Because the piece was written for Tibetans, it doesn't delve into a lot of the history necessary to fully understand the day. You may remember (although, to be honest, I certainly didn't) that there were massive uprisings in Tibet in 2008, when many Tibetans were killed or imprisoned. If you were alive in 1959, you might remember the scandal surrounding the teen-aged Dalai Lama's covert escape from Tibet into India in March of that month.
As long as the Chinese government continues to oppress traditional Tibetan culture, which is fundamentally different from Han Chinese culture, the Tibetan community will observe March 10 as a day of mourning the oppression and impending loss of their culture. This is the little bit that I learned about the day from being in Dharamsala (Originally published in Contact Magazine, March 2010 Issue):
For the exiled Tibetan community, National Uprising Day isn't about going hungry, picketing the Chinese embassy, or shouting slogans in the streets of Dharamsala. While all of these things will happen on 10 March, the day remains truly focused on the plight of the majority of Tibetans who remain in Tibet.
"Our brothers and sisters have suffered for speaking their minds and exercising their basic human rights. They have to pay a high price for basic freedoms," says Tashi Choephel, a researcher at the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy. This year marks the two-year anniversary of the March 2008 uprising in Tibet, which was the largest and most widespread since the Dalai Lama went into exile in 1959.
For those in exile, the events of March 2008 sent a powerful message that Tibetans continue to believe in and to fight for their rights in the region. "The sense of identity for exiled Tibetans became stronger [after the uprising]. There was unity among the exiled community like never before," Choephel says. He finds the continued resistance encouraging, and believes the issue will be solved in time. "I would tell Tibetans inside Tibet not to give up hope, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. They're an example to Tibetan people outside Tibet to continue to fight for the cause."
According to TCHRD's 2009 Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Tibet, fast track courts in 2009 issued the death penalty to five Tibetans for their participation in the spring 2008 protests. The governmental organization states that torture is endemic in Chinese-administered prisons and detention centers. Several cases of torture and inhuman treatment have been reported since the protests, when the TCHRD estimates that around 6,500 Tibetans were arrested.
China refuses to admit international regulatory bodies to inspect its prisons. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was denied access to Tibet after March 2008, and the International committee of the Red Cross, which is mandated to visit detention facilities and check on the wellbeing of prisoners worldwide, isn't allowed in, either. A joint statement by six United Nations Special Procedures mandate holders calling for an increased flow of information in and out of Tibet continues to be ignored.
Although the Chinese authorities deny the use of extreme force upon Tibetan demonstrators, the reality is that they continue to oppress both the religious and lay communities who protest peacefully. "Earlier, activists and political prisoners were mostly monks and nuns, but in 2008 a large number of civilians were arrested, sentenced, even given the death sentence for peaceful protests," says Choephel.
Always focused on the reality of the situation inside Tibet, those in exile will use 10 March as a day to advance the Tibetan cause and to send a message to their countrymen who remain oppressed. "As Tibetans outside Tibet, we have a moral responsibility to speak out, because we have the facilities to reach the world with our message. We need to let the Tibetans inside Tibet know that we still have a desire to go back," says Sonam Dorjee, Dharamsala regional president of the Tibetan Youth Congress.
The 40-year-old TYC, the largest and most active exiled Tibetan NGO, will facilitate protests in March not as a ritual of habit, but as a promise to their fellow Tibetans who continue to resist. "The issue is still alive because of the Tibetans inside Tibet. The Chinese failed to invade the hearts of the Tibetan people. Even though they know they're in danger, they speak out," Dorjee says.
Dorjee, who hasn't missed a 10 March protest since he was 10 years old, when he sneaked onto a bus with his father to attend a march, experienced the most memorable moment of his life when the Dalai Lama greeted him during a 10 March hunger strike in Mcleod Ganj. Although these experiences are personally gratifying, he reiterates the importance for exiles of remembering those inside Tibet when they protest. His father is missing half of a thumb, shot off by a Chinese border guard when he fled to Tibet. "To me, this has always been a reminder that we have a responsibility to the people inside Tibet to remember their struggles," Dorjee says.
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