Beijing Wide Open

It’s been two weeks since the earthquake struck Tibet and China and the suffering continues to grow in both places. An aftershock yesterday caused at least two deaths, landslides and tens of thousands of houses to collapse. Torrential rainstorms are expected in the coming days and still most of the five million people homeless don’t have proper shelter. And then there are the dams. China’s Water Ministry admitted today that 69 dams may burst. The bad news seems never-ending.

The Sunday New York Times cover story was a heart-breaking piece on the thousands of children killed when their schools collapsed because of corruption and the resulting criminally negligent construction practices. The parents who lost their children - many their only child - are overwhelmed with grief and demanding answers from the government. They are now holding protests and raising petitions to the government and they say they will continue until those responsible are brought to justice.

It’s been two weeks since the earthquake struck and yet we know almost nothing about how Tibetans have fared in this disaster though the epicenter is actually in Tibet. What we do know is that Tibetans rounded up in the crackdown were taken to prisons in and around the area of the epicenter and there are reports of injuries and deaths in prisons there. We also know that on the day of the quake the local government issued orders linking the relief effort to “anti-separatism.” Clearly the authorities do not plan to let up on the crackdown, earthquake or no earthquake.

The only reason we know any of this is because of Woeser - a fearless Tibetan writer in Beijing who is diligently recording developments in Tibet on her blog. She tells us the most about what’s happening to Tibetans both in the aftermath of the earthquake and the ongoing crackdown. In doing this she is providing many different audiences with important information and perspective on the situation facing our people in this dark time.

All media is still banned from Tibet. So we have no photos, no video to show the world what’s going on inside. It is only through phone calls we hear news that the protests continue. Most recently it is Tibetan nuns who have courageously taken to the streets in protest in Kardze - an area of eastern Tibet now administered under Sichuan and the same Chinese province where the earthquake occurred. These brave women were mercilessly beaten, detained and are likely being tortured as I write this.

And now, while some are warning that we look insensitive for criticizing the Chinese government at this time of tragedy, Tibetans in Tibet continue to suffer unimaginably in the shadows. We have the responsibility to continue to speak out for them, and remind the world that the Chinese authorities haven’t changed and in fact, have stepped up their repression against a defenseless people.