In 1911, a revolution overtook China. The movement went across the country. By the next year, they had moved into neighbouring countries, such as Tibet. By 1913, Tibet had sent the Chinese back to their own country and His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama returned to Lhasa. For the next 30 years, Tibet enjoyed freedom.

But since China entered Tibet in 1949, the situation got worse. The Tibetan people became oppressed by the invading Chinese. Residents have been fleeing into neighboring India for over 50 years now, claiming repressive policies and severe human rights abuses. The total number of refugees has now topped 80,000.

Around 1983, China targeted Tibet for mass immigration offering Han Chinese extra money if they were willing to emigrate. In 1984 more than 100,000 Han Chinese took advantage of the incentives. But no money was given to Tibetans, so they were more interested in following the Dalai Lama to India, even if making the trip was dangerous to them. Mountaineers would report finding bodies of unprepared Tibetan refugees, frozen to death while trying to escape the Chinese.

In 1986 Tibet was opened to foreign visitors. So when the Chinese attacked demonstrators in 1987, tourists were able to witness for themselves the tragic situation there. China learned from this and now does not let much information about the abuses leave Tibet. But now that the truth has been exposed to the world, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama had become a prominent international figure, working tirelessly from his government in exile’s base in India to win back their freedom from China.

Working through their government-in-exile in Dharamsala, high in the Indian Himalaya mountains, Tibetan Buddhists across India are fighting to be able to return to a free Tibet. Meanwhile, they are also working to keep their own unique identity while being surrounded by much larger Indian Hindu communities.

Within that remote government, the department of Religion and Culture is trying to preserve Tibetan identity through religious education. For example, they provide Buddhist teachers to schools operating outside Tibet. This way, the younger generation learns about their religion, language and traditions from well trained experts. Over 200 monasteries now operate in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Lobsang Wangyal uses his position as an independent photojournalist to help educate the world about the reality in Tibet. In addition to his writings and images, Wangyal also works on artistic and cultural events within the Tibetan community. Art projects help connect the people with their culture and even demonstrate their quest for freedom. According to Wangyal, “Tibetan artists through their art form show that… they want to go back to their own country, which is now occupied by China…. They display all this through their media.”

Now he is planning a new event called “Sing For Tibet” to keep the issue high in the public view. This is an international performance, to be held on October 10, 2010 in Brussels and New York. There are no celebrities or speeches planned – the audience will perform the “Sing For Tibet” song together, without any kind of amplification. Wangyal hopes that people in Europe and the United States who say they care about the Tibet will take this chance to come out and show the world how much they want freedom for the Tibetan people.

Author Bio: If you would like to learn more, you can listen to the podcast: Sing for Tibet and other human interest stories on Septic Radio including Holistic Mental Health.

Category: World Affairs
Keywords: tibet,Tibetan, buddhist,world news,china