Monday, March 31, 2008

yes, SPAIN!

Thanks for this picture from Zack Boone, taken a few days ago in Spain!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

MARY SNOW!


Well last night I was about to walk out of the internet cafe when lo'and'behold, I looked up and saw Mary, my friend from college sitting a few computers away. Here. All the way in India. Ok, let me first explain that for the first two years that I lived on the west coast I used to daydream and ache to see someone I knew. I would get lonely in crowds of people, especially music events, scanning the crowd for faces I could recognize. It took me a long time to get over that.... and now.... HERE.... in India sits Mary Snow and her friend Apryl Blakeney, another UNCA grad. The three of us spent the day hitting all the good spots in town and interviewing the locals for newspaper articles that they are both writing for papers back home. I will be sure to post their features here when they are finished and ready for the public! Aye, life can be so surprising!

Want to have a say?

Want to know the email addresses of all of the organizers for the Beijing Olympics? Maybe make some suggestions for the games? I got these addresses off the official Olympics "Contact Us" web page. Cut and paste them into your email's "To" field and then drop them a line and say hi! In fact, say hello as often as you want to! Keep in mind that your choice of words in the subject and even body of the text might make your messages automatic candidates for the trash or span bin, so try to be creative! Also please refrain from violent words. Happy emailing!mishubu@beijing2008.cn, zongti@beijing2008.cn, international@beijing2008.cn, sports@beijing2008.cn, xuanchuan@beijing2008.cn, guihua@beijing2008.cn
environment@beijing2008.cn, marketing@beijing2008.cn, technology@beijing2008.cn, legal@beijing2008.cn, gamesservices@beijing2008.cn, jiancha@beijing2008.cn,
renshi@beijing2008.cn, caiwu@beijing2008.cn, wenhua@beijing2008.cn, security@beijing2008.cn, mediaoperations@beijing2008.cn, VEM@beijing2008.cn, paralympic@beijing2008.cn, Transport@beijing2008.cn, volunteerop@beijing2008.cn,
OTR@beijing2008.cn, accreditation@beijing2008.cn, OCC@beijing2008.cn, ticketing@beijing2008.cn

March 31st: International STAND UP for TIBET Day

March 31st is the International Stand Up for Tibet day. Peaceful demonstrations will be taking place throughout the world. Please find something that says Tibet, a flag, a picture, or a poster and then make yourself visible to the media. Call your friends, there is strength in numbers! Get online and try to find a local event! Or just call your local new station or radio station or newspaper and ask that your voice be heard in some way or another. You don't have to be a political person to participate, just a believer in peace and humanity.

If you believe in freedom, and if you are thankful for your own, please participate. If you have love in your heart for others and if you believe that violent oppression is bad, please participate. If you believe in God, please participate. If you believe in helping others, please participate. If you have sympathy for those who suffer both psychological and physical torture, please participate. If you have children of your own, and would not want them to suffer as these Tibetan children do, please participate. If you believe in non-violent solutions, please participate.

Please understand that you can make a difference on this day, just by holding up a piece of paper and smiling.

This is real, and this is ongoing.

Please stand up.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Norbulinga Institute for Tibetan Arts



Through my friend Dolma at Thosamling, I met her Tibetan language partner, Rabgyal, a super friendly and talented young man who is in the sculpture department at the Norbulinga Institute for Tibetan Arts, just down the footpath, to your right past the two cows, over the stream, up the steps, past the Tibetan handicapped school, and into the little town that surrounds the institute. I spent all day Wednesday watching the entire casting process, from the shaping and stamping of a clay mold to the eventual emergence of a sculpture from the fire of red hot liquid copper! It was really quite amazing. To make an entire statue takes about 15 8-hr work days and the craftsman can make about 2 a month.
I promised Rabgyal that I would try to find him a nice western girl to marry. Feel free to email me if you are interested. :) He is the one doing all the hard work in the pictures.

