Tibet 2008

Chinese sensitivity, Western racism?

2008-06-19T19:52:00.003+10:00

It's interesting how the apologists for China basically accuse anybody who supports Tibet of being racist and/or anti-Chinese. Very handy little accusation to wheel out, and it seems to have put many in the West on the back foot, not wanting to be seen as racist. So it seems that China and its supporters think they should be able to act with impunity, on the basis of their invasion of Tibet some 50 years ago. And they also appear to be trying to re-write history by insisting that Tibet has always been part of China - strange that the Tibetans were not aware of that.

As imperialism has declined in the West, so it will eventually become a festering sore for China as well. No people willingly submit to oppression, and though the numbers might seem to be on China's side, while it continues to occupy and brutally repress the people of Tibet there will be a stain on the character of the nation.

Australia Tibet Council Summary of Recent Events in Tibet

2008-06-19T19:49:00.004+10:00

See the link below for ATC's summary of events in Tibet since the latest unrest began.

http://www.atc.org.au/content/blogcategory/55/156/

Change of blog title

2008-04-10T14:49:00.003+10:00

I've just changed the title of my blog from John's Trek for Tibet 2007 to Tibet 2008 to reflect what's now happening in Tibet and world wide.

And I have to say congratulations to Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister, for being so forthright in challenging the Chinese leadership on their human rights record in Tibet and elsewhere. If only world leaders had previously had the courage to do the same, China may not have reached the situation where it believed it could act with impunity in the way it treated Tibetans and other minorities, as well as its own citizens who voice dissent.

Torch Relay Action

2008-04-10T14:31:00.003+10:00

Even the torch bearers are carrying Tibetan flags

San Francisco protest reports

It's interesting to see the way China and its supporters are dealing with the protests. Their reactions vary from vilifying His Holiness The Dalai Lama, to denouncing the Tibetans for their ingratitude for everything the Chinese have done for them.

How powerful is the propaganda that these people have swallowed over the decades that they cannot imagine why a downtrodden people would want to resist, would want to grasp the opportunity when their oppressor has the spotlight of the world upon it.

Free Tibet Vigil in Brisbane, Australia

2008-03-26T19:50:00.004+10:00

A large group of monks and nuns of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition from Chenrezig Institute, north of Brisbane, joined about a hundred people last night in Brisbane's King George Square to hold a prayerful vigil in solidarity with the people of Tibet. The atmosphere at the gathering was very calm as the monks and nuns chanted prayers, followed by loud calls from all present for the Chinese to honour the human rights of the Tibetan people.

The numbers of people participating might be small, but China is being shown to the world very clearly to be an oppressor of human rights, and particularly the rights of the Tibetan people.

China of course promised that in the lead up to the Olympic Games it would improve its human rights record, but as expected, the opposite has happened. For too long the rest of the world has acquiesced, has been fearful to challenge China because of its economic and growing military strength. But world leaders obviously cannot ignore China's most recent killings in Tibet - deaths that are probably just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what China has done in the past, but the difference now is that the eyes of the world are on China as the Olympics come closer.

Happenings in Tibet

2008-03-26T19:19:00.002+10:00

A comment from Dee in Adelaide on my post from last year when we met His Holiness in Dharamsala after our Trek for Tibet has reminded me of my poor neglected blog.

The recent events in Tibet are tragic, but totally understandable - if Tibetans don't act now when the eyes of all the world are on China, when will they have a chance again to get such wonderful publicity for their cause? And for the Chinese, if they allow unrest in Tibet to go unpunished, it will open the hugest can of worms for them. The authorities there seem terrified that large scale unrest could break out at any time, and therefore any hint of it must be ruthlessly put down.

And of course that is consistent with China's history; it was only when the ruling dynasty became weak and corrupt that the people were able to rise up and throw off their shackles. The Party apparatchiks know their history, and that history inevitably repeats itself - but how long will it take before the people are so fed up that they will risk everything to overthrow the government? Realistically it will only be when the Party loses the confidence of the armed forces that real change is likely to take place, but what could trigger such a change?

In this context, check out this article from The Statesman - I'm not sure of the credibility of the source, but it makes interesting reading.

Day1 of the trek continued

2007-10-16T23:02:00.000+10:00

Here's Haidi, Marija, Danielle, Kes, Steph and more of the crew,
doing what turned out to be one of the very easy parts of the trek.

Here's our camp at Kereri on the first night; beautiful spot by a clear
mountain stream, and nice flat ground.

Back to the Trek - Day 1

2007-10-16T20:59:00.000+10:00

Thought I'd better do a little bit about the trek, seeing as it was the focus of the whole trip. Have lots of photos, but they're very slow to upload here so will see how that goes.

Here we are at the point where we farewelled Paul from ATC. Ally on the left, then Maha Devi, me and Haidi.

In image 2 you can see how we were literally in the clouds that morning

And in image 3, we're at lunch on day 1: Marija in the gorgeous haute couture hat is talking to our guide Yangjore (in the baseball cap).

More to come, but as usual the images are slow to load or won't load at all. Enough for today!

