Read original in English: Tibet Is Burning
by Xu Zhiyong
12 December 2012
Beijing–Around noon on 19 February, Nangdrol de 18 years, Fire caught near Zamthang Monastery in the city of Barma in northeastern Tibet. In a note he left, he wrote: “I am going to set myself on fire for the benefit of all Tibetans”. Referring to the Han Chinese majority, like "demon"” He added, “it is impossible to live under the law of evil, "impossible to endure this torture that leaves no scars.".
During the last three years, nearly 100 Tibetan monks and laymen have set themselves on fire; 30 they did it between 4 of November and 3 December. The Chinese government is seeking to stop this wave of immolations by detaining Tibetans it accuses of being instigators.. Meanwhile, scarless torture continues.
I visited the far west of China for the first time ago 21 years with friends from university. So at least it looked peaceful, but now, sad news comes daily. When I returned in October, a young monk invited me to visit his monastery. Passing a checkpoint with a red sign that read “Maintenance of Stability Requests Rapid Emergency Response”, He told me how much he hated the look of armed soldiers..
Because a road was closed for construction, I had to wait until night to snag a trip to Barma, where Nangdrol had lived, at some 30 miles. I was the third passenger in the car.; the other two were young Tibetans.
¿Are you Buddhists??” I asked them. One of them showed me a pendant with a photo of the Dalai Lama that he took out of his chest.. “He is our true Holiness”, said
“¿Have you heard about self-immolations?? ¿burn yourself? I asked hesitantly, finally addressing the topic.
“Excuse me.”, ¿but you hate the Han?” I asked them why Nangdrol had used the terms “Han demons”.” in his suicide note. They would have heard about Nangdrol. When I told them that I was there to visit Nangdrol's parents to express my sadness, they told me more.
They said they had been at the scene, as hundreds of Tibetans have done. People had set up white tents at the intersection where he died.. “He is our hero” said one.
It was dark when we arrived in Barma. On a light post, one of my fellow passengers asked a man for directions but he waved goodbye. At a crossroads, he asked two men on a motorcycle and an argument broke out. A monk came to the window to examine me.
"Sorry” said my fellow passenger, “They are scolding me for bringing you here.”. A minivan approached. Two men jumped out and scolded him with indignation.. Fear and hostility enveloped the place in the night.
“We are Tibetans” He said suddenly and we left Barma in silence to spend the night in a nearby town.. “We are Buddhists.”, But we can't go to Lhasa without a permit.". Years back, you could see many Tibetans on their pilgrimage to Lhasa, but not anymore.
The next day, I returned to Barma. I asked a young monk, on his way to get water, about Nangdrol. He led me to an alley where a middle-aged monk was sitting in the corner with his legs crossed.. Since I didn't have a photo of Nangdrol with me, he said he couldn't help me.
A teenage monk asked several of his peers but got no answers. The passers-by shook their heads.. in a construction, no one had heard of him either. In elementary school I asked an armed soldier guarding a door. I had read that Nangdrol was a student. The soldier suggested that I try the next complex where a Chinese flag was flying, but people told me that there was no secondary school in the city.
The road back to Barma was open only from noon to midnight. 1 p.m. I had to leave. along a stream, a row of poplars basking in the golden sun, and a group of young monks in crimson robes were holding a class. Reluctantly I got into a taxi. I had been to many places over the years but I never felt so lost.
I stopped the taxi driver about a mile down the road when we passed a village with a steep slope.. After my repeated pleas, the owner of a business on the road, He gave me directions to the Nangdrol house. Above, on the hillside, an elderly couple pointed to the house.
It was a small adobe house, with prayer flags flying on one side of the property. The iron door was closed.
A middle-aged woman with a child, what happened walking, He said he had met Nangdrol. His parents now live on a cattle farm far away., said. The day of his death, he wore new clothes, and he was freshly bathed, with a new haircut. He asked people if he was handsome.
I didn't know how else to express my condolences.. I asked the woman to give him 500 yuan (usd80 aprox.) to Nangdrol's parents, letting them know that a Han Chinese had come to pay his respects.
I am sorry that we Han Chinese have been silent while Nangdrol and his fellow Tibetans are dying for freedom. We are victims ourselves, living apart, in internal struggles, hatred and destruction. We share this land. It's our shared home, our shared responsibility, our shared dream, and it will be our shared liberation.-
Xu Zhiyong, He is a lawyer and human rights defender, is Gongmeng founder, Open Constitution Initiative.