Sidhpur & Thosamling

Well, I've been away from the computer for a while because I have been in peaceful Sidhpur, just south of Dharamsala for the last 9 days. Behold Thosamling, a nunnery for western nuns reachable only by a 15 minute walk down a winding footpath through the rice paddies, over streams and irrigation ditches, past women with big baskets on their heads harvesting the crop, past cows, an orphanage, and kids playing cricket, all the time approaching the beautiful snow-capped Himalayan mountains. They fed me well, 3 times a day- lots of fresh veggies, and I had plenty of time to myself to read, reflect, go for walks in the fields, and generally refresh my traveling spirit. It was so nice. I think the pictures say it all!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LEGISLATOR:

I am leaving Dharamsala today. Here is one last Tibet link that I wanted to pass on before I go:

Click here to Contact you member of Congress and ask that they call on China to release all detainees, and allow international media access to Lhasa.

Much Love! -Jaye

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

March of the Monks

No strike after all.

Well, there will be no strike for us westerners after all. Siri, Lee, Kritaya, Noni, and I lugged our sleeping bags and blankets down to the temple ready for a long hungry night but were luckily warned by another western woman that we are not advised to take part. In fact, several westerners have had their visas revoked and were forced to leave the country within 48 hours and will never be allowed to return to India for trying to participate in the March to Tibet. We verified this information with the chief of police and were told that we could find an explanation under the Indian Foreigner Act, Section 14. I think he's talking about this part:

14C. Penalty for abetment.-Whoever abets any offence punishable under section 14 or section 14A or section 14B shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for the offence. (i) an act or offence is said to be committed in consequence of the abetment, when it is committed in consequence of the instigation, or in pursuance of the conspiracy, or with the aid which constitutes the offence;

? So regardless, I won't be abeting, instigating, conspiring, or offending by sitting quietly on a cushion with the Tibetans! I wouldn't want to be "punished with the punishment!"

March through Mcleod Ganj



What a day it's been. I woke up this morning to the sounds of protests and they have continued all day long. I've been trying to think of what I can do to help. I think I might stay here a while longer after all. This is the first time in 50 years that demonstrations of this size and strength have been allowed to take place in Dharamsala. The air is simply electric. No shops or restaurants are open or have been for the last week- it's a ghost town compared to the shopping bustle that was taking place the week before my retreat, except now the streets are full of marchers and flags.

I went around to all of the various government and NGO offices today trying to find out what I could do to help. I didn't get many answers, so I'm trying to brainstorm on my own now. maybe a 24-hr vigil to keep the prayer wheels in the middle of town spinning for a day? I think I might also sit in a shift on the hunger strike tomorrow. Mom and Dad, rest assured that I would not be involved if the atmosphere did not feel safe. It is important to know that the Tibetan people in general are very non-violent people, and also that here in Dharamsala there is no direct threat to anyone's security (the threat lies across the border in China/Tibet).

This afternoon I joined the march down to the temple amidst hundreds of flags, painted faces, and cries of "LONG LIVE" "DALAI LAMA!", "what we want?!" "We want freedom!", "Release, Release!" "Panchen Lama!", "China, China, China!" "Out, Out, Out!"... once we got to the bottom the energy really picked up, and then just like that, the whole crowd sat down and was quiet. A few people collapsed from over-exertion, several women around me were crying, and I couldn't understand anything because some sort of directions were being yelled by the organizers of the Tibetan Woman's Association in Tibetan and no one around me spoke english. This went on for an hour or so- I couldn't move it was so packed with people around me, but the atmosphere was calm amidst high emotions. There was an incredibly strong sense of solidarity in the air- we were all sitting close together with no room to move our knees and the Tibetan woman behind me had both her hands on my waist the whole time. I haven't had any sort of real physical contact in the past two months, so I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed that feeling of togetherness. Eventually things started to move again and I found a seat on top of a pillar where I could watch things from the side. The protest picked back up and the shouts carried on for another hour.

