"I Am Tibetan" Series: Poem by Mu Di

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a poem originally written in Chinese by a Tibetan calling themselves Mu Di, 牧笛, meaning "reed pipe". This poem was originally posted by Tibetan writer Woeser on her blog on February 15, 2010 along with several other poems of the same title. High Peaks Pure Earth has now translated all of the other poems and prose pieces that appeared in that blogpost: I Am Tibetan by Gade Tsering I Am Tibetan by Adong Paldothar I Am Tibetan by Dechen Hengme I Am Tibetan by "Son of Snow" Dhondup The poem below forms part of the series of poetry and prose pieces on High Peaks Pure Earth titled "I Am Tibetan".

A Letter of Appeal to the Authorities by Dolkar Tso, Wife of Karma Samdrup

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a letter of appeal written to government officials on June 25, 2010, by Dolkar Tso after learning that her husband, Karma Samdrup, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for charges of alleged tomb-robbing and dealing in looted relics. 

The letter of appeal was posted online on the blog of Karma Samdrup's lawyer, well-known Chinese civil rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang on this URL: http://puzhiqianglawyer.blog.sohu.com/155565868.html However, this post is now inaccessible. The letter can be read on Woeser's blog where it was re-posted in full on June 29, 2010.


High Peaks Pure Earth has posted several translations of blogposts by Dolkar Tso.




To the honoured reader:

I am from the town of Jyegu in the Yushu Prefecture of Qinghai Province, my name is Dolkar Tso. Not that long ago, I was just an ordinary housewife, a happy wife and mother. My husband’s name is Karma Samdrup; he is from the Chamdo District of Gonjo County and for a long time had dedicated most of his energy to protecting culture and the environment, he was widely respected. We have two lovely daughters together who are lively and kind-hearted and who currently go to a primary school in Chengdu. But now, my innocent husband has been sentenced to 15 years in prison accused of “robbing ancient graves”, our two unaware daughters still hope for a phone call from their father day and night. The past year’s earthquake and many other unexpected events have gradually destroyed our simple but happy family.

If my husband had really broken the law, I would by no means beg for leniency on his behalf; but we – all his relatives, friends and I – have known Karma for many years, and especially after his three-day trial from 22 to 24 June, we are more convinced than ever that Karma is innocent; he is no criminal.

Karma was born in a remote mountain village, never received any formal education but has always been kind-hearted and intelligent by nature. Starting from small business activities in his childhood, later on, he turned into a respected and well-known businessman. Nevertheless, compared to those wealthy contemporary families, our family still looked quite poor. This is because Karma invested all his hard-earned money into his activities of protecting culture and the environment. He also built bridges, renovated schools and supported widowed elderly people in his hometown. He also set up the “Three Rivers Environmental Protection Group”, which has been awarded many prizes of special honour. Moreover, he was very devoted to the protection of cultural antiquities and established the “Tibet Gzi (Heavenly Beads) Road Cultural Communication Company Limited”. He often cooperated with provincial museums and even managed to sign an agreement with the China Tibetology Research Centre preparing to donate 200 cultural items to the state. He has always dedicated everything to the harmonious existence between different people and between people and nature and has always believed that the protection of culture and the environmental go beyond the notions of nationality or state. For this reason, he has received varies different awards from the government. He has always obeyed the law, has always loved the country and his family and has gained trust and respect from friends of different ethnic origins. He particularly liked to make friends with inland intellectuals; he liked to study radiant Han culture and never entertained any separatist thoughts. His friends and relatives all think that his words and deeds have always represented the unity of ethnic nationalities and that he is in fact a role model for law-abiding citizens. But this person was taken as a captive, was tortured to confess to an extent that I couldn’t trust my own eyes when I was at the opening of the trial on June 22 and saw the tall and heavyset, even a little chubby Karma was now skinny and small, his body was crooked so that we already started shedding tears like rain before he had even started telling us about the cruel torture he had suffered. I already more or less knew what he had gone through, but when we heard his statement about how he had been forced to wrongly confess by means of numerous different methods, how he had been tormented day and night, we just couldn’t bear it any longer up in the public gallery. In the past half year, he led a life that wasn’t worth living; he often bled through the seven holes in his head and fainted, he did not have any food, was not given any time to rest and we only found out at the court that his left ear had almost gone deaf, his vision was blurry and his whole body was in agony. Yet, with a determination, which we are unable to imagine, he persisted in not telling lies, but in remaining an honest person, something, which made his friends and relatives feel proud and shaken.

