BootsnAll Travel Community

How misguided can one be? Several hundred years Tibet with most of Asia became part of the Mongol empire when the Mongols swept across the world. Tibet and China became part of the Mongol empire and afterwards the same emperor ruled both and so Tibet for the most part has always been part of China. Tibet did regain its independence in the 19th century until of course China stepped in. Also, if we look to history to justify a countries independence, then doesn’t it mean that the U.S.A should hand itself over to the red Indians and that England should once again become a Celtic kingdom. Maybe the most important factor is that Tibet was a feudalistic society where everyone apart from the Dalai Lama and the few noble families had to work 24-7 365 just to scrape enough food to eat. I have many Tibetan friends and I have been there several times and now I can say that at last the young Tibetans have time to smile. Indeed they speak Mandarin and "their culture" is an idea that some official in Beijing projects in order to facilitate revenue from tourism. But morally I can handle losing diversity in this modern world if it means that people have enough food to eat. The young generations will not miss their culture as it something they have never truly experineced. Only travelers as myself and the older Tibetan generations will remember such things and when we are are gone I ask, "What arguement could there possibly be to preserve such a harsh existence?". It’s all very well for western idealists who have no conception of what it means to go hungry or to fear freezing to death in a harsh winter, to romanticize about such things. Those who watch “Kundun” and “Seven years in Tibet”, and then feel anger towards China should move out of their comfy armchairs and give living in such a context a whirl. This is romantic hogwash and it’s time this was said without reservation. I don’t mean to insult or to be controversial and I must say that I can already hear the flak building up with such intensity that I feel it's now time to take cover. I live and work near the Tibetan border and on this Chinese side there are cultures with such diversity and with as much wonder as one can ever hope to experience. But here they are protected from the harsh realities of existence. They do not banish these people to high altitude for some misdemeanor against the ruling privileged class. I have heard many times the words “Free Tibet” whilst traveling in Tibet, uttered invariable with an American accent and the irony of Iraq comes to mind. I am Celtic and I have chosen to live here because the mountains are within walking distance and moreover G. Bush has little or no influence here. Yall have a nice day now