Strange Days

See full poster and details at: http://www.tchrd.org/images/poster/mass_uprising.jpg

I know I’ve been talking about Tibet a lot recently, but what is happening right now in Tibet is really important. People are being dragged from their homes by the thousands and thousands all over Tibet, at night, by the Chinese police. I have spoken with many many friends here who’ve been speaking daily to friends and family in Tibet, all of who have had their best friends, their mothers, their siblings, their neighbours or villagers, taken away from their houses to be imprisoned. This is happening throughout Tibet and is not being reported on Western media, because we can get no named sources for this news (for the reasons mentioned in the last post – namely safety reasons). Yet everyone here is speaking to friends in the 3 regions that comprise the vastness of pre-invasion Tibet – U-tsang, Amdo and Kham – and everyone is giving exactly the same reports; The Chinese police are making house to house raids, village by village and taking in anyone even vaguely connected to the peaceful protests that have been occurring for nearly 3 weeks now. These people are taken away for torture and imprisonment. Unless you’ve spoken to someone who’s been tortured at the hands of the Chinese, you can’t believe the significance of what’s happening. If you wat to relat, imagine wherever you are now, reading this – inyour living room bedroom. ou hear a knock at the door, and 10 armed police brak intoyour ouse, take away your housemate, your mother, your sister, violently, and you. You are taken to a detention centre where you see hundreds of other people – children, monks, old people (these are the reports given by people taken in throughout Tibet who have been released – the lucky ones). You are then questioned by the police about your role in the recent protests. You are beaten with fists, sticks, batons, electric prods until you pass out. Maybe hung up from the ceiling by your arms, feet r wrists shackled together. When you pass out you are woken up with cold water and th ‘interrogation’ continues. If you are lucky you are let back home to live in the world of fear and starvation that is Tibet right now. If not, you are kept, tortured for 2, 3 years, maybe 20, or aybe you will jus die from your injuries. I’m tring not to be emotional, but this is the truth, an this is why I’ve been so numb for weeks – since I’ve been here I’ve met so so many people – waiters in cafes, monks, nuns, children – all who tell the same story – they’ve seen people killed in front of them – they’ve been shot/ beaten/ raped for nothing, no reason at all. What’s appening in a major crackdown now that the Chinese are really pissed off is obvious even until you hear all the reports coming in. It’s difficult not to be emotional because we are human beings and we shouldn’t e doig this to each other, or allowing this to happen.

Now there are names and details to go with the pictures of beaten broken bodies of Tibetans from the last few weeks – it is horrendous. A 64 year old man whose 54 year wife is critical from her shooting – they had I think 10 children. A 16 year old girl, a 15 year old boy, a 17 year old boy, many 20 something men, many 30 something men, with wives, children. Or just Buddhist monks. And older people with children and grandchildren. When I think if someone broke into my parents’ house and did this to my father, inflicted these kind of wounds on him before killing him. Women with husbands and kids. Children caught by stray bullets or tortured for god knows why.

The second thing that’s happening is that the Chinese government owned hospitals aren’t admitting Tibetans in to be treated. Either it is illegal or they are scared, but no Tibetas suffering critical wounds are being taken in throughout Tibet. My friends’ sources in Tibe have names ofvarious people who have ded from wounds that maybe could’ve been treated – a 45 year old woman who died from her gunshot wounds. A 30soemthin year old man. Etc etc. My friend had the task of going to their family here in Dharamsala to tell them and ask for the vitims’ photos and details to personalise their fate to the unlistening world. There is a complete lack of medical aid for all victims of China’s brutal crackdowns right now.

The next thing that’s happening is the potential mass starvation of many thousands of people in Tibet. We haveconfirmed reports that all monks in the 3 main monasteries of Lhasa – Drepung, Sera and Ganden, as well as Kirti moastery in Amdo, all monks are being forced to stay in their rooms, whichmeans they have had no food or water for days.We believe this is happening in other monasteries, as well as for laypeople throughout regions in Tibet who are not allowed to leave their houses. These people have no access to water or food. In many areas, shop are still shut, so access to resources is almost impossible even regardless of the orders to stay indoors. The scale of the poential starvation crisis evolving is terrifying.

