Dharamshala: German Filmmaker Niklas Goslar’s documentary on the life and work of the late Ama Irmtraut Wäger ‘Mother of Tibetans’ has been officially selected at the 7th Indian Cine Filmfest. It was screened at the 7th Indian Cine Filmfest in Mumbai on 8 September.
The film is called ‘Mother of Tibetans’ after the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama calling her ‘a mother of many Tibetan children’.
The documentary is dedicated to the memory of Ama Irmtraut Wäger, her work and commitment.
Born in East Prussia in 1919, Irmtraut Wäger became a refugee during the Second World War.
It was during one of her visits to India that altered Irmtraut Wäger’s life forever and she began actively involved in finding aids for Tibetan refugees. She started her second career at the age of 60 when she retired from her first profession. In 1964 she started sponsoring her first Tibetan refugee, an elderly lama whom she visited him ten years later. When she travelled to India for the first time in 1975, the distress of the Tibetan refugees evoked memories of her own experience as a refugee and so she firmly decided to return to India again to help them. She was determined as her life motto has always been “the others first” which she cultivated from her father. She began raising funds and ran Deutsche Tibethilfe (German Aid to Tibetans) from her small two-bedroom apartment in Munich.
She had served as chairperson of Deutsche Tibethilfe e.V.(German Aid to Tibetans) since 1983, which has led an outstanding mission for the education and welfare of Tibetans in exile.
With dedication and determination to help Tibetan refugees, she collected funds for the education and welfare of Tibetans. She was a determined head of a major relief agency – her reward was the love of all the Tibetans young and old, monks and nuns, etc. The Tibetans started referring her by the name “Ama Wäger”, translated in English as “Mother Wäger”.
She personally visited Tibetan settlements in India and Nepal every year and ensured that all the donations are being utilised properly.
She was actively involved in this new journey of her life and was very generous to the Tibetan people. Moreover, she directed the support of many other individuals in Germany to where it was needed the most.
After reaching the age of 90, she stepped down as President of the German Aid to Tibetans. At 95, she passed away leaving behind a lasting legacy and touched the lives of people she came across. Her hard work and commitment have truly made an immense impact on people’s life. Tibetan people remain indebted and grateful for her tremendous help. She has dedicated more than three decades of her life towards the welfare and education of Tibetans in exile.
Ama Wager, a German Mother still lingers in the heart of many Tibetans.
President of the Central Tibetan Administration on the demise of Ama Wager said “Ama Wäger’s humanitarian work has played a pivotal role in the sustenance of the Tibetan community in exile. She was truly a beacon of light that changed many lives for the better. Ama Wäger’s legacies will be remembered by Tibetans in the generations to come. Tibetans will remain forever indebted to her generosity.”
In 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama conferred her with the International Campaign for Tibet’s Light of Truth award for her “outstanding contribution to public understanding of Tibet and its current plight”.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Ama Irmtraut Wäger. Photo source: Facebook
His Holiness the Dalai Lama presenting the International Campaign for Tibet’s Light of Truth award to Ama Irmtraut Wäger in Berlin 2005. Photo source: Facebook
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Ama Irmtraut Wäger. Photo source: Facebook