dot-to-dot---点つなぎ: December 2012

There are groups of people climb up the Himalaya mountains of 6000 meter (about 2000 ft) range every single night under the stars for about 2 months to get to the border of Nepal. It's summer but the snow is still prevailing on the upper side of the mountains. The environment is so tough that even a professional team of climbers in the latest gears would find it to be a hellish struggle.

These night trekkers are not professional climbers nor do they climb the Himalayas for fun or hobby. There is a reason why they can only trek under the disguise of the dark night: The risk of getting shot by the border patrols always looms on their path and that's a good reason for the night hike.

They don't sport the latest climbing gears that professional climbers ordinarily equip themselves with to climb up the mountains like these. Each person carries only 2 month worth of dried food and minimal amount of camping gears in their backpack. Melted snow is used for drinking. The risk of starvation becomes a reality if the food supply runs out before they can cross the mountain pass.

Those who attempt the 2 months of deadly trekking continue to flow every year. On the average, 5 people end up losing their lives in a group of 20 people every single time. The situation resembles a Russian roulette.

After crossing the Nepalese border barely escaping the hand of the Death, many of them would end up having their fingers and toes amputated because of severe frostbite. It's beyond imagination of an ordinary person like me in so called developed nations.

Most of the Tibetan people I personally know have crossed the Himalayas from their motherland Tibet under the harsh circumstance like this. They were forced to start the second life as political refugees in unfamiliar Western countries.

Tibet has been under the occupation of the Chinese Communist government since 1949. Tibetan language and culture are completely different from that of the ethnic majority of Han Chinese in China. It's like the difference between French and Russian. Tibet before the occupation was an respectable independent country with its own currency.

Tibet before the occupation

The basic human rights of Tibetans such as the freedom of religion and freedom of speech have been continuously violated since the occupation. As a result, the flow of Tibetans who have been forced to exile in other countries as political refugees never ceases.

Tenzin in his Kala Chakra regalia

My partner, Tenzin from Tibet currently lives in The Netherlands as a political refugee. When he was still living in Tibet, he left his home to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk at the age of 12. Since the exile from Tibet as a result of the severe compromise of freedom of religion, he has been completely cut off from his parents and sisters in Tibet.

Tibetan nomads

Tenzin is from a nomad family, and they move every season from one place to the other. Some of the places are so remote that there is no phone line so talking to them on the phone is often a rare possibility. Of course there is no cell phone access and let alone the internet connection.

When Tenzin's mother is visiting her relatives in a small village, he can call the cell phone of that relative from time to time. If he's lucky, he can talk to his mother on the phone once a year. Since the phone call is from abroad, the secret police of the Communist government often taps the phone to listen in to their conversation. It is not possible to discuss the political situation for this reason. If they talk about something like that, there's a risk of the secret police knocking on his family's door in the same evening and being taken away for interrogation.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV

Most Tibetans are devoted Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama XIV is revered as their leader not only for their religion but also as the leader of the nation. The honorable tradition of the Dalai Lama dates back to the 15^th century. But in the current Tibet, the Tibetans cannot possess the Dalai Lama's photo, who is their spiritual leader, like their Buddha.

The Chinese Communist government treats the Dalai Lama as political offender who promotes the “separatist” idea even to this day. But he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. For the reason beyond my wildest imagination, the possession of his portrait is considered to be an illegal activity in Tibet and China. If they find any monastery or household displaying the Dalai Lama's photo, not only the photo will be confiscated but also the owner of the photo will go to jail.

It's like a Christian guy ends up going to jail for displaying a portrait of Jesus Christ. The era of witch hunting came to my mind when I heard about this. Is it really happening in the 21^st century? Sadly yes, and this is the reality the Tibetans are facing at this moment, and every moment.

Since the Dalai Lama XIV made his exile into India after crossing the Himalaya risking his life in 1959, the Tibetan situation is far from improved but it has been getting worse continuously.

Currently, the number of Tibetans who commit self-immolation as an act of last desperate protest against the occupation has been increasing rapidly. They pour gasoline all over themselves and set themselves on fire running through public area while shouting slogans for free Tibet and return of the Dalai Lama.

The number of Tibetans who have perished in this act has reached 100 as of today, December 11, 2012. Many Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns were among them. The last Tibetan who did this extreme act of protest on December 9 was a young woman from Amdo in Tibet. She was only 17 years old.

The Western mass media such as CNN and BBC have rarely reported this unusual and urgent situation. They do not want to spoil the mood of the Chinese Communist government because of China's strong economy and its emergence as a new superpower.

These acts of protest by self-immolation by the Tibetans show no sign of stopping. The feeling of the Tibetans who entrusted their people's freedom in these extreme acts cannot be measured by someone like myself whose vision of the reality has been blurred by living in a seemingly peaceful environment in Japan & the West comparatively.

Avalokiteshvara, the deity of compassion

All I can do is keep praying for the change in the world while taking the situation personally so that a breakthrough solution will be conceived. And if you can let this tragic situation be known to as many people as possible even with an amateur quality blog like this one, that would add to the prayer.

As a matter of fact, it won't be shocking to see what's happening in Tibet in other countries in the future. The Freedom of Speech is becoming more narrow compared to 10 years ago.

The current world is such that some teenagers from the U.K. found themselves arrested after posting a “anti-nationalistic” comments about the British army and they ended up being prosecuted. Similar incidents have happened in the U.S. as well.

The Chinese people themselves are the victims of compromised Freedom of Speech by their own government. Facebook is banned in China because it is filled with comments that are not particularly beneficial to the government. You will get no return when you google “the Dalai Lama” in China because the internet is heavily censored.

Once freedom is lost, one can start to understand its value. But most people living in the modern society while making a concerted effort to balance work, family and private life do not even have the time to contemplate on the meaning of freedom.

So, on this occasion, I would love if you seriously ask yourself: "How free am I, really?"

Gassho.