Race for Tibet 2008
June 24th, 2008 categories: Glimpse of the Day
There is an organization that I am a member of called The International Campaign for Tibet. It’s a not for profit humanitarian organization that focuses it’s efforts on the needs of the Tibetan people and the occupied country of Tibet. Now, I’m not going to make my blog site a political soap box because it’s primarily a business site but I think you are ready for a little fist-pumping today- I can feel it.
In 1949, China invaded Tibet. The Tibetan people and their leader didn’t understand the full implications of this occupation at the time. They were rather naive as they had very little exposure to the outside world being perched high on top of it and very trusting due to their own benign motivation. Once it became evident that this occupation would threaten their culture and their lives, the Tibetan people tried to resist but China was far too strong. Over a million Tibetans were slaughtered during the 1959 uprising and the Tibetan government, many Buddhist Lamas and the Dalai Lama fled for their lives to India.
There have been other uprisings since and each one is put down more violently than the last. Since March 2008, around 200 Tibetans, including monks and nuns, have been killed and thousands have been injured. Many Tibetans have been beaten for participating in peaceful demonstrations and cannot go to the hospitals for fear of being arrested. The situation is grave.
What is at stake today is the entire Tibetan culture. Tibetan children cannot go to school unless they speak Chinese and even when they do, their future is stymied because of their Tibetan heritage. The Tibetan people have become economically marginalized in their own country. Tibetans have long revered their leader, the Dalai Lama, and it is a crime to possess his image in a photograph or painting. The Tibetan language and culture are today at risk of becoming extinct. We go to great lengths to avoid extinction in animals and plant life because we know how valuable those life forms are to our planet but we are slow to act when it comes to our human family.
What ‘We’ want today is for China to meet with and work with the Dalai Lama to bring an end to the sorrow of Tibet. His Holiness is no longer calling for China to leave Tibet- only to make it a place that Tibetans are free to worship and practice their beliefs, live their lives free from fear and oppression and have a future that is unrestrained.
This blog is not ‘against’ anyone, instead it’s for Tibet. We Americans cause havoc all over the world in the name of freedom and democracy. I would like to see the world powers join together to save Tibet and the Tibetan culture from certain peril and at the same time, help China become a truly great country. There is a middle way where everyone can be satisfied but it’s rarely easy to find. I believe we have come to a time in our exsistence where true change needs to occur. The mindless and violent ways of our human history need to be put aside in order for humanity to take the next great step into a future that really is sustainable. We need to finally truly ‘evolve’. I think we are capable of this- I certainly hope so for the future of the human race.
If you are interested in learning more about this cause, visit Savetibet.org and learn how you can make your voice heard.
