Tibetan Uprising

Michael Bramadat Willcock, a 22 year old support marcher from Quebec, Canada, grew up hearing about the Tibet issue. His parents took him to protest the illegal occupation in front of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa every year and he saw the Dalai Lama during His Holiness’ visit to Canada. In 2007, the family took a trip to Ladakh where they stayed with a Tibetan family. He trekked to a place near the border where he saw the Rooftop of the World for the first time in his life and swore to cross those mountains someday.

Michael grew up on a farm in southern Quebec but also spent time in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. He studied modern languages at Vanier College with a focus on Spanish, Russian and German plus the requisite French and English. In his free time, Michael enjoys training horses, writing, mountain climbing and filmmaking. It’s the latter that brought him on the march. After being inspired by watching his friend Kalsang Dolma’s movie “What Remains of Us”, Michael received an email about the March to Tibet. “I decided to go on the peace to walk to Tibet and to make a film about it so that I can could bring it back and raise awareness about the Tibetan cause in Canada.”

He spent a month raising money for his project and received the generous donation of a digital video camera from a local family. His fellow marchers have been happy to have him. Marcher Lex Pelger said, “He’s a stand up guy with dedication and knowledge about the issue of Tibet. I’m excited to see the work that comes out of the video camera always in his hand.” When asked about his reasons for coming on the march, Michael said, “I’m here to represent mine and my family’s and country’s support for the cause of the Tibetan people.” The marchers are happy to have him with them.