The Dalai Lama, an Asian Hero

Time Asia’s latest issue features His Holiness the Dalai Lama as one of Asia’s inspiring heroes. Deepak Chopra has written a brief article about His Holiness’ inspiring, humbling personality and also about the delicate position he has to balance between being a religious figure and a symbol of a freedom struggle.

He travels the globe to remind us of our better selves. Yet the presence of the Dalai Lama is also immediate and worldly. He’s the lightning rod for Tibet, and a symbol of its subjugation under Beijing’s rule. As long as that injustice persists, the Dalai Lama will remain peaceful and poignant at the same time.

I never figured Freddie Mercury to be an Asian.

Unrest in Lhasa over Blatant Discrimination

Here’s a little nugget of news about about Tibet while we’re all enraptured with the mid-term elections and everything else in the world. It’s nothing that’s particularly revealing about the nepotism and systematic discrimination that runs rampant up there in Tibet; what’s worth noting about this particular case was that the Tibetans actually managed to stage a protest in front of a government office without being, oh I don’t know…shot at or run over by tanks.

No arrests were made, but TAR authorities talked with the Tibetan protesters and tried to defuse the situation,” said another source…the graduates protested in different groups of about 200 people “for several days in front of the TAR government offices and the Department of Education in Lhasa during the last week of October.

It was a non-violent protest and no Tibetans are reported to be arrested. In a case of numbers bearing evidence of the unfair treatment of Tibetans inside Tibet: only two Tibetans were offered the official positions out of a possible 100 available. Take a wild guess where 98% of the remaining jobs were handed? Hint: they were offered to a certain group of people from an ethnicity that rhymes with Khan. Remember, these are all Tibetans who have diligently studied and graduated from various noted universities around China. “Many had been backed in their studies by families and villages in poor rural areas.” They have bought the system and tried their best to fit in it. And for all the trouble that they went through, all they got was a big, fat NO.

Which shouldn’t come as a surprise to most people who are familiar with the gross inequality, corruption, human rights abuses and the microcosmic concentration of power and wealth in Beijing, Shanghai and other coastal cities. Tibetans aside, the majority of the Chinese populace are growing increasingly disenfranchised and even hostile towards the supposedly “harmonious” reconciliation of China’s growing wealth and status across the globe. 90% of China’s new billionaires are the children of senior party officials. But here’s the kicker: In a country of 1.17 billion people, 77% of their population earn no more than US$250 in a year.

So, while China is gearing itself up for the big event in 2008, her country-folks remain neglected and abused — awash in a sea of rhetorical promises and polluted rivers. Maybe the escalating discontent among the Chinese people can herald in a new wave of progressive idealism. Maybe the students will rise again, with the peasants backing them up, against an administration which has no clear structure of authority or purpose. Maybe the unrest reaches to a tipping point such that it spills all across the country, reinvigorating the resistance movements among the Tibetans and the Uighurs. And maybe, just maybe, Students For a Free Tibet will no longer need to exist in a few years. Maybe we can finally change our handle then to Students for a Funky Tibet, or anything else that doesn’t carry such a consequence with it’s namesake.

Until that time arrives, we’ll just have to keep kindling that fire which burns in the bloated belly of an insecure giant.

The Abbreviated Life of a Tibetan Nun

Another very sombre and articulate article by the Christian Science Monitor correspondent Daniel Pepper on the refugees who managed to escape the shooting on Sep 30. at the Nangpa Pass. Of particular note is the friendship between Kelsang Namtso and Dolma Palkyi, the former slain by Chinese border patrols and the latter now a Tibetan refugee in India.

Kelsang Namtso had become a Buddhist nun just last year, at the tender age of 16. Her friend, Dolma Palkyi, 16, wanted to go to India, and meet the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, before taking her vows. Dolma says she managed to save nearly $1,400 for the arduous journey through the Himalayas. Half would go to the smugglers. In early September, the girls loaded their backpacks with yak butter, cheese, and barley, and finally set off. Seventeen days later, Kelsang lay dying in the snow after an attack, captured by Western tourists’ cameras, that is becoming an international incident and a stain on China’s human rights record.