Rajasthan

2007-10-16T14:34:00.000+10:00

Well it only seemed like a week since I'd done the last entry but it's almost two weeks! After Dharamsala we travelled back to Delhi by overnight train, arriving about 6am Thursday morning, then straight on a bus to Agra where we saw the Taj Mahal that afternoon after a brief rest in our hotel. The Taj of course was sublimely beautiful, though not as white as it looks in most photos.

Next morning we saw the Red Fort in Agra, another sumptuous palace of the Mughal emperors, and then I left the group to head off to Rajasthan with my driver Bihari. Here we are with Ally, just about to head off.
First we headed to Jaipur for two nights, where I met up with Marija from the group next morning. We spent the day touring Jaipur in the car; it was fun to have some company and not be sitting in the back by myself. I did try sitting up front, like a good egalitarian Aussie, but it wasn't very comfortable, and the view nowhere as good.

Here's the Amber Fort just outside Jaipur. From Jaipur I headed off to Udaipur, city of lakes, again for two nights, and full of winding narrow laneways so not having the volume of traffic of other cities such as Jaipur and Agra. Udaipur was one of my favourite places, and like everywhere else had marvellous old forts. Then for one night each to Jodhpur, Bikaner and Mandawa. I was disappointed that we didn't get to Jaisalmer - my driver miscalculated and thought we had an extra night, so we should have stayed only one night in Udaipur or Jaipur. People have told me since that Jaisalmer is the most beautiful of all the Rajasthani cities, so looks like I'll have to see it next time.

Delhi

2007-10-03T02:03:00.000+10:00

Another cyber cafe in McLeod Ganj
And now for a bit about Delhi that I didn't have time for before. We arrived about 2130hrs on Sunday to an airport that was vastly different to super clean, super efficient Changi airport in Singapore, but that is somehow more human, certainly more in touch with the realities of our basic humanity.

A bus to our hotel, through the traffic that was like peak hour in an Australian city but totally chaotic. The hotel, which seemed to be one of the better Delhi hotels, was nevertheless, like so much of India, in a state of undisguised renovation and repair. It was a welcome respite after our many hours of travelling, but we were up relatively early next morning for breakfast and sightseeing tour of some of the major sights of the city - Humayun's Tomb, Masjid ... can't remember its name, but probably the major mosque in Old Delhi I think. A rickshaw ride for a short time through the old quarter was an eye opener, if not heart stopper as cars, vans, and tuk-tuks hurtled towards us at various times. But miraculously nobody seems to get injured, and the drivers are all so patient and good natured, though sometimes you wouldn't know it from the way they sit on their horn.

A visit to a "State Department Store" where I spent way too much on a beautiful silk carpet... but what I'll remember in the future is not how much I paid, but how beautiful it is. Other Delhi sights: crowds of men outside any store with a television to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match, and the lack of traffic on the roads later that night as we made our way to the railway station, again because everyone was watching the cricket.

Then the overnight train to Pathankot, an experience in itself though we were in second class AC sleeper. Taxis from Pathankot to McLeod Ganj, with a stop on the way for breakfast, and then booking into our hotel, the Surya Resort. After lunch we visited the Tibetan Children's Village, where the tiny children in that section melted our hearts, running up to us with big smiles and just being generally adorable.

And then the next morning we started the trek, stopping the first night at Kereri, with a great camp on river flats beside a mountain stream. Next night we stopped at Baal, and then we had 3 nights at Triund, before heading back to McLeod Ganj yesterday. There's much more detail of the trek to write about, but suffice to say that by the time we had our rest at Triund, we so needed it. It was only when we stopped that we realised that we had been going pretty well nonstop since leaving Australia, so that rest was very welcome, and the setting is absolutely spectacular, with the 5000 metre Dauladar range sitting straight in front, and looking totally different at different times of the day. An added bonus was the full moon - the major peak is known as 'Moon Peak', presumably because the moon comes up over it. The setting could change by the minute, with clouds rolling up from the valley, and the air temperature dropping quickly when the sun was obscured by the cloud. An awe inspiring place to spend a few days. Enough for now; it's getting late and I'm tired, and tomorrow we get the train to Delhi, overnight again, and then bus to Agra the next morning.

When I get the chance I'll be adding some links related to the Tibetan situation, but enough for tonight!

Meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama

2007-10-02T23:54:00.000+10:00

Awasthi Cyber Cafe, McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala
Where to start! We finished our 6 day trek yesterday, and what a luxury it was to have a hot shower after all that time of hard physical exertion most days, with just a bowl of warm water for a wash in the morning. But more of the trek later, and the wonderful madness and chaos of Delhi.

Today has been the most extraordinary day. Last night when we arrived, Paul Bourke from the Australia Tibet Council informed us that we would be able to meet His Holiness this morning as he walked from his residence to the teachings he is giving currently. Some of the group had felt for a long time that such a meeting would happen. I had wondered and hoped,but not known whether it would really happen. So it was a time of excitement for us all to have that great privilege to meet His Holiness this morning. While we were there, His Holiness suggested to his staff that we meet with some recently arrived Tibetan political prisoners, and that happened at 5pm today.

