Is The Outerbridge Crossing Along The Eightfold Path?

You visit Staten Island for the love*, not just to avoid the Lincoln Tunnel:

They are walking 100 miles — from the Chinese consulate in Manhattan to the birthplace of American freedom in Philadelphia — to raise awareness and gain support for the movement to free Tibet from Chinese rule.

Yesterday, 26 members of the International Tibet Independence Movement walked through Staten Island with signs, T-shirts and Tibetan flags, as part of the “March for Tibet’s Independence.”

Jigme Norbu of Bloomington, Ind., noted the importance of the Independence Day arrival in The City of Brotherly Love as he walked on Hylan Boulevard through New Dorp yesterday. “When we arrive on July 4, it will be very symbolic,” he said.

The group hopes it can rally support to urge the Chinese government to grant Tibet its independence so one day it can celebrate its own day of freedom.

. . .

Upon beginning the march Wednesday, the group delivered a letter to the Chinese consulate urging the nation’s government to grant independence to Tibet, Southern Mongolia and Eastern Turkistan. “We’re trying to let the government in Beijing know they need to end the illegal occupation of Tibet,” said [International Tibet Independence Movement president Larry] Gerstein.

Gerstein is driving the support van, which will pick up the walkers at the end of each day and drive them to a church where they will spend the night, then next morning, return them to the spot where they ended their walk the previous day. They will be driven over bridges, such as the Outerbridge Crossing, that do not allow pedestrian access.

*Don’t forget to visit the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art on your way to the bridge!