Note: the author is an outspoken Chinese poet and essayist of Tibetan Origins [1]
My friend's son was finally released from Lhasa Prison after more than 40 days of detention. Just like many others, he was taken away by the police for no reason, while walking by the Jokhang Temple on March 15. Without any news of their son, my friend's family could do nothing but cry all day long. His elderly mother had died of sudden cerebral hemorrhage before her son returned home with a mass of bruises.
Due to security reasons, my friend rarely contacted me (I'm under house arrest after speaking to reporters during the 2008 unrest in Tibet). From the long letter I received from him, he obviously couldn't hold back the pent-up anger anymore. He wrote:
"People are all in grief for the ones killed in the earthquake. The Civil Affairs Department promised to fully respect the remains of the victims at a press conference, and CCTV, the largest state-owned TV station, also promised to give dignity to the deceased in its programs. How humane they all sounded! When I thought of the way those innocent Tibetans were treated in prison, I just wanted to smash the TV. They spoke about giving 'psychological care' to the people who survived the disaster in the programs. Yes, of course, this is the way a government should treat its own citizens. Why weren't Tibetans treated in the same way? For the past two months, many innocent Tibetans, ranging from 13-year-old boys to elderly men, from young girls to middle-aged women, were detained for no reason and severely tortured. The bodies of those who were beaten to death were treated as if they were dead animals. They were moved between detention centers and prisons, and their families couldn't get any news of them. The families were even supposed to be grateful to the Chinese authorities when they were set free. My son was extremely lucky to get out of the prison alive. There were still more than 30 Tibetans in his cell when he was released. Some of them were beaten and maimed, and some were driven insane. "
"The earthquake was a natural disaster that couldn't be avoided, but the suffering in Tibet was actually caused by the authorities. However, Tibetans are labeled as "mobs to seek for independent Tibet" and should be killed without mercy, which made me rethink the status of Tibetans in China. As a matter of fact, the authorities would get rid of anybody in their way if their interests or the regime were threatened. They would use anything, even disasters, to make them look better. After all, people's humanity and human dignity are only tools to them. I believe, with tens of thousands of lives lost in the earthquake, that the authorities once again have used the dead to alleviate its numerous crises, including the Olympic crisis. Those who would boycott the Beijing Olympic Games as a result of various human rights issues may now probably give up their actions. The authorities could easily use the rising nationalism to silence anyone who continues the boycott. My son told me a story that happened in prison, as prisoners were handcuffed in pairs: Assume A and B are a pair, and C and D are another pair. When A and C fight, B and D are also scratched by handcuffs because they, too, are shackled. As a result, even though A and C fight, B and D, too, are actually the victims. Now, Tibetans have become the unfortunate B and D."
"The Dalai Lama has been pictured on mainstream Chinese websites as a cold-hearted person who made no sincere condolences to the people affected by the earthquake when he discussed Tibetan issues during his visit to the west. The earthquake was used as a weapon to disgrace the Dalai Lama. At the same time, with the authorities' increasing suppression, Tibet's condition has deteriorated, leaving Tibetans with less and less space to live. We have to fight for our rights, even at the price of our precious lives. However, when Tibetan monks and nuns in Ganzi County went on the street to protest, they were criticized for 'not caring about' the people affected by the earthquake. While we put earthquake rescue at the top of our priority list, we shouldn't forget about human rights issues. Yes, we do need to be humane to the deceased. However, there is nothing wrong with fighting for the rights of the living. As the father of a Tibetan who was wrongly imprisoned, I beg for more attention to be put on Tibetans' human rights."
May 22, 2008, Beijing
Note: [1] Tsering Woeser - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96ser
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