It was extraordinarily powerful for us to sit opposite a table and hear the stories of these brave men and women, persecuted, tortured and jailed by the Chinese authorities for simply asking for justice for their people. There were many tears from members of our group, deeply moved by the stories we heard, and especially the grief of Ka-nying Lobsang Dekyl, who escaped from Tibet in 1985 - her father was jailed for 18 years.

I have heard some of the stories of Tibetan political prisoners previously, from the Australia Tibet Council and other sources, but nothing can compare with hearing it directly from somebody who has experienced that torture and deprivation.

Enough for now. I'm emotionally exhausted after the two hours of that meeting, but also inspired, as I think all of us there were, to do all we can to publicise the plight of the Tibetan people and the outrageous behaviour of the Chinese authorities.

Caron and Haidi

2007-09-23T18:10:00.000+10:00

Whoops, forgot to mention meeting Caron and Haidi last night, my fellow Queenslanders on the Trek for Tibet. We met up at the airport after having made contact by email, and was good to have some time to get to know each other before the flight. Haidi had come from Townsville, and Caron's another Brisbaneite.

Sat together on the flight as well, so we're really getting to know one another now! We compared fundraising techniques - Caron in particular has been impressive with her fundraising, and Haidi had some good ideas as well.

Singapore

2007-09-23T17:31:00.001+10:00

Don't think I slept at all on the flight from Singapore last night, so was feeling exhausted by the time I went into the city this morning. It was typical tropical weather - very hot, humid, and the sweat was pouring off me as I walked around. Went to the Boat Quay area, one of the old commercial areas of the city, that apparently was seen as being a good omen for business as the bend of the river was like the belly of a carp. Some of the old godowns are still there but it's very touristy now, with al fresco dining all along the river front, where last time I was here (some 30yrs ago) it was a bustle of commercial activity.

So I'm feeling a little refreshed now after a shower and a sleep in the Rainforest Lounge at the airport. Had such a long shower; what a luxury after so long of 4 minute showers in Brisbane - I'd forgotten how good it felt!

And off to Delhi in a couple of hours.

Last minute preparations

2007-09-22T14:26:00.000+10:00

Leaving tonight at 2345!! And naturally I've been doing those last minute preparations - buying some Rescue Remedy (thanks for the reminder Deb) - and then while in the pharmacy, hmmm better get some paw paw ointment, ah, and some paracetamol, ah yes, some betadine ointment might be good too. And then off to get the pegless clothes line. And a strap for the camera could come in handy, yep, got that too.

Deb and Kris were shaking their heads at breakfast I'm sure - being Virgos, they have no conception of leaving things until the last minute like that. They would have had everything packed a week ago.

Heading to the bus stop to go home - whoops, I was going to get noise cancelling headphones. Right, into JB HiFi - there's a pair that seems pretty good, I think Sennheiser's a good brand; damn, I was interested in getting a Bose set that I read about. Well too late now, it's either this pair or nothing, just hope that they're as good as the blurb and the price tag suggest. The credit card sure is taking a pounding. Glad I thought (only after suggestion from somebody at one of the banks) to notify my credit card institutions about travelling, as they might just cancel any further transactions if they can't get in touch with me to check that it's really me using it in India and Singapore.

Yesterday was getting the travellers cheques and the US dollars cash. I was feeling smug about the fact that because the US dollar is so low at the moment, I got more dollars than I would have otherwise. Until this morning when I saw the headline on somebody's newspaper that said the greenback is in freefall. Took a while to sink in and then realised, that means I get less back when I cash the cheques and cash. Ah well, no point stressing about it - won't be huge amounts of difference.

So, that's all I can think of for now. Next entry probably from Singapore airport, unless I'm moved to do another one before I head off tonight.

Finally!

2007-09-16T13:43:00.000+10:00

Brisbane, Sunday, and less than a week to go now until I head off on the trek to India. People keep asking me if I'm getting excited, and right up to the last few days I've had to say 'No'. But at last I'm starting to feel excited about it all, as it all becomes real.

The last couple of weeks have involved getting lots of trekking gear, especially the cold weather stuff. Mountain Designs in the Valley in particular has been a favourite spot, and done very well out of me.

And now it's less than a week to go - next Saturday at 2345hrs my Singapore Airlines flight should be taking off. This time of anticipation reminds me of my first trip overseas back in the 70s, when I flew from Perth to Singapore on British Airways. The week or two before I left was a time of the most delicious anticipation. I'd given up work, and was staying at the beach shack belonging to the cray-fishing family I'd boarded with in Perth.

This little shack that the men used to stay in after their time out on the boat was just behind the first line of dunes; at night I would drift off to sleep with the sound and feel of the waves crashing on the shore maybe fifty metres away. The beach and sand hills were pretty well deserted, and during the day I'd swim - a bit chilly in August but felt great - and then run through the sand hills.

So I'm looking forward to this next week or so, and hoping to savour once again something of that some wonderful anticipation.