For a housewife coming from a family like mine, this trial was so obviously not fair. The collegial panel only listened to the words of the prosecutor and turned a deaf ear to the questions of the defending advocates. The prosecutors’ proceedings revealed too many loopholes and the evidence, which they submitted was contradictory and full of flaws, making him a suspect on false grounds. But when Karma and his defenders requested evidence or wanted to call in a witness, which are all very legal requests, they were refused. According to the sentence, Karma should stay in prison for 15 years; this is so unjust and signifies the loss of any impartiality. Just as Karma said in his last statement, how can a person who protects antiquities and feels sad every time any cultural artefact is being destroyed be accused of “destroying ancient graves”? How can a person who grew up with traditional customs that taught to be superstitious about tombs be so defaming and “sell coffins and dried corpses” or “rob ancient graves”? We really don’t understand how Karma can endure such immense misfortune when we have such an advanced Party and Government and wide-ranging legal system in place?

Recently, our country has promulgated new laws and regulations against giving false evidence thus, strengthening citizens’ rights, putting an end to unjust cases out of pure hatred. This makes me feel very hopeful that the collection of evidence and investigations are being carried out according to the law and I believe that justice will be done to Karma. He has been serving his country for all his life and will certainly keep doing what he can do, will not strive for idealism and contribute to society.
Today, the heavy burden of the family, the business and the lawsuit entirely rests on my shoulders. Our innocent children still don’t know what calamities their dad is experiencing. Apart from Karma, his older brother, Rinchen Samdrup, and his younger brother, Chime Namgyal, were also arrested in August last year. To the present day, the older brother’s trial has not commenced and the younger brother was transferred to a hospital under strong surveillance on 11 June due to his disability. A different cousin was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for “being the instigator of a group of villagers appealing to the higher authorities” at the end of last year. Yet another cousin, Rinchen Dorje, was also seized by Ku'erle (in Xinjiang) city police in connection with Karma’s case and his whereabouts remain unknown. Already 5 family members have been arrested, every time I think of the peaceful life in the past, I cannot help but feel sadness welling up.

I earnestly request the respective departments to urge the local law enforcement offices to strictly follow the law and I also call for treating a good person like Karma in a humane way. A case like this can also stand as a model case in accordance with the newly promulgated laws and regulations. It will not only give back an honest person who has endured cruel punishment his legitimate right to live, it will also be a valuable experience helping to prevent similar cases in the future. But most importantly, it will be a great encouragement for people from all nationalities to do everything for the unified and harmonious existence of all nationalities.

Once more, I earnestly request the officials in charge to pay attention to this case and to pay attention to Karma Samdrup. For this I show my highest respect, appreciation and compliments. Tashi Delek!

Dolkar Tso
June 25, 2010

"The Fifth Blog" by Dolkar Tso (With an Introduction by Woeser)

High Peaks Pure Earth presents the translation of a blogpost titled "The Fifth Blog" by Dolkar Tso, wife of imprisoned businessman and environmentalist Karma Samdrup, which was written on July 7 and also re-posted on Woeser's blog on the same day.

On Woeser's blog, Woeser has written an introduction to Dolkar Tso's blogpost and also given a history of Dolkar Tso's blogs, hosted on popular Chinese blog portal Sohu, that are constantly being deleted and shut down. Read the High Peaks Pure Earth translation of Dolkar Tso's account of the first day in court, titled "Praying" here. Read a blogpost written after the sentencing of Karma Samdrup to 15 years in prison in which Dolkar Tso thanks the lawyers here.

Dolkar Tso's blogpost is mainly directed at those censors who delete her blog, the people who are called the "50 Cent Party".










The wife of Karma Samdrup, unjustly sentenced to 15 years in prison, has started and then seen her blogs shut down several times over the past month, and yesterday she started her fifth blog. Dolkar’s “personal details” written beneath her photograph is the passage: “Regardless of nationality, regardless of geography, seek only mercy and justice. No lies, no flattery, only perseverance and calm. What good comes of deleting this post or this blog?”

If this website continues to play these games with “Chinese characteristics,” it’ll be an extremely interesting online incident well worthy of attention and analysis, touching upon an individual and citizen’s fundamental right to freedom of speech.

