Freeman - Running from Tenda Gyamar: a volunteers story of life with the refugee children of Tibet

Buddhism was introduced to Tibet in the eighth century when its influence spread from India. Tibet was under Mongol rule almost continuously from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. Chinese control grew from the eighteenth century during which time Tibet endeavoured to remain isolated from the rest of the world. Its society was still structured as a feudal system with the majority of the land in the ownership of monasteries while the bulk of the population were serfs. Following the British Empires occupation of India, China feared Britain would further expand its influence to include China, using Tibet as the back door. China therefore invaded and by 1910 had instigated direct rule of Tibet; the Dalai Lama fled to India. With the collapse of the Chinese Empire in 1911, Tibet declared its independence. The Dalai Lama returned to Tibet from India in July 1912, following the fall of the Qing dynasty. The existing amban (a high official appointed to govern Tibet on behalf of the Chinese) was expelled from Lhasa along with all Chinese troops. The Dalia Lama ruled unchallenged until the communist regime in China took hold. Once again Tibet came onto the radar of the Chinese authorities when the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army invaded the Chamdo region of Tibet in 1950, defeating ineffectual resistance from the Tibetan Army. In 1951, Tibetan representatives travelled to Beijing where a seventeen point agreement was signed giving the Chinese joint rule of Tibet. Yet the Tibetans continually fought against the Chinese occupation and the many revolts which ensued culminated in the 1959 uprising in the capital Lhasa. Chinese military might crushed the rebels and, from then on, military rule was imposed. The Dalai Lama fled to India where he and his followers were granted political asylum. The Dalai Lama established a Tibetan government in exile. In 1965, the Chinese abolished serfdom in Tibet and the area that had been under the control of the Dalai Lamas government from 1910 to 1959 (-Tsang and western Kham) was renamed the Tibet Autonomous Region or TAR. A proviso of the autonomy was that the Head of Government should be ethnically Tibetan, but this was never the case. During the 1970s, the Chinese Army pursued a course of violent cultural revolution in Tibet whereby thousands of the ancient monastic estates were broken up and cultural sites were vandalised. Tibetan libraries were raided and books destroyed in an attempt to obliterate the Tibetan language and history. The Panchen Lama remained in Lhasa after 1959. However, following his death in 1989, China rejected the Dalai Lamas choice for his successor. It is believed that the Dalai Lamas chosen Lama was subsequently executed by the Chinese. The Chinese appointed their own choice of Lama, causing increased tension with the Tibetan government in exile. This tension persisted and relations between the Chinese and Tibetan governments remained poor. When the seventeenth Reting Lama was ordained in Tibet in 2000, the Dalai Lama refused to recognise him. China encouraged the migration of Chinese settlers into the Tibetan region causing further tensions. It was felt by Tibetans that this was a further attempt by China to dilute and ultimately eradicate the distinct culture of Tibetans. China continues to portray its role in the region as that of the moderniser, bringing trade, improved living standards and freedom from the Tibetan feudal system. Internationally, organisations have expressed fears about human rights violations in Tibet. Amnesty International has stated its extreme concern that basic human rights are being routinely abused. Tensions in the region are still running high and numerous examples of monks self-immolating (suicide by setting fire to oneself) as an act of protest, have been reported in 2011. However, most governments officially recognise the sovereignty of China over Tibet today.