Monday, May 3, 2010

Rangzen: A Work-Study-Live Venture

Rangzen, as you probably know by now, means self-rule, freedom...independence. It is what thousands of Tibetans work for in exile and what millions of Tibetans call for from inside of Chinese occupied Tibet.

My research during this program was originally going to be investigating modern life in the monastery, but it has transformed into a study of the independence struggle both here in exile and the international scene.

Our research period started just over a week ago and my plan has been to work for the Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) office here in McLeod, while also interviewing prominent activists and leaders of the other main NGO's that work for independence. There are five main NGO's here in McLeod: Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Gu Chu Sum, Tibetan Women's Alliance (TWA), National Democratic Party of Tibet (NDPT), and Students for a Free Tibet. (I'm afraid I'm a little uncertain if NDPT is one of the five, but I'm pretty sure.) All five, except for TWA, support rangzen and therefore oppose the Middle Way strategy seeking general autonomy for the Tibetan region, as proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the government in exile.

Originally I was doing research for SFT on western mining companies operating in Tibet, as environmental issues have become a major issue all activists are paying attention to. I may have mentioned it before, but writing with chalk on white paper makes it shine in the moonlight. 2 billion people in Asia are reliant upon water sources which originate from rivers that find their start on the Tibetan plateau. This natural dispersion of water has gone on for centuries without trouble, but China has begun to dam, divert, and pollute rivers inside of Tibet. Just as resources are being mined out of Tibet's ground, its waters now too flow to the tune of mainland China's needs. Cambodia has recently suffered the worst draught in possibly all of its recorded history, due mainly to the fact that China interrupted the natural flow of the main river that supplies Cambodian farmlands with the necessary water. While these issues serve to support the environmental claim, the very statistic "2 billion people" should immediately indicate to anyone that this is a global issue, and that the rivers of Tibet are not a private concern of China but should be monitored and protected by international organizations and global powers.

More recently, however, I was pulled into designing merchandise for SFT India that they sell to raise money to sustain themselves. I am still working on a jacket design but have already had two mug designs approved and one of them is receiving orders already from the SFT office in the UK for distribution. It's kind of cheesy, making mugs, I know, but it's fun and it serves a valuable purpose. Here are a couple raw images of the two mug designs. At some point in the future you may (hopefully) be able to order them online at www.studentsforafreetibet.org or maybe from the US SFT headquarters in NY.



So other than that I've been reading material related to the independence movement and Sino-Tibetan relations. Thus, forgive me if I am now injecting my "Free Tibet" mentality into the writing, but everyone would benefit to have a little "Bod Gyalo!" ("Victory to Tibet!") in them, and it certainly wouldn't hurt the Tibetan cause. Additionally, I've been interviewing activists and leaders, as I mentioned before. This has provided immense amounts of useful information that otherwise I could not have found in books, or online.

Thus far, I've only spoken with Tenzin Tsundue, of whom I've previously written, Lhasang Tsering, Tsewang Rigzin, and an activist by the name Jampa. While only four men they've provided me with great information and have been incredibly interesting to speak with. I'm attempting to record all my interviews, so perhaps one day, in the land of US internet, I can upload them somehow, or give a link to a website on which I can. Until then, those recordings, along with the teachings we've received, and potentially the videos of some of those teachings, will remain unavailable, unfortunately.

Tsewang Rigzin is the current President of TYC as well as an Indian born Tibetan and an American citizen. He, like all the people I've spoken with and heard/read through other media, are extremely passionate. It's not surprising, but it never fails. He spoke mostly to the need of every individual Tibetan giving whatever they can to help support the effort for a free Tibet. Their primary goal now is reaching the younger generation to continue the struggle, and as he told me, he is certain that we will see a free Tibet if these things happen.

Jampa is an activist, whom I met through working at SFT, and interviewed at the office spontaneously. This is also why I don't know his full name. He harbors strong anti-Chinese sentiments and sees the need for Tibetans to correct some of the weaknesses that exist within their community here in order to succeed. His personal motivation seemed to be derived from a strong sense of honor that he described as like that of a"cowboy." He claimed that if it were white people or Indian punjabis who conquered Tibet, he could deal with it, because he respects them and finds they have honor, while he sees Chinese as cunning and cowardly. Therefore he feels a sense of shame and anger that his country belongs to the Chinese now and wants to take it back. Excuse the ethnically charged comments, but these are simply his feelings honestly portrayed. One can understand why anyone might harbor negative feelings for a country if they associate it with the repression, murder, and destruction of their people.

Lhasang Tsering is an old activist now, resigned to his store, The Bookworm, in McLeod Ganj. He was very willing to speak with me, and quite pleasant, but he has by far been the most impassioned person I've spoken with and I don't expect anyone else to trump him. He was one of the mustang guerrilla fighters, trained by the CIA during the Tibetan resistance fought from the Nepali border. When I asked him if he was involved in the independence struggle still, he responded that "there is no independence struggle." He finds the government's Middle Way position an insurmountable blockade to the achievement of Tibetan independence. He believes all that the NGO's are doing is beneficial work but that it can never surmount to the final goal if the government and, specifically, he said, the Dalai Lama does not change their position. He has given up on the movement as it stands, and he, unlike most, don't believe that there is any point in preparing for the long haul. The immense, planned transfer of Han Chinese migrants into the Tibetan regions puts a time stamp on this issue. With the recent completion of the railway to Lhasa from mainland China, trainloads more migrants come in every day as trainloads of resources leave for China proper. He calls himself a cynic and hopes that he is wrong, he says, but warned me as I looked at him that I may be looking at an endangered species. Certainly, this is not what many want to believe, and many refuse to, because of which I believe many people discount Tsering's views. However, he remains an incredibly well educated and well informed individual. He blew the whistle on population transfer long before anyone was paying attention to it over two decades ago, so it is a shame that people would ignore him.

Things are going well, but time seems to be running out rather fast with many notes left to take, things to read, and people to talk to.

Cheers and be well.