By Tenzin Choephel
Phayul Correspondent in Kathmandu
The past few days saw a string of protests by the Tibetan exiles against the railroad built by the People’s Republic of China to connect Lhasa, capital of occupied Tibet to the Chinese capital Beijing . More protests and demonstration are being scheduled by various Tibetan NGOs and Tibet support groups all over the world. Tibetan activists outside Tibet have said that the demonstration must be carried out by the Tibetans in free countries where freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right since for Tibetans in Tibet, this right do not exist.
Phayul met a group of recently-arrived Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu and interviewed them about the way the railway was being viewed by the Tibetans in Tibet. Following are the selected quotes from the interview:
“No Tibetans like Railway coming to Tibet because many Chinese from Mainland China would come to Tibet and Tibet would be full of Chinese, people in our Township were ordered to build new houses on their farmland according to number of household members, we don’t have enough space to keep our livestock, all these campaigns are to make room for Chinese settlers when they arrive in Tibet” says Tsering from Chushur County.
Yamphel from Rebkong County says, ” The Railway has become a matter of concern for all Tibetans, when older generation passes away, younger generations would be converted into Chinese”.
Yeshi Damdul from Tölung Dechen County says, “Large numbers of poor Chinese would come to Tibet and the Railway would transport mineral ores from different parts of Tibet even thouh the government says it is for carrying passengers”.
Sangye Dhondup from Meldro Gungkar County says, “When Railway comes, mineral ores of Tibet would be transported to Mainland China beyond limit, elders say we don’t have any fortune, we would definitely face big problem in the future, Chinese would make life hard for us”.
Tenzin Dhargey from Damshung County says, “Nowadays Railway is harming livestock and nomads are very worried. Many livestock fell to death in pits dug up for Railway construction and some died consuming poison sprayed along Railway track to kill rabbits and picas but Chinese claim the death were caused by a pig disease to cover up the matter and no compensation were given; several nomad households of Choten Village were moved to give way for Railway track and several more households were ordered to move but they have to build their own house with small government compensation but no compensation was given for nomadic grassland”.
Tsering Dhondhup from Damshung County says, “There is a white stone mining site in our Lungring Township since five years; these shiny white stones are expensive; 6-9 truckloads are taken out every day to be cleaned in Lhasa and transported to Mainland China. Locals don’t have any right to say anything and no one dares to speak, they blast lots of dynamite and it was harmful to people because it destroyed nomadic grasslands.
Dhondup continues, “Last year there was gold and lead mining from a holy lake called Sertso lake near the stone mining site and locals are very worried. Tibetans are not allowed to work there. Mining is done beyond limit and it would continue in the future also because the Railway track is also purposely made near mining areas, more mining tests are done in Nalung Township. The places that used to grow grass no longer grow grass. The fertility of the soil is deteriorating, when the Railway comes, many Chinese would come and we would lose all our land”.
Tashi Dolma of Tölung Dechen County says, “Many good farmlands of Tölung Dechen were destroyed for Railway track construction; the track was constructed in the middle of farmland. First a hump is made, then fertile soil of farmland were used to level it; then they brought soil from the hills also and livestock grazing areas were also damaged. Farmers are facing problems because both their farmland and livestock grazing land are either destroyed or damaged. Over 55 households of our village lost big parts of their farmland for Railway track. The government gave compensation but households received only a small amount and suffered big losses due to embezzlement of funds in between. One household did not receive any compensation at all. Our household also did not receive compensation for a part of our farmland but we could not complain and no one dares because government claims that the land belongs to the nation and whenever government needs land, people should be ready to give up their land. Some people became ill by worrying, all the people are living with worries and anxiety nowadays because their income have decreased. The compensation money was spent quickly, now they have to find alternatives”.
