The Tibet Quake and What You Can Do To Help…

A two-year-old child survivor of the earthquake is seen during the mourning for victims in the earthquake-hit Gyegu town of Yushu County, April 21, 2010

A lot of people don’t know it, but about a week ago an earthquake shook the “Rooftop of the World,” otherwise known as Tibet.  Part of the reason you might not have known that Tibet was hit because the headlines read, “Earthquake Kills Dozens in Northwest China…”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the region that was struck by the 7.1 quake in the Yushu Prefecture of Tibet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yushu_Tibetan_Autonomous_Prefecture

Please visit this link as well:

http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/2010/04/tibet-earthquake-update-more-ways-you-can-help/

Whatever the case, the earthquake was devastating and thousands have lost their lives.  People are in need of food, water and supplies (clothes, blankets, etc.)  If you have any money to spare, you can donate to the organization of your choice by visiting the following link.

http://studentsforafreetibet.org/article.php?id=2189

The region that was hit also happens to be the region that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama hails from.  Amdo.  He is asking the Chinese government to allow him to return, after 51 years of exile, to pray for the victims of the quake.  I doubt they will be very open to this idea, but I wish they would consider it.

Fear of a possible uprising is the major issue, and measures have already been taken to keep any sort of revolutionary activity at bay.  Monks that came from the monasteries to find victims, pray for them and give a proper burial have been told to go home, even though there is still much work to be done.  Read this article on Yahoo News:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100421/ap_on_re_as/as_china_earthquake

I don’t know, it’s complicated.  The most important thing we can do is give, even if it’s only a little.  And if you can’t do that than offer a prayer to all those suffering.  While we live our easy, cushy lives there are people out there starving, sometimes cold and wet, and in pain.  And we have our problems but we can always go to sleep in our comfortable beds, take long, hot showers, and eat whenever we get hungry.  There are children who aren’t even old enough to express their hunger, they can only cry out in pain because their stomachs are completely empty.  THINK ABOUT IT!!!

Or send the following letter to your representative to support the quake victim’s rights to see the Dalai Lama.

http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/2010/04/quake-letter/

Thank you in advance.  Please spread the word!!

Damn Yankees: My letter to China

According to a new national poll, nearly three-quarters of Americans think Tibet should be an independent country.

However, the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday also indicates that most Americans think it is more important to maintain good relations with China than to take a stand on Tibet.

I’m not in the business of telling anyone what to do, or how to think, but I must say that it’s imperative that we stand for something.

It just dawned on me the other day that Tibetans in Tibet are going through the same thing that the Native people of this land had to suffer.  While many Americans are pointing their fingers at China, it seems to escape them that we’ve been oppressing people in this great country since 1492.  What are we going to do to rectify that situation?

I can totally understand not wanting to rock the boat with China.  I, for one, would prefer to live without making any enemies.  If it were up to me, we would all live together as one big, happy family.  No fighting, no crime; we’d work on the barter system, and EVERYBODY would be involved in some aspect of the Arts.  My own Utopia…

I will work towards that, even though I know it is completely unrealistic.  A girl can dream, right?

My point is that I would LOVE for us to work this out peaceably.  Soooo…

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Dear “China,”

I love you.  I’ve been inspired time after time by the beauty of your culture, your land, your art, and your people.  What would the world be like without all things Chinese?  What would CALIFORNIA be like?  A lot of this state, my home, was built on the backs of Chinese immigrants.  Even though I have no Chinese blood (that I know of), part of my heart is Chinese.  So what I have to say comes from my soul, and I’ll say it with love.

Can you please give the Dalai Lama just a few moments to discuss with you what he wants for his people?  His request seems pretty reasonable to me.  I think this can be worked out if everybody lets down their defenses.  Just try it, and see what happens.  Also, this meeting between Obama and H.H. is a necessity.  Do not let it create tension between your country and mine.  That’s pointless and a waste of time, and we don’t need the drama.

Nobody likes to be told what to do.  Especially grown men.  So I can understand why you take offense when you feel like you are being  threatened to do something.  America likes to think it’s somebody’s father sometimes – and wants to run around and tell everybody else what they should be doing (without taking a look at what’s going wrong, right under it’s own nose.)  That’s annoying, isn’t it??  But how do you think Tibetans feel?  You’ve taken advantage of the fact that they’re a small, developing nation, and you’ve abused your power.

I don’t care about the past, I’m not God and I’m not the judge of you.  But this killing and torture and abuse has to STOP!!  Not only in China and Tibet, but in Africa, in Afghanistan and right here in the United States of America.

Tibet is a beautiful jewel that must be preserved and shared with the rest of the world.  Please see to it that this is done with the utmost care and concern.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Leah

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*All of this was said out of my own naivete… I know it goes waaay deeper than this – to a place I could NEVER understand.  But I had to write it anyway, and hope that it will do some small, tiny, salt-speck of good.

For the rest of you reading this blog:

You can change.  I can change.  Even if you’ve murdered a hundred people you can make the decision to turn your life around, and you can work towards peace.  We all can get greedy, if we let our minds go there, but we can also resist those desires if we train our minds.

I’m soooooo through with money.  I love nice things and I know that you do have to have some $$ in order to live, but I’m tired of seeing how the love of that sh*t destroys relationships, lives, countries, continents, and will eventually destroy our world.  Wealth acquired through the abuse and mistreatment of others is a curse, remember that.

p.s. Thanx to CNN and Wangmo (tenzinshakya.wordpress.com) for always keeping me in the loop.

Dalai Lama drawing for a FREE TIBET

looks a lil better now…

not sure what im doing with the rest of it…