The Perils of Dolkar’s blogs:

Dolkar’s first blog, “The epic behind Heavenly Beads,” http://drolkartso.blog.sohu.com/  was set up on Sohu on June 2, 2010, when Karma Samdrup’s first trial was postponed. It was shut down after just one day.

Dolkar’s second blog, “Heavenly… Beads…” http://drolkar.blog.sohu.com/ was set up on Sohu on June 21, 2010 when Karma Samdrup’s trial restarted. However, it was closed down again five days later.

Dokar’s third blog, “Heavenly… Beads…” http://drolkar3.blog.sohu.com/ was set up on Sohu on June 27 following Karma Samdrup’s unjust sentencing. Six days later on July 3, having published several articles, it was shut down again.

Dolkar’s fourth blog, “Heavenly… Beads…4” http://drolkar4.blog.sohu.com/ was set up on Sohu on July 3, the day that Karma Samdrup’s elder brother Rinchen Samdrup was unjustly sentenced to five years in prison. Three days later, it was again closed down.

Dolkar’s fifth blog, “Heavenly… Beads…5” http://drolkar5.blog.sohu.com/ was set up on Sohu on July 6. Who knows when it’s going to be shut down.

Pasted below is the latest piece from Dolkar’s blog.

Today will pass, tomorrow will come.

I think there are many things in life more important than sensitive words or closing down blogs and deleting essays. I grew up in the nomadic regions and learnt much from the laws of nature and understood little from the world of man. But I thought reason was always the same: the happiness of others will become one’s own happiness, and the fear of others will become one’s own fear.

This is a wife thinking of her husband. This is a wounded soul frustrated by an injustice. 15 years. Injustice and torture is amplified by 15 years on a good man’s head. How can I ever be made silent again? How can I be made as though none of this ever happened? And for a mere 50 cents, you wont even finish reading my piece, and just wipe away my, his, their tears and blood.

You have your hardships but in carrying out your work whatever you do, do not forget, the silent are strong without malice but are an aid to those who have malice. Those who force others into silence for a mere 50 cents are a part of that organisation of malice. I have such deep sympathy for you, for no one will escape the judgment of a certain day.

"Rinchen Samdrup Sentenced to 5 Years! The Sacred Texts He Saved and His CDs Destroyed!" By Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost written by Woeser on July 3, 2010. The blogpost is mainly made up of private photos taken of Tibetan environmentalist Rinchen Samdrup who was sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of "incitement to subversion". The sentencing of his younger brother Karma Samdrup to 15 years in prison the previous week had already attracted the attention of international media and Woeser has written about how she personally has known the brothers for many years. In the blogpost, Woeser refers to the book "Heavenly Beads", written by Liu Jianqiang and published in 2009 by Tibet People's Publishing House, in which several Tibetan environmentalists were profiled, including Karma Samdrup and Rinchen Samdrup. Read a review of the book here on ChinaDialogue. This blogpost has also been translated into Tibetan and can be read by following this link. Today, July 3, Rinchen Samdrup, elder brother of unjustly sentenced to 15 years "King of Dzi (Heavenly Beads)" Karma Samdrup, was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Tibet Autonomous Region Chamdo Intermediate People's Court on charges of "inciting splittism". I dug out my photos of summer 2004 taken in the Karma Kunsang area of Lhasa, photos of Rinchen and his family. In fact, some of these pictures have already been posted on my blog. But I want to post some more, I'd like people who see these photos to understand what kind of person Rinchen Samdrup is. And I particularly want to add that Rinchen Samdrup and his family, over a period of more than 10 years have made great efforts to save the major achievements of Tibetan Buddhism of Changchup Dorje and all of his precious texts, they entered everything into the computer word by word and put them on discs, after the police raid, the evil officials confiscated everything and it is said that  everything was destroyed by fire! What this means, needless to say, is that I am left extremely outraged. Those who do evil, remember well, the judgement of karma, like justice, has a long reach. ******* Rinchen Samdrup is a former monk, even now a devout believer and practitioner, familiar with Buddhism and Tibetan medicine and the only doctor in the local village. He is also a talented folk artist, poet, thangka painter, builder of stupas, manuscript board engraver, all of which he is good at. Spread over the floor are the pages of the major achievements of the great master of Tibetan Buddhism Changchup Dorje, the founder of Nyangla Temple, including Buddhist and Tibetan medical texts, due to the passage of time, many are damaged and only half are remaining having been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.  Over the last 10 years, Rinchen Samdrup wracked his brains and tried every means to save them. During a trip to Lhasa, he saw a computer and became very excited, he stayed in Lhasa to learn computer skills in the hope that he could enter the scriptures into the computer and preserve them forever. (more...)

