I strongly support the current Tibetan movement for cultural independence! I am shocked and dismayed at the recent brutal events of repression in Lhasa and the outlying provinces – Gansu, Xinjiang, Sichuan and Yunnan – all heavily populated by ethnic Tibetans.

I have been to Tibet several times and I identify and empathize with both its culture and its people. All through the heart of Tibet – Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse – these old cities have been converted into Chinese “new towns”. The great Barkhor plaza, in front of the sacred Jokhang Temple in the heart of old Lhasa, was created by the Chinese razing Tibetan homes and shops to establish a line of sight and control over the local citizens. Even in the best of times, poor and pious Tibetans, dutifully spinning their prayer wheels and circumambulating the Jokhang clockwise to perform the sacred kora, do so under the watchful eyes of armed Chinese police.

When I was last in Tibet, in 2005, I became quite friendly with one of our local guides – Tashi. He was a family man and a hard working, jovial spirit. He told me that he had tried to visit India many years ago on pilgrimage to Dharmasala, the seat-in-exile of the Dalai Lama. He had no exit visa but he tried to walk over a high pass with some colleagues. They were all arrested by Chinese border guards and imprisoned. I asked Tashi how long was he incarcerated. He said for over 8 months, in a nasty, dirty jail. He told me laconically that he was subjected to “struggle sessions”, political indoctrination and almost daily beatings. Then they let him go. He has no passport, however, and he can never leave Tibet. But he has made himself a nice life working for Wilderness Travel.

We traversed southern Tibet together in Land Cruisers. After we left the Rongbuk Valley and Everest North Base Camp, we were driven across the spectacular high Tingri plain and then abruptly down into the increasingly lush forests approaching the Nepalese border at Zhangmu. As we were about to walk across the Friendship Bridge into Kodari, Nepal, Tashi gave me a big hug and said goodbye. He had to go all the way back to Lhasa by the tortuous road we had come, as he couldn’t cross over into Nepal and fly back from Kathmandu.

These gentle people want nothing more than to preserve their ancient cultural and spiritual heritage. They deserve it. I support Tibetan autonomy and the return of the Dali Lama to Lhasa as the rightful spiritual leader of his followers. If not, may the fierce protector, Chana Dorje, wreak his vengence on the occupiers! Om mani peme hung.