap music inside Tibet. Additionally, they host larger events such as the Tibetan Women’s Gender Summit and the newly created Tibetan Men’s Gender Workshop. Their biggest event is Machik Weekend, an annual three-day event hosted at the Leitner Center of Fordham University in New York City. Conceived of as a “Tibetan Ideas Festival”, Machik Weekend it showcases ideas and initiatives from a broad range of topics such as menstrual health in Tibetan communities, contemporary Tibetan art and Tibetans in STEM.
As an intern, my responsibilities were diverse. I conducted research on a broad range of topics in order to better help programming and potential future initiatives. One particularly interesting topic I delved into during my time at Machik was the history of Muslim Tibetans, a segment of the Tibetan community long overlooked by Tibetans and non-Tibetans when thinking about the Tibetan identity. Additionally, I helped coordinate and organize several events such as the fourth Khabda, Machik Weekend, the Machik Women’s Gender Summit and the first ever Tibetan Men’s Gender Workshop. Additionally, given my focus on disability, I was tasked on leading several special projects on disability and the Tibetan community. These projects on disability were the highlights of my internship! One such highlight was my work on translating the Be My Eyes app, an app connecting blind and low-vision people to sighted volunteers, into Tibetan. Another highlight was the Machik team visit I organized to Gallaudet University, the world’s only university designed to be barrier-free for deaf and hard of hearing students.
I firmly believe that this internship will help me in my pursuit of a career in anthropology. Given that both founders have a background in anthropology, their work is shaped by fieldwork which respects local knowledge, culture and traditions as well as a heightened awareness of positionality (as exiled Tibetans coming from spaces of privilege). I will continue reflecting on the ways in which Machik conducts their work and how it may help me navigate my future fieldwork and career.
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