This July 6th, Work for Tibet!

"I Am Tibetan" and "My Tibetanness" – Two Poems by Gade Tsering

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated two poems by a young poet from Amdo called Gade Tsering. The poems are called "My Tibetanness" and "I Am Tibetan".

Gade Tsering (spelled Gadai Tsering by official Chinese media) was born in 1981 in Amdo (today's Qinghai Province) and is a prolific poet in Tibetan and Chinese languages. Here is a link to his Chinese language blog which is called "Tibet, or After the Last Sky" - http://blog.sina.com.cn/gadaicairang - and below is a screenshot of the blog:




High Peaks Pure Earth has noticed that Gade Tsering is very popular amongst Tibetan netizens. In TibetCul's online poll to find the "Tibetan Personality of the Year" for 2009, many cultural figures were nominated, including strong support for Gade Tsering. As we mentioned in our introduction to the translation of the online poll, Gade Tsering also enjoys official literary acclaim. In October 2009, it was announced that he was in the "2009 China Top 10 Minority Poets" and he had previously received the titles of "National Top 10 Minority Poet" and "2006 Northwest Outstanding Poet", amongst others.

The poem "My Tibetanness" by Gade Tsering was written in August 2009 and is dedicated to the outspoken India-based Tibetan poet and activist Tenzin Tsundue. In fact, the title of the poem comes from Tenzin Tsundue's own poem "My Tibetanness". The last verse of Tenzin Tsundue's poem: I am Tibetan / But I am not from Tibet. / Never been there. / Yet I dream / of dying there. becomes the starting point of Gade Tsering's poem.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this poem was deleted by Sina soon after it was originally published on Gade Tsering's blog on this URL: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4821685d0100elk7.html

Here is the English translation of the poem:



"Somebody said to me:
You are Tibetan, I am also Tibetan."

"I am Tibetan.
But I am not from Tibet.

Never been there.
Yet I dream
of dying there."

You once again speak the truth!

1，

"In a place far away from Tibet,
In a dark corner, you
See an endless sight,
A dark faced girl's yearning for me makes me
feel sad;
My whole life."

Smiling mercifully
Just remembering makes me want to cry
How many close relatives disappeared there, never to return
And how many joys and sorrows
Continue here --

"My life's root guru,
In this life before death I'll cross paths with you. "
Caring for each other silently
For the sake of the mission which disappointed us by falling below our expectations

"Within, my body has already tied down
These bloodline roots. "

2，

Strong wind screams --
Butter lamps flicker
"OM MANI PADME HUM"

So
Soul-stirring mantra
How can it pour out of a soul be tarnished?

Prostrate on the ground
I can only soak in an ethnic group on the verge of cultural assimilation, thinking about you ... ...
A group of refugees!

3，

I am Tibetan
ID issued by the People's Republic of China
Registration card issued by the People's Republic of China
Fill out a form, and hand in a form
Nationality column, I need to write; "Tibetan!"
Occasionally, the leadership will say:
"Consistent with the Central Committee,"
I say "OK, leadership please relax!"
Can only leading such a life
be considered life?

Over the many years
I always think that I have been undergoing a great change
Always pray for tomorrow
Worry.

Each Spring Summer Autumn Winter
I have suffered so much pain. Could this be
worldly love?
Love of nationality?

4，

"How is it possible that I do not understand the love in your heart."

However,
Whose sigh interrupted
Our chat?

Our mother tongue
endured, like a small and weak organism -

Tibet, Tibet ... ...
Devil-ridden
A monk hurriedly returns to his residence
Rest.

- What is he frightened of?

