Put out the Flame

I never normally come over all political, so this is quite a new venture for me. When I started my degree the lecturers told us to "go get passionate about something". My friend and I used to turn to each other and shrug. Its not as though I don't have opinions about world issues, it is just that I've never had the urge to write my feelings on a placard and start stabbing it in the faces of politicians. That is until now.

I'm not sure whether it was the combination of being delayed in Bristol airport for 5hrs (when it probably would have been faster to swim home) but when I saw Gordon Brown on the television next to the Olympic torch, I had an overwhelming desire to hit him over the head with it. Oh how very big of you Mr. Brown that you did not hold the torch. That really makes all the difference to the Tibetans.

It's difficult to say whether the West would be reporting on Tibet differently if the Chinese didn't have such a large hold on who goes in and out of Tibet. The British government announced they didn't want to get involved with the 'political side' of the Olympic Games. The fact they spent one million on protecting the Olympic flame and violently tackled to the ground anyway who trying to extinguish the flame, has been ignored. I have a lot of admiration to those supporting Tibet and protesting against China. Perhaps if Tibet had oil then the conflict would become political for Britain.

On the Guardian website Gilady, NBS Sports, offered 'wise' words for Olympic athletes:

The important message is to tell our athletes that some people are trying to use them and to ride on their backs for solutions that the world has to find in other places like the United Nations.

Are the Tibetans really that manipulative? Have they not been trying to make the West or United Nations or whoever listen to them for the last few decades with no success? The Tibetans have been through years of torment and violence at the hands of the Chinese government, their homeland, their culture is being destroyed and they needed help. That is why it has come at this time, when all the worlds eyes are on Tibet, that is when they realised at last they have their chance to be heard. Not because they want to spoil our Olympic athletes moment to shine!

What has upset me the most is the way journalists have reported on the Tibet-China conflict. I do understand what they're seeing, but they are the journalists, they're the one who should be supporting justice. Lhasa is the main capital of Tibet, to go to Lhasa now you couldn't tell this. From spending a week traveling through Tibet and slowly seeing how the Chinese are moving in and destroying it I saw a completely different side of it all. To simply arrive in Lhasa and hope to see the same picture, journalists have failed miserably. In articles written on the conflict, the only ever sources they use are sources from the Chinese. Do they seriously expect the Chinese people to give a rational view of what's going on? They're terrified of saying anything against their government, and many are so brainwashed they would not even question the actions of state.

The Chinese are so afraid of loosing face against the West that they have done everything they can to contain the Tibetan threat. I'm not sure whether 'threat' is the correct term to use seeing as the Tibetans use peaceful protesting, unlike China who have slaughtered Tibetans in the past. They have blocked the BBC website, they have stopped access to Tibet, and they will continue to try and quarantine the problem until it's out of their control. I don't think they really need to worry about blocking english newspaper websites, they are generally on the Chinese side. Did they ask any of the Tibetan protesters why they tried to extinguish the flame? No. Instead they quote a Chinese student, Xiao Zhang, who said he had been attacked after he and his friends had chanted "liars" at pro-Tibetan campaigners. "They grabbed my flag, my Chinese flag, and put it on the ground. I don't know who hit me."

The West need to do something to help Tibet, the Chinese can not get away with destroying Tibetan culture and religion. The Dalai Lama isn't looking for complete independence in Tibet, they just want more autonomy and a right to continue they're practices without the Chinese controlling them.

Woooo...theres all my vent up anger out in the open!! It had to be said...

Until my next thought...

Hannah xx