Nangpa La 血祭

生活在西藏，听说逃往的故事实在不是什么新鲜的事。有些故事夸大其词，有些故事让人撕心裂肺。而今天，几个国际登山者展示给我们的逃亡故事，让我迷惑于天灾与人祸？ 而廖天琪认为藏人的逃亡是汉人的耻辱。

“While I was up the mountain, pursuing my personal dream, other people were trying to pursue theirs...some 80 tibetan people were trying to cross Nangpa La into Nepal and India to see HH,” reported

On October 1 I heard machine-gun bursts... Chinese militias hunting Tibetans like rats, dogs, rabbits - you name it.” In the image, Sergiu Matei during the approaching trek.

Shots at Nangpa La

“Early morning of September 30th, I walked out of our dining tent to gaze over towards the Nangpa La pass. I saw a line of Tibetans heading towards the start of the pass - a common sight, as the trade routes are open this time of year.”

“Then, without warning, shots rang out. Over, and over and over. Then the line of people started to run uphill – they were at 19,000ft. Apparently the Chinese army was tipped off about their attempted escape, and had showed up with guns.”

2 people were down, and they weren't getting up

“Watching the line snake off through the snow, as the shots rang out, we saw two shapes fall. The binoculars confirmed it: 2 people were down, and they weren't getting up. Then more Chinese army swarmed through ABC.”

According to the climber, Tibetans on the mountain later said that up to seven people might have been shot dead, their bodies then shoved into a crevasse not far from Cho Oyu BC.

A traders, trekkers and refuges route

The wide Nangpa La pass, located between Tibet and Nepal, has been a common traders’ route for centuries. In fact, many among The Sherpa people reached Nepal 400 years ago across this col.

Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet, a large number of refugees added to the yak caravans. Whilst many Tibetans cross the pass in order to sell their traditional craft and Chinese goods in Namche Bazaar’s Saturday market and then come back, some seek refuge in Nepal or India.

The Nangpa La is also open to foreign trekkers.

The fact is, caravans across the Nangpa La are often seen by climbers in Cho Oyu’s ABC, located close by. Tibetan traders cross the pass not only in winter (when no one is watching), but also during the climbing season.

Not the first time

These unregistered travelers have rarely raised attention from the Chinese troops in BC, neither from the Liason Officers always present in ABC. Some climbing teams through the years have however reported on hearing shots. But this is the first time we have first-hand reports of a westerner witnessing people being shot on the way to Nepal’s border.

Nevertheless, it is not the first time such a fact hit the news. Canada’s Tibet Committee reported a similar incident on December 4, 2003: “Last year, there were separate eyewitness reports by Western mountain climbers of Chinese border police firing upon Tibetan refugees as well as pursuing refugees across Nangpa la into Nepal territory,” the NGO’s reported. “In mid October of this year, a group of 34 Tibetan refugees were fired upon by Chinese border security while attempting to cross into Nepal over Nangpa La.”

We ran in all directions

According to the report, one of the refugees who finally made it to Nepal told CTC in Kathmandu: “When the machine gun fire started hitting around us, we ran in all directions,” the 25 year old survivor said. “We ran back where we came from just trying to avoid the army. After hiding from the gun blasts for many hours, we climbed over Nangpa La in the middle of the night and walked the entire day on the Nepal side as we were so scared.”

Approximately 2,500 Tibetans annually escape from Tibet enroute to India, according to the Canada Tibet Committee. Approximately a third of those refugees are children under 18 years who are seeking a Tibetan language education unavailable to them under Chinese rule. Approximately one quarter of the refugees who successfully escape Tibet are monks and nuns who flee due to Chinese repression of religious beliefs and practices.

Nangpa La is situated only a few kilometres west of Cho Oyu (5,716m/18,753ft). The wide, glaciated pass serves as the main trading route between the Tibetans and the Sherpas of Khumbu.

The Nangpa La pass has also been used by “illegal” climbers who have started from Nepal and then crossed the border in order to summit Cho Chu without obtaining a climbing permit. Trespassing mostly happened during off season climbs and in past decades, when Chinese patrols were scarce in the area.

《The Lexus and the Olive Tree》

The Lexus and the Olive Tress by Thomas Friedman, the foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, was a best seller book of the year, and no doubt with the nature of his job and given an economic background this book provided very good explanation of the globalization. It is a very interesting book; I think he did great job on keep the balance between intellectual level and in a popular style. Thomas Friedman is a global traveler and with his numerous experiences in the developing county as grounds for argument, his argument was very strong and convincing.

Actually last year when he came to our school I went for that very provocative speech. I would say he is a very good public speaker, not only providing unique information but also really persuasive and evocative. After read this book and no surprise why he support the war. In The Lexus and the Olive Tress, he always talks the United States as a superpower country, and as the only remaining superpower countries which is most people also think that way, but not all. For instance, my land-lady who is an American but really feels disgusting with this word. Her argument is that the USA as the one of developed country has some advantages than others but there are also a lot of domestic issues to be solved. For instance, the health and the pension for elderly people are not well established, so in that sense, the United States is far way from being a superpower country.