5，

A spirit of compassion
Living desperately

That illiterate pregnant girl
Once in a while told me using her eyes --

"I also live in desperation"

At this point,
A quiet dark sky
I actually have nothing to say

6，

"Are you still OK?
At a dead end, I returned to Tibet
Needed again to unload the weight of my body."
Suddenly wanted to ask you this

"What is Tibet?"
A government website told me
It's the end of the railway line - the "Qinghai-Tibet railway"
(Launched at 9:00 on July 1, 2006, 1,142 km in length)
It's the end of a highway --
Qinghai - Tibet highway (1214 km in length)
Xinjiang - Tibet highway (2841 km in length)
Sichuan - Tibet highway (Northern side 2412 km in length, Southern side 2149 km in length)
Yunnan - Tibet highway (714 km in length)
China - Nepal highway (2415 km in length)

What is Tibet?
It's mineral resources:
At present, 101 kinds of mineral resources have already been discovered, 41 kinds of mineral resources have been identified, not withstanding the 100 reserves under exploration, not withstanding  2,000 mining points, 22 mines have been opened up for development. Tibet's dominant minerals are, copper, chromium, boron, lithium, lead, zinc, gold, antimony, iron, and geothermal, mineral water etc, some minerals in the country account for an important position, mineral resources with the potential value of more than a trillion yuan. Reserves of mineral resources ranking top 5 are chromium, craft crystals, corundum, high-temperature geothermal, copper, clay, magnesite, boron, natural sulphur, mica, arsenic, and 12 other kinds of mineral water. There are also good prospects for oil at present.

What is Tibet?
The holy land of tourism
Because going to Tibet is also a kind
of trend.

What is Tibet?
"Tibet is home of different ethnic groups."

What is Tibet?
It is "Three Valleys in Ngari, the West"
"Four Rivers in U-Tsang, the Center,"
"Six Mountain Ranges in Dokham, the East"

What is Tibet?

Can I lose hope?

7，

"I'm waiting for someone."

"It's you!"
Why don't you remove the shadow you have shouldered for a lifetime
Before that, I promised
To help you to sign your name in the rectangle characters,
Return trip to the hometown
Afterwards, go to see the cold monastery that looks like
ruins. A monk
One matchstick

The tears on
Your cheek turn to ice.

8，

"Posters are everywhere in the city
Slogans are as numerous as sesame seeds
Like what a friend of mine said:
"Judgment day is this day, it's actually every day."
Obviously this belongs to
A typical discourse of violence
But for those who know the inside story
This is a warning; It is an account made within the bounds
permitted by the power

We have been constantly been in compliance
But the days are increasingly paling into insignificance
Losing meaning

"Am I still that Tibetan who hides the prayer beads in his heart?
A deep sense of shame! "

9，

"The real Tibet is like a slabstone,
Overwhelms me and makes me breathless. "

I can only while myself away, in order to live in a little dignity.


10，

"Those of us in Tibet
will we become refugees?"

August 9, 2009


The second poem by Gade Tsering translated by High Peaks Pure Earth fits well in the series of "I Am Tibetan" poems and prose pieces that have been translated over the last few months. The poem was written in Amdo on February 10 2010, and posted on his blog on the first day of Losar (Tibetan New Year), February 14, 2010, when there was an upsurge in online activity related to being Tibetan and Tibetan identity.

Because I'm Tibetan, every time I salute Mother Nature in awe:
The snow-covered mountains, the grasslands, the azure sky and the lakes,
I cannot help but throw my bloated body into her bosom. Because I know
She never rejects those who she loves.

Did you know?


“It was here my fellows had been imprisoned;
It was here the Defender of Faith of Chushi Gangdruk had been defeated.

It is here the smoke of the burning branches of mulberry trees swirl,
And the sound of spiral shell horns can be heard,
The roofs are flanked with coloured Sutra banners;
It is here, the chest of the plateau, my home,
Tibet!”

---Preface



0,

In the early morning I offer a bowl of purified water to Buddha,
I will no longer ask for more: the existence of Tibet,
Which has completed my life and repelled my fear of loss.

It is here I have encountered you
As well as all living things.
It is here I have experienced the feeling of love,
As well as the feeling of being loved.

Because I am a Tibetan,
I always firmly believe in history,
Always firmly believe
In the existence of sacred spirit.

1,

I hear different languages of different groupsIn my mother tongue, crying;
Those from blacksmiths, farmers, hunters,
From prostitutes, businessmen, vendors

I already disdain the scenes I’m seeing;
Although sometimes I still sing the Song of Emancipated Serfs,
I can recognize a guy with the sissy tone in his dialect must be a Shandong guy,
I can recognize a chick in the ugly photographer’s vest is a Sichuan chick.

