Help the Tibetans Affected by the Earthquake

On Wednesday, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake rocked the Yushu prefecture in the remote Qinghai province of China.

It was not “Western China” but Eastern Tibet, the Kham region. 97% of the population is Tibetan.

This is a list of a few note-worthy articles written on various aspects of the earthquake:

This week’s earthquake—and footage of the devastation—is allowing the average Chinese to see both the poverty and humanity of a region they’re used to seeing only in political terms. “It’s very hard to see real Tibetans” through the media, says Yang. “On TV, they’re dancing all the time, shaking hands with leaders, celebrating, or shown as troublemakers. This is an opportunity to realize that Tibetans live and suffer like we do.” In addition, the sensitivity about minority issues—especially Tibetan ones—in China has choked off civic opportunities for Tibetan-Chinese connections. The earthquake is bringing “unprecedented” Chinese-Tibetan grassroots understanding, “and this could be a very good thing,” says Yang.

– from Newsweek

Many survivors of Wednesday’s magnitude 6.9 quake spent the night outside in freezing temperatures with their injuries still unattended, witnesses said. Rescuers exhausted from the high winds and thin oxygen levels pulled survivors and bodies from the pulverized remains of Jiegu township, about 20 miles from the epicenter in western Yushu county.

– from NPR

Song of Sorrow

Days without love
Numbing
Dawn brought the darkest pain
Home has faded away
Soul has been orphaned
Grouted metal and rubble filled Yushu
Yushu wet with tears
Fellow brethren
Those in the ruins can not be kept waiting
Stand together
With strength we will bring peace to the dead
Go forward together
With our belief we will subdue heaven and earth
Fight the elements
Turn the tide
Establish our everlasting existence
Build up our bright future home

– from High Peaks Pure Earth, which is monitoring Tibetan netizens reactions to the earthquake

A tragedy is, of course, a tragedy, beyond any political and historical squabbling. But the political and historical backdrop to this horrible quake is important, as it informs how events will take shape over the days to come. As Lindsey Hilsum reported on World News Blog, the fact that this disaster took place in historic Tibet makes it not just a disaster, but an issue of extreme political sensitivity for China. This is a region that does not look favorably on Chinese rule. It is a region that saw widespread independence protests in 2008, including the takeover a Chinese police station by Tibetan protesters mounted on horseback. And the last thing the Chinese government wants is to bring any international attention to this restive area or give the local people any further reason to protest.

– from Huffington Post, a must-read article

For those of you who would like to donate, here is a list of some good organizations that are familiar with the region directly affected by the earthquake:

* Tibetan Village Project: http://tibetanvillageproject.com

* Tibet Relief Fund: http://www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/

* Machik: http://www.machik.org/index.php

* Tibet Foundation: http://www.tibet-foundation.org/news/urgent_emergency_appeal_kyekudo_yushu_earthquake/

Please take some time to read up on the tragedy affecting Tibetans right now, open up your wallet and see if you have any cash to donate, and keep everyone in your prayers and good thoughts.

Om mani padme hum.

Donate to One Heart Tibet!

What do cosmic cupcakes have to do with Tibet?

… Absolutely nothing. But my 25th birthday is coming up and in lieu of a gift, I’m asking for donations for One Heart Tibet, which works to save Tibetan women and children located in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

The Tibetan society is one of the few in the world where there is no tradition of trained birth attendants. Poor nutrition, lack of trained health personnel, long travel distances, and limited access to emergency care place Tibetan women and infants at high risk of birth-related deaths. The vast majority of births take place at high altitude, in a cold environment, and without access to electricity or health care. More than 95% of Tibetan women give birth at home. Most babies are delivered with the help only of the mother or the mother-in-law whose sole assistance is the cutting of the cord. Amazingly, many Tibetan women deliver their babies completely on their own.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

You don’t need to have a facebook in order to donate, and even though it will ask you to donate $25, you are able to donate less (or more!) money. The money goes straight to One Heart Tibet.

I chose One Heart Tibet because it’s not one of the big popular causes, and people gravitate towards photos of children, especially Tibetan children.

And who wouldn’t? 🙂

Learning and Ideas for Tibet Needs YOUR Help!

McLeod Ganj tends to attract a bunch of “hippies” or Israeli soldiers after their mandatory military duty. A lot of these people stay long enough to get their fill of Buddhist spirituality and cheap food, and then they leave to continue traveling around India.

But for every tourist that stays maybe a week or two, there are probably two individuals who get sucked into the microcosm that is Dharamsala; people who can’t find it in their hearts to leave or leave, only to return again and again.

My friend Lauren is one of these individuals. You just can’t keep this woman away from Dharamsala.

But this time, she’s in a bit of pickle, she’s bitten off more than she can chew, and whatever other metaphors that imply that what she is doing is not only emotionally-invested, but also financially.

Lauren is part of an organization called Learning and Ideas for Tibet, or “L.I.T.” for short. You can read about the organization and its humble beginnings here.

(Long story short, L.I.T. needs donations in order to remain open for the winter. You can donate here. And here is one damn good reason why you should.)

The following is from an e-mail from Lauren:

Message from SFT HeadQuarters/Four Dead in Tibet

In other related-but-more-important news, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has confirmed that four Tibetans have been executed in Tibet for their involvement in the spring 2008 riots.

“The PRC government currently sentences more people to death each year than any other nation in the world. TCHRD condemns the executions of four Tibetans and urges PRC government to show restraint and to grant its citizens fair trials and to abide by the basic human rights of all of its peoples, regardless of their ethnicity.

TCHRD remains unconditionally opposed to the use of the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the fundamental right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It should also be noted that the death penalty has never shown to have a special deterrent effect nor should state use it to justify the wrong done by the defendant. For instance in the case of two Tibetans (Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak) the state media earlier reported that both “have to be executed to assuage the people’s anger.” Such eyeball for eyeball approach is in no way a justification of giving death sentence. The execution of four Tibetans are further proof of China’s unwillingness to abide by the United Nations Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty, adopted in 2007, which establishes a suspension on executions with the view to abolish the death penalty.”

Read more here.