Students for a Free Tibet Fresher pack
Photo: 2012 Uprising Day march in London
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
SFT’s principles
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Students for a Free Tibet UK (SFT UK) works in solidarity with the Tibetan people in their struggle for freedom and independence. The SFT UK network is part of the international SFT movement of young people and activists around the world. Through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action, we campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. Our role is to empower and train youth as leaders in the worldwide movement for social justice.
SFT UK’s vision is of an independent Tibet, as part of a just and equitable world, free of oppression, in which there is respect for the earth and all living things. We see a world where young people realise that they can and must take responsibility to change our world for the better, and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to do so effectively and non-violently.
SFT UK is inspired by other successful non-violent struggles such as Gandhi’s resistance movement which led to Indian independence, Martin Luther King’s civil rights movement in the US and Nelson Mandela’s campaign against Apartheid in South Africa. SFT UK believes that though China is powerful, there are cracks in its system, and that it is up to us to make the occupation of Tibet costly for the Chinese regime. SFT UK also stands in solidarity with other movements affected by the Chinese regime, such as the Chinese democracy movement, the Uyghurs, the Inner Mongolians, the Burmese and the Falun Gong’s peaceful opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), though this does not necessarily mean SFT UK shares all of these groups’ views.
When SFT UK talk about Tibet, we are referring to ‘Greater Tibet’, not just what China calls ‘the Tibet Autonomous Region’. The Tibetan cultural areas of Amdo and Kham were part of an independent Tibet before the Chinese invasion, and the people of these regions continue to stand up against Chinese rule.
We believe every individual has the right to be free. Those who enjoy freedom have the power and also the responsibility to make positive change in the world. We seek to create opportunities to inspire, enable and motivate all people to see that change is possible. We value creativity in every pursuit and we believe it is essential to have fun while working towards our vision of a just and equitable world.
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More info - sftuk.org and studentsforafreetibet.org
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Contents ____________ Introduction
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Ideas for Freshers Fair
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Aims and objectives
Maintaining your membership Fundraising Tibet facts
Merchandise
Current situation
Nomad campaign
Political prisoners
Lhakar and the Tibetan renaissance
Letter writing Networking
Stay in touch
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Photos: SFT action camp, nomadic life, workshop with kids, Tibetans rise up, Hull group, SFT on the road at Glastonbury. Contact us about anything relating to your group or Tibet - tom@sftuk.org
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Introduction ________________ Hello supporter!
This is a group pack for SFT UK university chapters.
In this pack there’s all kinds of ideas about how to keep your group together, expand membership, particularly if you are an individual member at a university without a group and ideas for effective fundraising. Hopefully these ideas will serve as inspiration when holding your own events.
If you’re not part of a group and are thinking about starting one, please let us know and we can help with materials, advice and by listing your group. As long as groups agree to SFT’s mission statement and approach, groups are free to organise events and protests and we’ll support you wherever we can, including with training. If you’re not at uni, there are still opportunities to start a group, whether in your local community, as part of a club or social network. Or you may just want to organise a one-off event and see how it goes. Either way, contact us at info@sftuk.org or contact liam@sftuk.org or lisa@sftuk.org
We hope you find this pack helpful and if you have any questions about the pack or anything else please do not hesitate to get in touch, all contact information can be found at the back of the pack!
Good luck!
Tom, Liam, Lisa and the SFT UK board
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Photos: The colourful Tibetan flag is a great way to draw attention at events and protests, and students protest for language rights inside Tibet in 2010; they risk their lives and liberty to do so; we should use our liberty to promote theirs!
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Aims and objectives _________________________
As always one of the mains aims for your group should be maintaining membership and securing your chapter’s status within the university. We hope you’ll find some useful tips in this pack on how to do that. Raising awareness is another key aspect of what we are trying to achieve at SFT. The more people that know about us and the situation in Tibet, the more people we can have working towards the same goals!
Also fundraising is forever on the agenda for SFT UK so it’s a really good idea to get to grips with this Check out the fundraising page in this guide for ideas on effective fundraising as well as the SFT UK website. The best thing about holding fundraising events is that you can raise awareness not only about the Tibetan cause but also your own chapter individually. Everything you do when part of SFT should have some sort of focus on one or more of these things.
Ideas for Freshers fair ___________________________
One of the most important days of the whole year for you and your chapter is Fresher’s Fair. In this section we will give you some basic ideas about effective ways of drawing people to your table and ways to keep them interested and curious long after they have gone.
A good way of doing this is to use small leaflets that people visiting your table can look at later on.. You can use SFT leaflets and postcards or adapt them- just remember SFT’s objectives at the start of this pack! Making your own leaflet can give a more informal and fun feel whilst at the same time not detracting from the seriousness of the issue. It can also have your details on it so people can contact you direct.