At this moment, I’m touching the damaged Buddha,
Wondering how it should be possible
That a month later all these people would gesture and speak in astonishment:
 “Since Tibetans have religious beliefs, how can a Lama kill people?”
I think everything is dreadful for a reason.

Where else could we head for,
If the whole land is darkened by night?

2,

Because I’m a Tibetan, I have
A lot of memories:

“The monkey and the demoness
With the nature of getting along with Mother Nature in harmony,
And, the Tibet Empire and the Tibetan song of Gesar orally passed from generation to generation.

Because I’m a Tibetan,
I have been suffering from a life in misery;
Because I’m a Tibetan,
I have obtained enough comfort.

But it is in this autocratic winter
I composed this poem!

3,

“Her eyes and the wrinkles on her palms are Tibetan,
Her name, Tibetan,
Her dreams and sorrows, Tibetan,
Her belief, her legs and body, Tibetan,
Her language and her silence, Tibetan,
Her voice, Tibetan,
Her birth and death, Tibetan” ①

4,

How wonderful it is
To dream of parents!
I deeply believe that at this moment
I’m no longer in sorrow.

In this snowy night,
I get up to light a butter lamp.
I decide to take the prayer beads off my waist
And pray to Buddha.

At this moment, the night seems so real and profound.

5,

Celestial burial is
Not frightening at all,
In my eyes;
Benighted,
In your eyes.

Because I’m a Tibetan,
I understand myself.

6,

This time the rejection is
Related to your identity.
I said,
The Tibetan knife I carry with me every day is
Not for killing other lives.
You always wonder if in this world there ever exists a place

"Speak Tibetan because you are a Tibetan,
Celebrate Losar because you are a Tibetan."

In my mother tongue I answered,
“Life and death are separated from each other.
I said I carry a knife with me
Because I soberly know who I am
And I want to intimidate myself.

7,

There they came on a Saturday afternoon.
There they came, in buses appearing as armoured cars.
There they came, with buzzing saws, ropes and other equipment.
There they came, the seven workers.
There they came, the seven devils.
There they came, holding beer bottles like flowers, drunk.
There they came, in camouflaged green outfits.

With bright red faces,
in black leather shoes,
There they came…②


8,

I am Tibetan,
I want to worship my gods in awe.
I am Tibetan,
I want to partake in all my religious festivals.
I am a Buddhist and I
Won’t allow anyone to take away this
baptism of mine.

9,

How far must I go to arrive in the land of Tibet?
How far must I go to meet my parents?
How far must I go to wear Tibetan clothes?
 
Naked,
We are heading for Lhasa.
The festered feet as the proof,
That our bruised bodies and hearts are
Tibetan!

The garden is silent;
In the form of an eagle
Lhasa is flying.
Drawing near the thunder,
Comes soon the rain!

10,

Because we are Tibetan,
We are treated differently from other minorities:
Enduring aggravating discrimination, imprisonment, torture and death.
Because I am Tibetan,
I am no longer in fear of anything.
Still a courageous Buddhist,
I lit many lights before our honoured Gods
In memory of my dead brethren
Just as usual.

Speaking in my mother tongue, I deeply believe that
At this moment, I feel peaceful and blessed! 

Because I am Tibetan, I often ask
Apart from in Tibet, where else could we find a piece of land of the exiled
with such rich poetic sentiments?

February 10, 2010.

Notes:
① An imitation of the poem "The Lover from Palestine" by the Arabian poet Mohamed Darwish
② An excerpt from "Saturday Morning" by the Iraqi poet Yusuf

"Remembering the First Time I Met Karma Samdrup" by Woeser

High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a blogpost by Woeser that was originally written for Radio Free Asia on June 17, 2010 in Beijing and posted on her blog on June 21, 2010.

In this blogpost, Woeser writes an account of her first encounters with Karma Samdrup, the Tibetan businessman, philanthropist and environmentalist who was sentenced to 15 years in prison on June 24, 2010 in Xinjiang. Read a report about Karma Samdrup by Human Rights Watch here, a report which is also cited by Woeser in her blogpost.

High Peaks Pure Earth has also translated two blogposts by Karma Samdrup's wife Dolkar Tso, read the first one "Praying" here and the second one, in which she thanks Karma Samdrup's lawyers, here.