I see Thomas Friedman is a typical person who really got full benefit from the globalization. He know the role of game, so he really emphasis the power of nation as well as an individual’s power. But I think this kind of ideology is very dangers, and it may cause more conflicts as well. I remember he also said after Nazism and Communisms the Iraq War as the third great challenge to the world. And this is actually the structure of this book and how he understands the globalization.

As he said the globalization is already a part of our life, whether we love it or hate it.

Globalization is here to stay and no one can avoid taking part in it. But I will say even though he gives lots of examples from Asia or elsewhere but still he is just simply talking the globalization from an American perspective. As he cited the globalization was happening a long time ago, and its affects every corner of the world. Most people see it from the date the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. In fact, we can trace back the history little bit earlier. We could consider early migration and exploration as one type of globalization before the Cold War. But since at that time governments and institutions were not well establish as it is right now, and information technology and communications were not advanced as it is now, there was less trade between nations, so its affected sector and population were small.

I agree with him that the information and technology is playing very critical role in this era of globalization. This is also the reason some countries like China have changed lots in terms of openness and control of media. As a fact of globalization, free trade is part of this business, but the role of WTO, IMF etc. is very weird and he also didn’t convince me to say those international organizations and treaties are important under the free trade condition, In case of African countries and Latino countries with those organizations play key role in terms of development, for instances, Washington Consensuses which pushed by IMF and the US government instead of bring economic growth the social economic structure became much more mass than before. Therefore, I think if Thomas Friedman can also bring some cases from those countries it will definitely benefit readers as well as it can support his argument.

I really appreciate that he strongly proposed the Lexus and the Olive Tree should keep balance. In other word, we should keep the balance between development and culture. Is the culture really matter in the development process? I think he gives very good answers.

I also agree that there are some down sides of the globalization, which we may call it, tread-off. Take Tibet as an example, through the economic structure in Tibet is rather simple because of the geographical, the historical and the life style the most part of Tibet were depending on agriculture and livestock. However, Tibetans are also getting big share from Chinese economic growth but the traditional culture and beliefs also under threaten of the simulations from Chinese. So the fact is that all cultural values cannot be preserved in this era of globalization. And the question is how to be your own and also be a part of global changes?

Given the current economic and political circumstance, challenge for the globalization is the gap between poor and rich. I cannot see how poor people and poor countries can benefit from this globalization? Can all global citizens enjoy Sushi or maybe a Big-Mac in every corner of the world? The challenge for the development is how to keep a balance between the economic development on one hand, and preserve traditional culture on the other. And this is also The Lexus and the Olive Tress trying to answers. I am highly recommending this book to people who interested in the international affairs.

Coffee Alone

昨天无意间，在网上搜到下面关于咖啡与人生的诗，很喜欢。习惯是一种生活方式。习惯是一种力量。习惯是没有他在身边。所以，习惯是很难改变的。特别是如果与你朝夕相处几十年的另一半突然从你生活中消失。虽然我还没结婚，也没他在一边让我习惯有他的生活。但挺能理解Thomas 的心情。是因为coffee？因为...？ 我不知道，也不想知道。

至于Hurricane 经历过几次，但对我只是几天的停课而已。过后，什么都忘了。并且今天，还可以喝着我最喜欢的咖啡，看白云，和朋友去远足。而此刻的Tom 是否也在喝一杯浓浓的black coffee！

An older woman reflects on her life after a hurricane takes her husband.

Coffee, alone

Black, no sugar.
Her life in a cup.
Her laugh, a rasping
Cough in a napkin.
She drinks her
Coffee, alone.

For 40 years
She loved one man.
Just the two of them
No kids, no pets,
Ideal tenants
For the 9th ward.

He never looked
At another woman.
He wasn’t looking
When this one came.

The coffee was ready
He was in the shed
Doing God knows what
When She came along.

A low roar, a sucking sound
Then a grinding crash
Splintered the ancient shed
And left him, dead.

She ran outside
And called His name.
A pile of bricks and cypress planks
Was now his tomb.

Her life was saved
By this act alone
As the hurricane
Now destroyed her home.

She walked through the streets
In a cotton dress
A ghost in a daze
No place to rest.

They took her to the Center
She was lost in the crowd
But she kept her peace
She was raised to be proud.

The weeks went by
Her man was not found
She could not return to empty ground.
At last the day came

When she could go back
A mixed blessing for sure
Her house was a wreck.

But she moved back
To her home without lights or water
It was still hers
And that was what matters.

She drinks coffee, alone
And prays for a sign
That she made the right move
And all will be fine.

This week she got power
And water for her plants
She can still watch TV
And hope that, by chance…

They will not destroy
The only home that she knew
She’s alone but she’ll fight
That’s what he would do, too.

Tom Crowley New Orleans 3/07/06