The next thing is that many many people, particularly young me, have fled their homes, villages, towns, cities, and are hiding out in the montains and forests of Tibet – again, many of these have been without food or water for days, and face additional hardships from the elements, wild animals etc etc. They know if they return home, the Chinese forces are rounding up any young men, anyone they think may have taken part in any protests. As I said, even my friend’s elderly mother was arrested and tortured for 3 days last week (lucky in that she was released after this) just because her son had been involved in a peaceful protest 10 yeas ago. Every young man in Lhasa, and other areas of Tibet right now, is under suspicion. If they return from potential dath from dehydration and starvation in the forests and mountains, these men will face worse from the Chinese forces. This dilemma is facing hundreds, maybe thousands of people right now as I type.

Finally, and this is the most important, please read this even if you’re bored of me going on about Tibet – the truth of what’s happening just isn’t getting out there to the rest of the world. Despite the massive developments in Tibet and atrocities occurring right now, the bbc et al are only reporting on the odd olympic torch protest and commenting on the violent protests that started in Tibet a couple of weeks back. One of my friends here was saying she wrote to her local MP in the UK, who is intelligent, politicised and has had, as he said in his reply to her, a long term interest in, support for and knowledge of the human rights situation in Tibet since his travels to Dharamslala decades ago. He said he would meet my friend on her return to the UK to discuss the firsthand information she has got from being in Dharamsala and having so many contacts here getting information directly out of Tibet. But what even he said, which is a frightening sign of the reality of the power of Chinese media, is that ‘he supports Tibet, and it’s awful the crackdown that is happening now but it’s a shame it was all started off by that violent incident we saw on TV where a bunch of Tibetans were kicking a helpless Chinese guy’. Like I keep saying, the media reports we’ve been getting since March 10th have been fed to Western media agencies by the one Chinese state controlled media agency Xinhua. They know the Wstern media will show this on TV as they have nothing else to how, as Tibetan filmed footage or eyewitness reprts sent out secretly from Tibet via mobile phone/ internet cannot be officially named, or the sources checked, because as I keep saying, these people are risking their lives by doing so. Western filmed footage (even from tourists) has been heavily vetted for decades since westerners first filmed what was happening in the violent Chinese crackdowns on Tibetan peaceful protests of the late 80s. And all westen journalists have been banned from Tibet for weeks. I know I mentioned this 2 posts ago, but there have been reports for a long time now, that cannot be officially confirmed, but which I have heard from various sources , including a reputed jounalist here who had just comne off the phone from westerners inside Lhasa, who said they had followed monks acting suspiciously inside a shop – when the ‘monks’ came out, they were Chinese wearing normal clothes. These people had been wearing monks’ clothing why? To instigate violence, to play a part for Chinese cameras to film? Yes a lot of Tibetans are so pissed off with 59 years of execution and torture and complete lack of human rights that they are getting fired up and a tiny, tiny percentage of tese ar going to go against th Dalai Lama’s stance of complete non-violence, in their utter frustration, grief and despair. But this is such a tiny minority in a country the size ofWestern Europe. For Western media to report on this and repeatedly show one instance of apparent Tibetan beating an apparent Chinese man, as the whole truth of the protest accurring in Tibet over the last couple of weks, is just insanity. I have seen pictures of thousands of armed police lining the streets, beating people, battered dead Tibetan bodies. How many news reports of this? How many interviews with Tibetans here in Dharamsala and around the world who are hearing the same reports of indiscriminate house to house arrests, torture, killings, starvation?