To sell your chapter to students, it’s best to have some information on your own group. The approach you take and which of SFT’s campaigns you concentrate on will be up to you, so tell people what kind of events you hold and even have information on yourselves. This again is a great way to show that your chapter can be lots of fun despite how serious we take the situation in Tibet.
Photos: SFT has used banner drops to push the issue all around the world, a stall at Beach Break
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Maintaining your membership ______________________________________
After fresher’s fair has come and gone you should hopefully have been able to add some more members to your chapter. Whilst this is brilliant you shouldn’t rest on your laurels and keeping these members is vital to your chapter having a big impact on your university. A really good way to do this is to have an event or social as soon as possible. Something simple like a meeting, social or arranging a talk is a great way to keep members interested and boost the amount of people wanting to join your group.
Turning your group into an active force within the union is a great way of maintaining membership. Organising events at regular intervals can improve student’s awareness of your group. Make sure that when you are organising events that you include all members of your group and that you are not relying on a few people to organise and oversee the event or fundraising ideas you have. Play to each others’ strengths and you will find that your events will become increasingly successful.
Fundraising ________________
One of the most effective ways of raising money with very little need for planning or resources is to organise a stall in your students union. With just a few members for a few hours, you and your group can raise lots of money. A good way of maximising the money that can be made from stalls is to co-inside your event with something that is in the news and don’t be afraid to be flexible with the content of your stall and mix things up to get yourself noticed. Maybe sell things there or have something interactive like a written or photo petition and eye-catching posters to get people’s attention.
Make sure you account for your costs; you don’t want them overtaking the money you raise! Be realistic with how much you can expect to raise to avoid overspending. Be careful with resources; things like leaflets are great to build awareness but talking to people is more personal; best that you give a leaflet and have a conversation.
Top Tip Don’t be afraid to grab a donation bucket and move away from your area as this can be a great way of reaching more people!
Photos: Tibetans call for independence at the Beijing Olympic torch relay in London and during the uprising in Tibet in 2008.
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
I am sure that many of you have organised and held your own events in the past and have a good idea of how to do so. I am going to share some of the ways that I have found most effective in raising money.
Firstly, as discussed on the previous page is stalls in the university union. This worked well for our group because we have many people with different skills who could come together and make it a success. There were people who would decorate our area and attract people to our stall. There were people who were more confident asking people for money. If you can pool all your groups talents together it can make for a really effective fundraiser.
Another way is to hold events such as concerts with live music and comedians in a small venue. This kind of fundraiser can be difficult to organise but it is well worth the benefits and in my experience is a great night out too! Every event is different; if you want any more advice about what to do, get in touch with me and I can give you some pointers.
Hopefully you have been able to take something from this that can help you become a better group and feel more confident about what you want to achieve this year. If you have any questions about anything don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.
Being the president of a society myself I know exactly what you are going through and it would be really good if we could all keep in contact with each other and share ideas and experiences about what works and what doesn’t work . The rest of this pack contains more information about SFT’s campaigns and can hopefully give some ideas on what you could focus on at your uni, as well as contact information for me so please don’t be afraid to get in touch even just to say hi!!
Whether small or large scale, you can get noticed! Students in Manchester do a sit-in action at the Chinese consulate and former SFT UK board member Iain grabs international headlines for Tibet with this daring banner hang outside the Birds Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Ten Tibet facts
___________________ -Tibet is located to the West of China, and is the size of Western Europe.
-The country’s spiritual leader is the Dalai Lama who now lives in Dharamsala, India
Since the Chinese invaded and occupied the country in 1949, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been killed and many more have fled into exile. Tibetans are now scattered across the world.
-Around 86,000 Tibetan men, women and children were killed in the Tibetan Uprising of 1959; and since then China has imposed a huge military presence, strict controls and punishments for dissenters.
Various human rights abuses take place in Tibet today including torture, forced disappearence, lack of religious freedom, unequal education and employment opportunities for Tibetans, lack of freedom of speech, lack of internationally agreed judicial practices, lack of information access and forced relocation of people into tenement-style ghettos.
Tibetan students are forced to learn in Chinese from the age of 13, competing for university places against Han Chinese migrants in a language they do not properly understand. This leads to Tibetans missing out on most university places and therefore on good careers.
-Lots of Tibetan parents take the heartbreaking decision to send their children on the dangerous trek across the Himalayas into exile to receive a fair education and freedom. Some never see their children again.