A number of days ago, Human Rights Watch submitted a report to the Chinese government requesting to rescind the accusations against the philanthropist and environmentalist of the Tibetan people, Karma Samdrup and his brothers. It states: “these people embody the characteristics the government says it wants in modern Tibetans – economically successful, lending support to only approved cultural and environmental pursuits, and apolitical – yet they, too, are being treated as criminals.” This made me remember when I first met Karma Samdrup. It was one day in May 1998; I had travelled from Lhasa to Chengdu for business and at the entrance of the Chenghua District Government, to my surprise, I saw a group of Tibetans quietly sitting on newspapers, bamboo or plastic mats, they looked exhausted and their clothes were tatty but one glance was sufficient to see their anger and grievance. I went over to speak to them; I wanted to know why they were there. Right at this moment, Karma appeared carrying two large boxes of bottled mineral water.    

Originally, those Tibetans were trading with Chinese caterpillar fungus, most of them were Khampas from eastern Tibet but some also came from the Ngaba grasslands of Amdo. After the caterpillar fungus season the year before, they had brought more than 5000 kilos of caterpillar fungus to sell, which had been collected by over 7000 families to Chengdu. All of their merchandise was collected by some Pharmaceutical Company belonging to the Chenghua District Government. It had been agreed that payment would be made on a certain day. But when it came to that day, the boss of the Pharmaceutical Company had vanished into thin air and the 5000 kilos of caterpillar fungus had also disappeared without a trace. When the traders saw the altogether almost 40 million RMB coming to naught, they were burning with impatience because they had taken the fungus from the local villagers merely on the basis of goodwill and promise, as it is traditionally done. So the hard working villagers looked forward to promptly receiving the money to take back home. Some of them had to settle many urgent payments. For those traders who don’t do big business, their entire belongings are at stake. In addition, 15 million RMB was loaned from the bank and another 5 million RMB was taken from the poverty alleviation funds. Thus, they had no alternative but to stay in Tibetan places around the Chengdu Office, demanding payment every day. But after countless months had passed without any results, they could do nothing but carry out a quiet sit-down protest. It was said that the number of traders participating in the sit-down protest reached 60. Yet, can a sit-down protest solve the problem? Who can make up for a loss of 40 million RMB? I heard that a trader named Dorgey from Ngaba was in such extreme despair that he committed suicide. 

So, was Karma also one of the people who had been tricked? No, he wasn’t. At the time, he was a little over 30; he was trading in "dzi" (heavenly beads) and had also just arrived in Chengdu and randomly run into this group of Tibetans carrying out a sit-down protest. Without any hesitation he put aside his business and took the initiative to help them. He firstly brought them water, medicine and food and secondly, he used his network to find an important person to speak for them. For example, after much effort, Karma found Phuntsog Wangyal who was living in Beijing. Although Phuntsog Wangyal had retired from his position as the Deputy Director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission many years ago, he was still influential. Moreover, he was the very first Tibetan revolutionary, an eminent patriot. Of course he would lend a helping hand when the lives of so many common Tibetans were affected. He explained this situation to the then Premier of the State Council, Zhu Rongji. Thereupon, as I came to know much later, after a period of three years, provincial departments on all levels in Tibet, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, as well as Chengdu, renumerated those Tibetans who had been cheated. 

At the time, the noble Karma and I had both been in a rush, I had not been able to help him. It wasn’t until summer 2002 at a banquet in Lhasa that I met Karma again. I was astonished by his brilliant words saying that when one carries out environmental protection work in Tibet one should also consider the benefits of local Tibetans, otherwise one might as well not do it. It is said that Karma established the very first environmental non-government organisation in Tibet – “Three Rivers Environmental Protection Group”, which he also sponsors himself. After interviewing him a few times I wrote an article titled “Karma, ‘King of Heavenly Beads’”, which was published in 2006 in the “Southern Weekend” newspaper. I remember how in the very beginning he said to me: “I have never been to hell, I don’t know how terrifying hell really is but I have suffered a lot; I have never been to heaven, I don’t know how magnificent heaven really is but I often feel happy.” What really is a shame is that today, Karma is commonly portrayed in the light of the first half of this sentence, which really is very unjust.

Beijing, June 17, 2010

Dolkar Tso Thanks Karma Samdrup’s Lawyers

High Peaks Pure Earth and JustRecently have translated a blogpost by Karma Samdrup's wife, Dolkar Tso, that was posted online on her blog on June 26, 2010. Most of the translation was done by JustRecently here on this blogpost and High Peaks Pure Earth is grateful to JustRecently for granting us permission to reproduce the translation within the full translation below.