The latest news is that China let a bunch of select foreign media guys into Lhasa to see ‘the truth’ about how calm everything is in Tibet now. Like the censorship of the last 50 odd years, let alone few weeks, the tour was heavily controlled. Yet as dozens of journalists and their government ‘handlers’ toured the Jokhang temple – the most sacred temple in Lhasa, thirty monks burst out of a room to tell the journalists that “Tibet is not free” and not to believe China’s lies. The courage of these people desperate to tell the world the reality in Tibet now, knowing full well the extent of their punishments, is hard to comprehend. Please don’t let it be in vain.

Please please help, it’s easy, ask everyone you think may help to do the 5 simple steps the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) are asking people to do:

1. Appeal to your government to pressure the United Nations to send a fact-finding mission to Tibet immediately
2. Write to your government asking for pressure on China to stop the ongoing violent crackdown on the peaceful Tibetan protesters
3. Urge your government to pressure China to allow independent foreign media into Tibet
4. Stage peaceful solidarity activities in your area
5. Please ask your friends and colleagues to follow the current situation in Tibet through http://www.tchrd.org

Even if you haven’t before, write to your MP or email them – you can find your local MP’s name online, and just google them for their email address or write to them (if in UK) at:
(Your MPs name)
The House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Just be polite, to the point and ask them for the requests outlined above. If you want to use facts about the latest happenings in Tibet see the TCHRD website: http://www.tchrd.org

Also, if you feel you want to do something concrete, Gu Chu Sum (organisation for ex-political prisoners) have asked me to get funding to send to Tibet for medical supplies for the thosands of severely injured, help for families of the dead etc etc. They have contacts inside Tibet who will distribute the money where it is most needed, but they need it urgently. If you can help or know anyone who can, let me know and we will take it from there.

OK.

There was something else I was going to say, but it is difficult to concentrate – I have stupid jardia again, or some kind of stomach thing that isn’t letting me leave my bathroom for too long. It is painful and boring. Add to this the fact my bald head is growing back slightly and I look like a strange skinhead with a constant grimace. It’s not a good look, as many Indian shopkeepers keep tellng me ‘why, you were so beautiful?’!! I try to explain but they just shake their heads and look away. On the other hand, some Tibetans randomly stop me in the street to say I have a beautiful shaped head. These, I have reliably been informed, are blatant liars! Although many thanks to my friends back home who say I am now stunning inside and out. You’re sweet and I love you all. We all know I was never even beautiful before the big shave, but thanks anyway, all feel good comments much appreciated – i can’t wait to see u guys x. Reactions to my head have been different, but the best one was from one of my leper friends here, who, when he saw me walking down the street, stared for a moment, and then just laughed and laughed. For a long time. I love it.

I don’t think it’s so bad, but my best friend here said some things should just never have been seen (referring to my head and the small bump protruding from it’s pale top). I liked this comment and it’s honesty, especially considering this came from the guy who shaved it for me. To be fair I did make him do it, and he did a good job.

Thanks dude. He left to go back home a few days ago, after over a year here, and I am really gonna miss him, because here you get close to people easily – a village with 3 main streets and a constant dichotomy of spirituality, poverty, disease, politics, most recently the horrific developments in Tibet, and of course a wealth of whisky. Me and my friend spent many nights, in fact since my first day here four months back, setting the world to rights over a couple of drinks until the early hours. He put up with me crying my heart out about lost love and personal fuck ups, let me break his bike, listened quietly to me ranting on in violent soliloquies about the media and Tibet (when he had actually been doing something about it), and was a good friend when I really missed my good friends back home. Also we laughed really a lot and had crazy times. Big love dude. x

As I’ve said before, regarding the situation in Tibet, the last few weeks have left me numbed almost to a point of impasse – what is the word?- i don’t know, but just so upset about what’s happening in tibet almost all i could do was shave my head and march about in soldarity, and talk to people about what was happening, what the latest news was in Tibet. Except for the whole bad tummy thing, i now feel like i am ready to get up, use this information and work hard to make a difference with what’s happening in tibet. I will update more general stuff about what’s happening in Tibet, also my non-political life here more frequently.