These sorts of clandestine exodus — and the subsequent dangers that befall the escapees — have been going on ever since the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet in 1959 after the popular uprising in Lhasa. It’s an impressive feat of courage, of will, and of optimism that these Tibetans carry with them when they decide to navigate the brutal topography of the Himalayas, not to speak of the constant danger of Chinese gunmen constantly breathing down their backs, all in the hopes of being graced by His Holiness.

Some might wonder if it’s really worth it for the Tibetans to embark on such a foolhardy ordeal, and whether this faith in an exiled leader is worth risking your life over. To the Tibetans inside Tibet, it is. It is not just blind faith that carries them through their journey to India. It is the suffocating grip of China on their life, their culture and their religion that forces them to abandon their belongings in Tibet and to literally climb mountains of obstacles in order to breathe that refreshing air of freedom. This isn’t like one of our mere gung ho stabs at romantic adventurism. The Tibetans realize what is at stake and still persist on because the Dalai Lama to them represents their true identity. Because the monasteries in India and Nepal aren’t just the projected tourist spots that the Chinese want them to be (in Tibet), but rather actual academic institutes where they can explore all the different layers of their philosophy and faith. Because, ultimately, His Holiness represents their only real hope. And that simple hope, as in this case, is what led to a 16 years old nun’s untimely death.

We, SFT, have been constantly monitoring such daring attempts by Tibetans for quite a while now, and this is one of the only instances where a group of unaffiliated mountain climbers saw this whole tragic scene unfold before them. There are photo and video evidences everywhere so we can now ensure that the murder of Kelsang Namtso isn’t just another statistic. And while the official condemnations from the international community is reaffirming, we have to take that onus to ensure that the lives of her and another 23 year old man — reported to have died from “oxygen shortage” while in hospital — doesn’t get skewed and brushed aside by the Chinese government as just another “unfortunate altercation with border officials who were only acting in self-defence”.

The nun killed was typical of the many Tibetan refugees who make the journey: she was poor, young, and religiously motivated. At least half of those making the journey from Tibet are children, sent by parents who want their children to grow up with a strong Tibetan identity and who often cannot afford school fees at home. Among the group of Tibetans that just arrived in India, the youngest was a 7-year-old girl, Deki Pantso, who came without her parents.

Imagine that — being a 7 year old child terrified out of your wits as you scramble for your dear life on the deadly, icy slopes of the Himalayas. How it must have felt for her parents to trust the life of their child in the hands of strangers, knowing fully well the implications and dangers of such a decision? Will she be safe? Will she be well taken care of? How will she do in one of those many refugee schools in India? Will they ever see her again?

Tough decisions to make, and even tougher to carry them out. But that’s the reality of life for Tibetans in Tibet. It has been going on ever since the Chinese invaded Tibet and will continue to go on until they are liberated from this oppressive regime.

So, the next time you see a bunch of students protesting on the streets, don’t just honk at us. Park your car around the corner and stop by, even if it’s just for five minutes. Not only will you be giving us a boost, but you’ll actually feel a bit better as you unload your grocery out of your car and think about your actions for Tibet, however momentary that may be. And this doesn’t just apply to Tibet. It can be for any cause that you’ve always supported but can never “really make time for”. After all, activism will always trump apathy.

You can even help Tibet now by mailing your thoughts to Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Communist Party of China, and Mr. Jacques Rogge, IOC president. Let them know about your disapproval and feel that sense of contentment sweep from the tip of your fingers to your swelling chest as you click on the “send” button. Believe you me, Tibet needs you now more than ever.

Protest Encore!

Oct 21, 2006 – With Tibetans driving to Vancouver from down south in Oregon and Washington, we protested yet again in front of the People’s Republic of China Consulate. This time it was with an added little punch as we had more than a hundred protestors lining down the Granville Street clad in traditional Tibetan garbs and colourful flags and banners reminding the people and the government of the Sep. 30 killings on Nangpa La Pass. The day was pleasantly sunny and the weekend commuters more than obliged us with their incessant honks and waves.

