Just a few days before news of the unrest broke out, my FIL mentioned to me that he’s thinking of visiting Tibet. But I dissuaded him. Acclimatisation aside, I told him that Tibet has become so hollow that a large part of what he’ll see today is no longer real. It’s the Tibet they want the world to see.
I would never want to visit Tibet again even though it has a special place in my heart. I have seen for myself how much the invasion, the destruction and the uglification have eroded the Tibetan culture. And as I compared notes with my friend who visited the place earlier than I did, we were filled with nothing but contempt for the Chinese government.
Integration is an alien process for the Tibetans as what they’ve only experienced thus far is an ongoing infiltration of Han civilisation. How else can I make sense of seeing a Tiananmen-like Square right in front of the Potala Palace? Or of ulgy lego-like blockish buildings right next to the ancient Tibetan architecture? Or the knowledge that many of the monasteries that were destroyed were only rebuilt to serve greedy objectives?
I feel sad to say this. But no amount of protest is going to bring back what they’ve lost. Tibet is forever gone and what is left for the world to see today is only a facade that is nothing but a void.
there’re the tourist traps in lhasa.i find it somewhat silly that it’s Han chinese running the tourist trap shops. i suppose the religious nature of tibet really doesn’t sit well with their other leaders. and unfortunately, that is the one thing that tourists want to see in tibet. the ‘authenticity’ rather than the faked markets.
imp: The religious clash is unfortunate but I wish the Tibetans are granted more space.
Comment by imp — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 @ 1:05 pm
My hubby was in Shanghai last week, and he told me that everytime the world news (CNN, BBC) reports on Tibet and the situation, the whole screen went blank. And even though he tried to get opinions from his colleague about what they feel on this issue, everybody just changed the subject.
Guess that’s this fear among people to talk about it and the government is also controlling the media.
I’d never been to Tibet, but if it was just fake buildings, I really won’t be bothered.
Btw, did you sign the petetion on Avaaz.org for the Tibetan course?
Comment by zara's mama — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Haha.. your have very smart SPAM control.
When I include a url, it goes into SPAM..
Comment by zara's mama — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 @ 1:32 pm