This all took place outside the temple gate. As the sun was going down we filed inside and took seats in front of several large flat screen tv's (the Tibetans really have some nice technology when it comes to flat screen tv's in the temple- there are a lot of them) packed so tight that it was literally impossible to move. I felt bad because my knee was crammed up into the guy's back in front of me and even though I've gotten much better at sitting cross legged after an hour or so it's hard to keep from squirming. We watched a press release (probably a thousand or so people were there) that the Dalai Lama gave either earlier today or last night, i'm not sure. He delivered it in English, addressed to the global community, so every 15 seconds or so it was paused and translated into Tibetan. All in all, I think it lasted almost 4 hours, the press conference followed by prayers and then updates of the conditions in Lhasa. After it was all over everyone walked home up the hill very quietly.

What impressed me most today was how peaceful the whole crowd could turn at the drop of a hat. All it took at the height of emotion was one girl shouting from atop a little side wall to tell everyone to be quiet and sit down. And everyone did. If someone bumped into you while walking, they apologized. There was no mob mentality, it was a safe environment. I walked home with a girl my age who told me that her friend's entire family had been killed in Tibet in the last week. She said that in the last two days that many of the men and boys in Lhasa have been rounded up and imprisoned by the Chinese military. Tonight at midnight there is apparently an ultimatum for the demonstrations in Tibet to come to an end- The Chinese have said that their patience is up. If patience led them to kill so many people already, I fear what actions their lack of patience will inspire.

So I'm tired. It's late. I'm in an internet cafe now that's packed with other tourists updating their blogs and uploading pictures that they took during the demonstration. I am optimistic about the way that information seems to be spreading throughout the world. There are many news reporters around and I hope that the coverage of events here will remain strong. An NGO organizer told me tonight that the demonstrations are supposed to go on until the violence stops in Tibet. That could be a long time unless the global pressure on china is heavy enough.

So everyone, keep talking about Tibet! And thank you for your interest! Being interested can go a long way, awareness is what's important here!

Much love,
Jaye

Monday, March 17, 2008

Tibetan People's Appeal



A handout I received as this demonstration marched by:

The Chinese government has made the following accusations against His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
  1. Dalai Lama seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet, but China accuses him of trying to split China.
  2. Dalai Lama advocates democracy, but China accuses him of trying to restore Tibet's old social order.
  3. Dalai Lama supports the Beijing Olympics, but China accuses him of opposing it.
We appeal the United Nations, human rights organizations, and all the freedom-loving countries across the world to act as honest witnesses and prove that these accusations and allegations of the Chinese are baseless and untrue. Tibetans struggle for the truth and justice will not cease until and unless Tibet and China come to a mutually-peaceful agreement. We will continue with our non-violent demonstrations and peaceful march. We request all the nations around the world to show solidarity to our cause, and do not hinder our peaceful campaigns.

If you are uncertain as to what the Dalai Lama's official beliefs and opinions are, please visit his website: www.dalailama.com

Saturday, March 15, 2008

BIG UPDATE

(I did not take these photos myself- they came from the Tibetan Uprising website)

In the last 5 days:

101 participants in the March to Tibet that I mentioned in my last entry have been imprisoned by the Indian government and will be detained for 14 days. The march, although peaceful, is being prohibited. Please go to http://www.tibetanuprising.org/ for details and updates. The above photos are of the arrest of the marchers.

Over 100 monks and peaceful demonstrators have been killed in Lhasa over the last five days. The roads are all closed, the media has been shut down, and the streets are on fire. Countless protestors have been beaten and imprisoned.

VIOLENT SUPPRESSION IS TAKING PLACE.

HUMAN RIGHTS ARE BEING BLATANTLY VIOLATED.

PEOPLE ARE BEING KILLED, BEATEN, TORTURED.


What can we do? Honestly, what can you, as an individual do? We are so LUCKY to live in a country where we have a voice, please think to yourself right now, what can I do? And then do it. Tell everyone you know. Please go to these websites, read about the situation, Call your friends, get them to call their friends, call your local newspaper or television station, have a candlelight vigil. Or just ask them if they are covering the event. Urge them to. You can make a difference.

