LHASA (dpa) – A huge sadness lies behind the smiles of Tibetans. It’s something you begin to recognise only after several days in the world’s most extensive highlands.
Whether they be nomads, street traders, hotel employees or agricultural workers, people everywhere in Tibet give you a friendly smile.You could almost get the impression that Tibetans are a happy and contented people. But they are angered, not only by the grinding poverty, the high unemployment, the harsh living conditions 4,000 metres above sea level but also by the Chinese rule.In 1950 the Chinese began their stealthy occupation of Tibet. Tens of thousands of Tibetans died battling against the People’s Liberation Army.Monks and nuns were arrested and hundreds of monasteries were destroyed. Meanwhile Tibetans became a minority in their own country as Peking planted settlements of Chinese.Officially, the area is known as the Autonomous Region of Tibet but, in reality, Tibet is anything but autonomous – Peking’s influence is everywhere.This is most evident in the Potala Palace in Lhasa, from which the 14th Dalai Lama fled in 1959 after an unsuccessful revolt. The cloister is a museum today.Pilgrims, who travel to the Potala Palace from all over the country, are carefully scrutinised by Chinese soldiers while statues and silky white prayer scarves are often thrown heedlessly into a corner.There is no photograph of the Dalai Lama, the man Tibetans regard as their inspiration and earthly leader, who is living in exile in India.Pictures of “His Holiness” are forbidden in Tibet. In the country’s other monasteries, Peking controls religious life. Natives warn tourists about hooded working “monks”, who are more likely to have been trained by the Chinese than Buddhists.“Pay particular heed to young monks who speak good English,” said one tour guide.A young man in Lhasa also warned: “No-one knows who is an informer and who works for the Chinese government”. Over a beer, the 22-year- old said that at the age of 13 he fled to India and had only recently returned to Tibet again.The young man talked about low wages for Tibetan builders, who spend the entire day hauling sacks of sand for pennies.He described the lack of opportunity for education and training for young Tibetans, if they don’t speak good enough Chinese and the transformation of the town where more and more high-rise buildings and blue-glazed shopping centres were being erected. As a result the traditional Tibetan homes are fast disappearing from town centres.China retorts that without Peking, Tibet would still not have built-up streets, no colour television sets and no internet but the people see these things as an unfair exchange. “It is forbidden to use your brain,” said the 22-year-old.Because pictures of “His Holiness” are banned, the people hide photos of the Dalai Lama like a charm. One family, pulled out a treasured picture, anxious and proud at the same time.They held their forefinger in front of their mouths saying, “shh, shh”. They know that they will be trouble if their picture of the Dalai Lama is discovered.Tibetans are always talking to tourists on the streets and want to leaf through their guide books in the hope of seeing a picture of the Dalai Lama.Tibetans criticize the Chinese for profiting most from the progress and development. Travelling through the country, you can see road works everywhere but the engineers and the workers are seasonal workers from China.“Tibetans in the outlying villages could also do this building work but the Chinese prefer to bring their own people with them,” said one Tibetan, resignedly.Most of the management jobs are also occupied by Chinese. One young hotel worker in Lhasa said in faltering English and, as always, with a smile: “This is a Tibetan Hotel. Only the manager is Chinese. That is the problem.”