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It's been well over two years since Phuntsog of Ngaba set himself on fire, paving a path which many Tibetans eventually followed. So far, since 2009, there have been 112 deaths by self-immolation, according to TimeWord. Tibet is literally on fire. The main reason for Tibetans in Tibet to take up such drastic measures of protest is lamented by the fact that the Tibetans have run out of options to voice their concerns, as reported by CBS News. The enormity of the number of self-immolations in Tibet has left me with a lost frame of mind. I am sure of myself that I'm well against any form of self inflicted violence that's above the dangers of limited hunger strikes, let alone taking one's life in the most painful of manners. At the same time, I truly understand the mindset, and acknowledge the valor of those who've pursued with self immolation. Being a Tibetan sheltered in America's arms, I feel absolute guilt for having forsaken millions of Tibetans living in Tibet who are subjected in first hand, to oppressive Chinese force. That being said,the following concerns haunt me the most.
Lack of media coverage in Tibet.
Being an avid subscriber to the politically driven, Time Magazine, I've been long waiting for a thorough coverage on the self-immolations in Tibet. To my disappointment, there haven't been many breakouts on American news about the situation in Tibet. I'm not in appropriate shoes to judge, or come to conclusion the reason for Tibet's constant omission in the headlines here in America, but I certainly do believe that China's influence has something got to do with it. Al-Jazeera and BBC have impressed me the most out of all the news corporations, in terms of handling the Chino-Tibetan struggle over the years. If the cries of 112 Tibetans burning themselves alive facilitates lesser action by the media than the three Kardashian sisters, there's got to be something wrong.
The Indeterminate Reaction from the Chinese Government.
I haven't personally felt the wave of any sort of repulse from the Chinese government on the issue of self-immolations in Tibet. Other than arresting the survivors, and cracking down the ones involved in any manner with the self-immolations, the Chinese govt., according to the Economic Times, are yet to engage in any form of dialogue with the Tibetans. They have not taken any public action to help resolve the issue. Nor are they willing to talk to the Tibetan government in exile. Is China even slightly bothered by the monstrous nature of the protests? And does China have any regard for human life? I'm not naïve enough to expect the Chinese to give away their grasp of Tibet, but I do personally expect some form of cooperation from the Chinese govt. to help tackle the ongoing self-immolations in Tibet. Guns and brute crackdown aren't in any way going to stop the Tibetans in Tibet from self-immolating. It will only stimulate the Tibetans. I'm talking about steps to finally allow a decent form of media exposure in Tibet. Steps that finally allow the Tibetans inside Tibet to to freely express their love and devotion for the Dalai Lama. Yes, only these measures will stop the self-immolations in Tibet.
Will any nation dare to stand up against China?
I don't ever expect any nation to give an ultimatum to China, not even in my dreams. China's importance to the world is not to be overestimated in any way. What I meant, is for a nation, or a politically influential figure-hopefully, the likes of Obama, Gordon Brown, or Angela Merkel(My favorite politician)-, to at least publicly show a deal of concern for Tibet. That way, China will eventually have to react. China's response then, will be closely awaited by the whole world, and it may even pressurize China to take a more humane approach in dealing with the case of Tibet. Sadly, the world as we know, values economy over the lives of people from another country. The United Nations is helpless to us Tibetans. There have been years of fruitless protests in front of the UN headquarters in New York. China's all important "veto" unfortunately keeps in check the voices of thousands of Tibetans scattered all over the world.
Majority of the victims are monks, nuns, and teenagers.
In the list provided by FreeTibet.org, we see that the plurality of self-immolators are monks. It can be concluded that out of all the different estates of the people in Tibet, those having monastic background feel the heaviest blow of the Chinese rule, mostly so, because of China's ruthless dominion over the practice of proper Tibetan Buddhism inside Tibet. Even so, monks and nuns-arguably the most psychologically superior beings, according to research done by the American Psychological Association- who are facilitators of peace and harmony, shouldn't have to undertake such drastic methods as a form of protest. It all points to the strength and brutality in nature of the Chinese control in Tibet. The teenage factor, as in any case, can be explained by the sheer rebellious nature of the age group. It saddens me to experience the most innocent and inexperienced demographic of my motherland take such convulsive stances. I feel powerless and insignificant as I pray for the self-immolations in Tibet to stop.