Dolkar Tso's blogpost was deleted shortly after it was posted but it was re-posted in full on the same day on Woeser's blog and the screenshot below shows us what the posting looked like:




Dolkar Tso has written a few blogposts since the start of Karma Samdrup's trial. Read the High Peaks Pure Earth translation of her account of the first day in court, titled "Praying". Just two days later, on June 24, 2010, Karma Samdrup was sentenced to 15 years in prison. This article by TIME magazine gives an overview of the case and also refers to Dolkar Tso's blogpost.

Dolkar Tso's blogpost mentions Yang Jia, a young Chinese citizen who became frustrated with the law, launched an attack on a police station and stabbed six policemen to death in Shanghai on July 1, 2008. Executed for his crimes in November 2008, Yang Jia nevertheless became an internet hero and gained public sympathy for his stance against injustice, read an August 2008 Daily Telegraph article about him here. By mentioning his case in the title of her blogpost, it is clear that Dolkar Tso identifies with Yang Jia's feelings of frustration with the Chinese legal system and gives credit and thanks to Karma Samdrup's Chinese lawyers for not losing her mind.

Dolkar Tso also mentions the Uighur name "Abliz", a person who was involved in the original 1998 case against Karma Samdrup involving alleged grave-robbing and who also testified against him.




We are on the plane leaving Urumqi. As the plane took off, misty rain swept the plane's wing as though tears were overflowing from a pair of eyes.

A friend next to me quietly says what I can't bear to say myself: Karma, we will leave you for a while.

The three colleagues all could not detach themselves from the experiences of the past few days. In my left ear hauntingly echoed the words "Abliz Abliz ... ", my right ear could hear the lawyer's eloquent powerful voice. I know that many people worry about me, "15 year sentence", how heavy this weighs down on people's hearts, even I myself have not clearly thought through what this means. On the third day of the trial, at first upon seeing the botched evidence I still had some hope, afterwards seeing how obviously the court and prosecution were protecting each other, my worse expectations were confirmed - everything had already been set up, the whole trial was made up of fabricated evidence and the entire process was a painstaking show.

I have felt despair, however I also find comfort - in such lawyers, in Karma, in us.

Last night on the return trip, lawyer Pu finally fell asleep, there was another case waiting for him straight after, another family waiting in despair for a genuine lawyer they can talk to and depend on. Sitting behind him, we can not help but shed tears, he and lawyer Li, working and rushing around day and night, lacked sleep from the start, especially the ailing lawyer Pu who in the night of the second day in court couldn't rest and had to leave the courtroom to take an injection and medicine. How I hope they can rest, or hope even more that such good people no longer have to worry about these kinds of miserable stories. However, with more and more people facing difficulties, out of empathy I don't want them to stop their work - such lawyers are too too few, the harder they work, the more innocent people will be comforted. In the same way that Karma endured physical and spiritual ravages, the hard work of lawyers is also harsh physical punishment imposed on them by society. In the same way that Karma does not yield, the lawyers will also not give up.

“Thank you” – these two words are too weak to express my gratitude to the two lawyers. I don’t know how to express my gratitude adequately. I'm unable to imagine what situation I would be facing if not even the lawyers had followed the law, but succumbed to the temptation of money and confused common notions of right and wrong. How deep would my despair run in that case? That would be the kind of bottomless despair that would force those of us who believe in Buddhism to bear deep hatred. Nobody wishes to hate others, and Yang Jia didn’t want to become Yang Jia. My heart doesn’t wish evil on others, and would fear turning into Yang Jia’s abysmal, hopeless and lonely state of mind. Therefore, I can only once again use these weak words of gratitude to salute these two lawyers!

You have not only preserved our faith in law and justice, but made me even more convinced: when the choice is between right and wrong, there is no ethnic difference. We are striving for truth and justice together, no matter  if we are Han or Tibetan. I appreciate the treasures and common life of our nationalities. Diversity provides us with experience and self-awareness. The common pursuit of goodness and beauty provide us with real unity and harmony.

I believe that even though we have seen this trial – a trial that benumbed my limbs and made tears well up in my eyes -, I’m still not Yang Jia. I thank these two lawyers, I thank all friends of all nationalities, and from the beginning to the end, I have not felt alone.