Mom, Dad, Lindsay, Liz, you can help. Lee, Chuck, Katie, Kevin, Tyler, Susanna, Russ, Polly, you can help. Rachel, Clara, Evan, Cam, Ashton, Zack, Garland, You can help. Tom, Bonnie, Gabby, you can help! Anyone and everyone reading this, you can help. Really you can, world awareness is what we need. China cannot act this way and expect to be a part of OUR global community and we are not powerless to watch and let it happen!

Go to these sites. Look at the pictures. Read about it. Talk about it. Find the right people to talk to. And don't worry, I'm safe, not getting actively involved. This is my effort.
http://www.tchrd.org/
http://www.tibet.net/
* this photo was taken with a cell phone in Lhasa, 5 days ago.

Statement of the Dalai Lama on the 49th Tibetan National Uprising day, March 10th:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.215.htm

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Tibetan Prayer Flags


A new stage of the journey!

I'll be offline for 10 days or so, as I'm headed this afternoon to a 10-day meditation retreat up on the mountain side! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Love to all!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

What do you mean, "Free Tibet"?

“This is the worst period in the 2000 year history of Tibet. This really is the most serious period. At this time, now, there is every danger that the entire Tibetan Nation, with its own unique cultural heritage will completely disappear. The present situation is so serious that it is really a question of life and death. If death occurs, nothing is left.” –H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama, Tenzing Gyatso.

In 1949, under the guise of a “peaceful liberation”, Communist China invaded Tibet marking the beginning of the most disastrous and increasingly fatal era known to Tibetan history. Since then, more than 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed, the victims of resistance fighting, hunger, executions, torture, and labor camps. More than 90% of Tibetan history and culture has been destroyed, including more than 6,000 monasteries and temples. Thousands of Tibetans remain in Chinese prisons for both political and trivial reasons, with no hope for trial or legal representation. Tibet’s natural resources are being irreversibly destroyed, mined, cut down, and plundered, all to the benefit of China and to the demise of surrounding countries that experience a number of environmental consequences (such as flooding and poisonous runoff) as a result. More and more Chinese settlers are being relocated to the area every day on new railway lines built to ensure military stability, their numbers (>7.5million) now surpassing the surviving 6 million Tibetans. Tibet, a once peaceful buffer state between India and China, has been transformed into a vast military base and is used as a dumping ground for nuclear wastes.

In an effort to wipe out Tibetan culture, Tibetan woman are subjected to enforced sterilization, contraception, and abortion procedures. Enforced disappearances (where a person is taken into custody and the details of their detention are not disclosed) continue to occur and Tibetans are subject to random and arbitrary arrest and detention. Torture still prevails in Chinese detention centers. Due to the increasing poverty rate (>70%), poor facilities, and blatant discrimination such as disproportionate fees based on race, Tibetan children are denied adequate health care and schooling. Failure to denounce the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader, can result in imprisonment or other forms of punishment and possessing an image of the Dalai Lama is illegal. In monasteries, the heart of Tibetan academia and debate, Chinese government “work teams” are being sent to forcibly “re-educate” monks and nuns in their political and religious beliefs. Between 1996 and 1998 a “Strike Hard” campaign saw 492 monks and nuns arrested and subjected to torture and 9,977 expelled from their religious institutions by the Chinese. The few monasteries left standing are meant only to generate tourism dollars, and each has its own police station on premises and can be closed on a whim. Cameras adorn all public markets and government spies are rampant.

What Does This Mean?

In essence, the peaceful non-violent culture of Tibet is being forcibly extinguished by the Chinese Government and replaced with a homogenized Chinese-speaking society that values capitalism and materialism above human rights. What I have described above cannot be explained in any terms other than blatant crimes against humanity and yet the Chinese have committed these atrocities while appeasing the cries of injustice raised by Tibet and other nations using language such as “Peaceful Liberation”, “Autonomous”, “Re-education”, “Cultural Revolution”, and the like. Dr. Rammanohar Lohia, an eminent Socialist leader of India had it right in 1950 when he said, “To call the invasion of Tibet an effort to liberate Tibetans is to make language lose all meaning and stop all human communication and understanding. Freedom and slavery, bravery and cowardice, loyalty and treason, truth and lie, will become synonyms.” And they have.

