The recent wave of Tibetan protests that has spread worldwide, to wherever there are Tibetan exiles and those supportive of their cause, has opened up a Pandora's box that may very well never be conveniently sealed again.
I have not been to Tibet, but I have visited northern India and seen firsthand the plight of Tibetan refugees. My lasting impression of these proud people was one that nevertheless portrayed them with a hint of depression and a quiet resignation to a seemingly intractable solution. A man who should have been tending herds in his homeland in the lap of the Himalayas now hustles knock-offs on dusty, noisy Indian street corners with no foreseeable improvement to his situation.
The Chinese invasion of Tibet occurred sixty years ago, so yes, it is true, many of those in the Tibetan diaspora have not actually lived in Tibet and may not want to return to a particularly traditional lifestyle given their exposure to urban living. Regardless, every Tibetan I have met would return to Tibet in a heartbeat, no questions asked, no matter how quickly they appear to have been assimilated into Indian culture or any other culture abroad. Their sense of identification to the land of Tibet is practically mystical. There is a fierce nationalism beneath the ubiquitous smiles and composed equanimity. And as much as India has done to embrace the flow of refugees from Tibet and provide shelter to its government-in-exile, the Tibetans have and always will remain outsiders in that country. They need to go home.
The reality is China invaded Tibet, a fully independent country at the time. Over a million Tibetans have died in Tibet as a result of Chinese atrocities. Over 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed and precious artifacts and texts have been vandalized and destroyed. Tibetans that have remained are denied basic freedoms of expression, movement, and religion. Tibetan women have been subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations. Tibetan children are denied their heritage and even access to basic education. None of these facts are in dispute, however, they are only occasionally mentioned.
So upon hearing news of the recent protests, I was both alarmed and encouraged with the developments. And while I was saddened by the resulting deaths, I was equally intrigued with the trend of resistance that is building within the Buddhist monastic order. Perhaps this is the larger underlying story...the story within the story.
It is unclear at this time how the protests actually materialized in a culture that has espoused principles of non-violence for centuries. People may thus be realizing that resistance is not always synonymous with violence - resistance is a restoration of balance that need not include violence but doesn't necessarily exclude it either. What is interesting is that this inertia is allegedly originating within the quiet hierarchy of Tibetan Buddhist monks that have typically been quite apolitical, preferring deference to their spiritual leader and head of state, the Dalai Lama.
This action appears to be part of a larger trend developing. Think back to last September's bloody protest in Burma that led to widespread media coverage and condemnation. Time will tell what impact, if any, it had but what is clear from Burma's recent experience with resistance is that it would not have been possible without the involvement of Buddhist monks, a revered echelon of Burmese society. The Burmese and Tibetan revolts are therefore quite significant events in both cultures that generally abhor violence. Monks have always been socially active but no one can deny that getting pummeled in defense of human rights makes a sensational news story, especially if there are poignant images to include with the story.
However, with the parallels that can be drawn between the two events, the Tibetans are also handicapped with further disadvantages. It has been difficult, as always, for the foreign press to get into Tibet and really gauge the temperature of the situation. So atrocities can occur without the glare of cameras. The Tibetans are also pitted against one of the most intransigent leviathans on the planet: China. It is not only its size that makes China formidable but the degree of power that the country wrests politically to allow it get away with one of the most brazen invasions since World War II.
Though there are few countries that have openly supported the Chinese and their territorial assertions regarding Tibet, there are even fewer that have actively sought a resolution to a hopeless crisis that continues from decade to decade. Kosovars receive full independence and military support from a concert of nations. The Tibetans receive platitudes and solidarity networks on campuses the world over. This outrageous wall of silence from the international community has developed in response to fear: the fear that a conflict over Tibet could ignite the decrepit Communist tinderbox leading to disastrous consequences, the fear that relations with this burgeoning economic superpower could be jeopardized, and the fear (in Canada's case) that one's own separatist causes would be thrust into the spotlight again.
The problem is that very seldom does Western media even discuss the concept of nationhood when it comes to the Tibetan dilemma, let alone remind people of the historical injustices that have taken place, especially in light of the fact that China actually has no historical claim to Tibet – it was simply a land grab. This is why the Chinese try to discredit the Dalai Lama at every corner, discourage meetings between him and world leaders and consistently refuse to meet the dl and even discuss the matter. Their silence perpetuates their culpability. (China has indicated in the last week that they would be prepared to meet with the Dalai Lama in China, however, given the experience with the abduction and continued incarceration of Tibet's auxiliary leader, the Panchen Lama, Tibet's government-in-exile has wisely declined the offer but has reiterated its intention to meet in a more neutral location.)
The world's silent complicity also speaks volumes as well. We have resigned ourselves to Chinese occupation of Tibet as if it was some historical inevitability, some worthless collateral damage from scrambling empires. Sadly, Tibet and its people are not important geopolitical considerations for us. For China, Tibet's natural resources are important and it is a convenient buffer between it and another burgeoning world power – India. On this side of the globe, that reality is less important to us at this time and so we allow the ethnic cleansing to continue. (Yes, I am using these words to describe the situation in Tibet).
The one obvious advantage that the Tibetans have in promoting their cause is the coming Olympics and discussions over boycotts are getting a lot of nervous attention from sports fans. It seems the threat to an entire foreign population elicits little response, but even a mention of threatening not to send our finest over to the big dog and pony show in August is front page business.
China of course is countering predictably with another attempt to discredit the Dalai Lama by suggesting he had some hand in designing the architecture to this uprising. The evidence to support this assertion has not yet been presented. Whether the Dalai Lama, Chinese agents or mixture of the two are involved, it is laughable that there have been calls for His Holiness to resign. There are no impeachment options as far as I am aware of. Of course, the Dalai Lama would listen to his people and step down if it was demanded but this is not necessary since he is so much more than just his stance on non-violence, though the principle is a significant one in the Buddhist tradition. But even Buddhism stands for much more than non-violence. Sometimes, one's acquiescence to repression must be surmounted.
It is likely China will soon gain control of the unrest, effectively crushing dissent and relegating it to another footnote in the saga of worldwide resistance to authoritarianism. A quiet struggle would then resume for another generation until tolerance within the community snaps again. But if the trajectory of recent events widens into something more substantial, which it certainly has the potential to do, the ancient history books of the future may very well contain a reference to how monks overcame the largest army in the world. And, if peasants throughout the Communist country are paying attention, these developments could very well spark China's next revolution.