Kate Woznow, our National Co-ordinator was also at the demonstration, having just returned from SFT India Free Tibet! Action Camp. Welcome back, Kate. It’s great to non-violently direct-act with you again.

Members of the Canada Tibet Committee (CTC), Regional Tibet Youth Congress (RTYC), and — was it just me or did I see some dharma people there as well? — many others were participating in full vigour. Towards the conclusion of the demo, the Tibetans sang a spirited rendition of the Tibetan national anthem, and a couple of other humanitarian and nationalistic songs.

Tsewang Rinzin, member of the Oregon RTYC club, delivered a particularly heartfelt and succint reminder to the Tibetans in the diaspora here in North America about their obligations towards Tibet and the Tibetans suffering there. “I’m not here to chastize anyone about their responsibilities,” cried Rinzin, “or how they should conduct their lives. But it is IMPERATIVE that we take a little time off of our schedules so that we can show up to events like these and support our brothers and sisters who are still suffering under the harsh regime of Red China in Tibet.” What was impressive about his long, emotional speech was that is was all improvised. He continued, “Until Tibet gains absolute freedom — which I believe we will eventually — we cannot afford to be flippant about our situation. We cannot let the weights of our career and responsibilities in this materialistic lifestyle prevent us from helping Tibet however we can. I want to wholeheartedly thank all the protestors who came here today, but I’m equally saddened by the overwhelming lack of participation from the majority of the Tibetans from Oregon, from Washington and from Vancouver. I believe we have around 300 Tibetans in Washington, and yet, I look around and [can] count only upto 37 or so. This is very, very shameful indeed. I look around and I see all the elderly folks trying, despite their age or discomfort, to make the effort in coming here and screaming for a liberated Tibet. It is my dream, and I know it is theirs too, that when the time comes, they can have the honour of finally laying to rest in the country where they were born and raised. Thank you and Free Tibet!” At the end of his emotional spiel, many of the Tibetans present applauded and screamed “Free Tibet” for another 15 minutes.

After 2 hours of demonstrating, the protestors slowly dispersed and made their way back home. Some inside Vancouver, others south of the border. All, undoubtedly, still holding the memory of the slain nun and others high up in the cold mountain pass of Nang pa La.

Canada Condemns Chinese Soldier Killing of Tibetan

A due-but-delayed response from our federal Gov’t towards the Nang Pa La Pass Shootings.

AFP[Thursday, October 19, 2006 06:59]

OTTAWA – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay “strongly” condemned the killing of an unarmed Tibetan fleeing into Nepal and wounding of another by Chinese troops, captured on video.

“Canada strongly condemns this act of violence against unarmed civilians as an egregious violation of human rights. We have formally raised these concerns with the Chinese government,” MacKay told the House of Commons.

“We have called upon the Chinese to conduct a full, independent investigation and punish those responsible, as well as release the detained Tibetan children immediately to their families,” he said, citing China’s obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.

China’s official Xinhua news agency admitted onThursday last week that Chinese soldiers killed one person and injured another near
Mount Everest, but said they were acting in self-defense.

Xinhua said the soldiers tried to persuade the group to go back home “but the stowaways refused and attacked the soldiers.”

But a Romanian TV station on Saturday released a video that it said showed Chinese troops shooting the two unarmed Tibetan refugees as they fled. The two were among a group of around 70 Tibetans trying to flee into Nepal.

The video footage from Pro TV’s website depicts a line of Tibetans walking through the snow on the Nangpa La Pass when a shot is heard and one person in the group falls to the ground.

A narrator says the Romanian cameraman who witnessed the incident was one kilometer (0.6 miles) away from the Tibetans when the shooting occurred.

A US-based rights group, the International Campaign for Tibet, identified the person who died as 25-year-old Tibetan nun Kelsang Namtso.

China has ruled Tibet since it sent in the military to “liberate” the Himalayan region in 1950.

International rights groups accuse the Chinese of ruling Tibet through repression and military intimidation.