What is Happening Today?

China is working hard to gain recognition as a world leader and hopes to use the 2008 Olympic Games to be hosted in Beijing to do so. Allowing such a globally significant event to take place there without acknowledging the crimes against humanity that China continues to commit, will legitimize China’s claim to rule over Tibet. This is a critically crucial time. A movement called the Tibetan People’s Uprising is organizing a march to Tibet, scheduled to depart from Dharamsala on March 10th (next week!), in light of the upcoming Olympic Games and the 50th commemoration of the March 1959 uprising against China’s occupation of Tibet. This is a dangerous March that needs international support, participation, coverage, and funding.

What Can You Do?

  • CLICK HERE FOR 6 WAYS YOU CAN HELP
  • Express support for the Tibetan people’s right to freedom and justice by writing to newspapers and magazines, especially in light of the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games.
  • Set up a Tibet Support Group in your place and inform the local people about Tibet and the Tibetan people.
  • Donate money to help Tibetans in Need or to support the March to Tibet organized by the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement (websites listed below).
  • Write to your elected officials about Tibet and ask them to raise the issue of Tibet in the government.
  • Ask your government to support the Dalai Lama’s peace initiatives for Tibet.
  • Urge the Indian Government to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Tibetan Government-In-Exile.

For more information or to find out what you can do to help, please visit the following websites:

  • Race for Tibet! a great website concerning the 2008 Beijing Olympics and what you can do to help: http://www.racefortibet.org/ Watch the film! Sign the Petition! Order a free sticker! Spread the word!
  • The official website of the Central Tibetan Administration (specifically the tab entitled “About Tibet”): http://www.tibet.net/
  • The official website of H.H. the 13th Dalai Lama: www.dalailama.com
  • The official website of the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy: http://www.tchrd.org/ ( BEST SITE FOR CURRENT INFORMATION)
  • The official website of the Tibetan People’s Uprising Movement, with information on the upcoming March to Tibet and to the 2008 Olympic Games. DONATIONS WELCOME: http://www.tibetanuprising.org/
  • YouTube: The Dalai Lama’s speech upon receiving the Congressional Gold Medal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcXmB0U_DCQ

The Dalai Lama has championed relentlessly for a meaningful autonomy within the People’s Republic of China for nearly 50 years now, recognizing that regaining true independence is out of the question. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1989 and the United States Congressional Gold Medal (the highest civilian award in the United States) in October in recognition of his efforts and for his promotion of peace, compassion, and non-violence to the global community. In his closing speech in Washington, he appeals to us all stating that, “Many of world’s problems are ultimately rooted in inequality and injustice, whether economic, political or social. Ultimately, this is a question of the well-being of all of us. Whether it is the suffering of poverty in one part of the world, or whether it is the denial of freedom and basic human rights in another part, we should never perceive these events in total isolation. Eventually their repercussions will be felt everywhere. I would like to appeal to you to take a leadership role in an effective international action in addressing this huge economic imbalance. I believe the time has now come to address all these global issues from the perspective of the oneness of humanity, and from a profound understanding of the deeply interconnected nature of our today’s world.”

I have written this, piecing it together from various books and pamphlets I’ve accumulated over the last couple of weeks, because when I came to Dharamsala I knew very little about Tibetan history and the current situation in Tibet. I think that if everyone knew a little more, some change might be possible for the Tibetan people. Once we have knowledge, I think we face a responsibility and a choice and it’s important to realize that if we ignore the injustices in one part of the world, especially with an emerging superpower like China, we will all feel the repercussions of our non-action at a later date. I hope that spreading this information will promote that knowledge and understanding.