Monday, August 11, 2008

"Tell the world" they said

Younger viewers of the Beijing Olympics should be aware that in 1989 China was not as well-respected as it seems to have become in less than twenty years.
Do your homework, young people. Read. Study. Question what you see. And pay attention to the historic piece of modern history shown in this video.



Lest we forget, here is a comment that appeared yesterday, not nineteen years ago, in a NY Times comment thread.

Speaking in general terms, it’s fair to say that the vast majority of people are in denial. If anyone for one moment thinks that the Olympics are not about money then they are living in a fantasy. The IOC is a corrupt organization. The Chinese are simply promoting their rapidly growing obsession with materialism and nationalism. If you happen to be Tibetan, trust me the Olympics mean nothing. If your Father was shot by Chinese soldiers and your Mother had a cattle prod shoved up her vagina after being imprisoned for simply expressing her desire for freedom, then perhaps many people whining about NBC’s coverage would see the absurdity of their rants.


We Tibetans have lost our country, our freedom, thousands of our monasteries were destroyed, our sacred scriptures burnt and ancient artifacts destroyed or looted. Our country has been and is being looted of gold, silver, borax, copper, uranium, lumber, etc. Since the invasion almost 20% of our population has been eliminated, murder, torture, starvation, labor camps, prison, you name it, the Chinese have done it to Tibetans and it continues today. The Chinese not only lie to the world but they lie to their own people, even in their books, telling their people Tibet has been a part of China for centuries. This is a complete and total lie.


So many people here complaining about NBC’s coverage. My family is just trying to survive another day in Tibet, as we watch our beloved country bulldozed, the Tibetan footprint removed and replaced with Chinese in order to promote the lies to the world. They have erected Chinese monuments in Tibet in order to promote their version of history. They have taken billions in resources out of Tibet. Whatever they have invested was Tibet’s in the first place and benefits mostly the Han-Chinese that have moved into Tibetans territories by the hundreds of thousands, so many that we Tibetans are minorities in many areas of our own country. We can’t even speak our own language if we want to work and just basically get by.


Humanity follows the same old patterns. People look the other way until the issue arrives at their own front door, only then it’s too late to do anything. The IOC awarding the Olympics to China was a huge error in judgement. All this talk about how the Olympics is all about sports and competition is ludicrous. Ask the sponsors. Ask NBC.

As for the coverage. I could care less. I’m quite sure that the spineless politicians, commentators, reporters, and anchors have not even dared to say the word, “Tibet”. Oh, we don’t want to upset the Chinese, we don’t want to offend the Chinese people. Unbelievable! What about us Tibetans? What about my Father who is now dead at the hands of the Chinese soldiers? What about my Mother who has never been the same since being released from prison?



The Olympics are a joke, a charade. a massive cover up, as phony and fake as the computer generated fireworks display at the opening ceremony. When you’re watching the events and whining about NBC’s coverage, (those of you who are whining), perhaps you can take one second to consider the plight of the Tibetan people, nearly 60 years of suffering and the world looks away.


— Posted by Tenzin

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