-China invests huge resources in policing Tibet, with an armed military police officer for around every 20 Tibetan civilians. This is to keep Tibetans in a state of fear, scared to speak up for their country. -There were mass uprisings in Tibet in 1988-9 and in 2008, but peaceful protests occur every month in Tibet. State controls prevent a lot of information leaving Tibet, making it important we share it.
There is a worldwide network of activists working towards a free Tibet of which Students For A Free Tibet is a key member, with chapters worldwide and growing.
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Photos: Tibetan monks get a rare opportunity to protest in front of foreign press; some of these monks were arrested and a few are known to have ied since, and a military truck; these and snipers are common on the streets of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa.
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Merchandise _________________ Wearing Tibet merchandise is a good way to get noticed, and its also a great way to raise funds for your group. We can get merchandise for your group and do cheap deals on some items. Contact info@sftuk.org
Bands
Bags
New Tibet hoodies
Kids clothing
Books Other clothing
Greeting cards Photos: Some of the SFT merchandise which can light up your stall! More at - sftuk.org/sft-online-store You can also get leaflets and other materials from us, or print our magazine and other publications from sftuk.org/about/sft-uk-publications
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Current situation
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The current situation in Tibet is bleak, as the Chinese government cracks down on every aspect of Tibetan life. The situation has become so difficult that Tibetans are setting themselves on fire as a means of protest against Chinese rule; over fifty between March 2011 and mid 2012. Most of these die of their injuries, and on most occasions the Chinese state reacts with new repressive measures; beating, shooting and arresting Tibetans who gather in large numbers to pay tribute to the dead, refusing to hand over bodies for funerals to take place and putting monasteries and towns under military lockdown.
But there are also positives to be drawn from the current situation in Tibet. Since 2008, the Tibetan resistance has diversified; we’re seeing a wider cross-section of society standing up to reject Chinese rule, from monks and nuns to students, nomads, artists and writers, businessmen, environmentalists and laypeople. We’re seeing not just peaceful protests but the use of Tibetan language, music, art, poetry and culture as a form of protest, boycotts, banner hangs, the rejection of state rules over religious gatherings and the use of images of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan flag and tactical protests against specific injustices like pollution from factories, language rights and the persecution of monks and individual prisoners. We’re also seeing the younge r generation of Tibetans more and more active in and outside Tibet. Overall, what we’re seeing is the kind of evolution of a resistance movement which we’ve seen in successful cases like the Indian independence movement, like movements in former Soviet states, like some aspects of the Arab Spring and like rights movements in civil rights era America and South Africa. As the Dala Lama has said, Tibetans in Tibet are our boss; we work to secure freedom for them and we should always remember that.
The self-immolations are a tragic trend, but they go to show that Tibetans in Tibet are willing to put everything on the line; laying down their lives for the cause. Living in the free world, it’s hard for us to understand what their thoughts and feelings are, but one thing we can be sure of is the things they’re saying. In the letters they leave and slogans they shout as the set themselves alight, they are calling for human rights and freedoms, for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, for unity among Tibetans and more and more for Tibetan independence. These are the messages we must make heard, to our governments, to other rights groups, to other students, to the media and to the Chinese authorities through their embassies, consulates and state visits. The images of Tibetans who have self-immolated to reject Chinese rule must haunt the CCP until Tibet is free.
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Photos: (Top) Twin self-immolation in Tibet caught on film. Though the Chinese state is trying to block news of self-immolations getting out, Tibetans are risking their freedom to share information, hundreds and thousands gather to mourn those who self-immolate and troops swamp Tibetan towns, now carrying fire extinguishers as standard kit. More info - standupfortibet.org
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
TAKE ACTION: STAND UP FOR TIBET
1. Learn more about the self-immolations on the website www.standupfortibet.org. The site brings together Tibet groups to campaign on this urgent issue; to secure government action for Tibet. You can read profiles of those who have self-immolated and keep to to date on a situation which changes every day.
2. Get people to sign the standupfortibet.org petition. Tens of thousands have signed, including politicians and celebrities. By signing online, people can build the pressure against the Chinese regime to seriously address the greivances of the Tibetan people as any truly developed nation would. Just share the link with as many people as you can.
3. Organise letter-writing campaigns to your MP. Tell them about the current situation in Tibet and ask them to write to the Foreign Office asking them to report back on the latest cases of self-immolation, arrests and protests in Tibet and to help set up multi-lateral forums on the Tibet crisis with other governments. The UK Foreign Office has been critical of China’s handling of protests in Tibet, but continues to back the talks between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama; talks which have so far failed, and which the Dalai Lama’s envoys resigned from in June 2012, citing frustration that the Chinese side was unwilling to take the talks seriously. Though we wouldn’t expect Britain to back Tibetan independence, pushing for multi-lateral action is a way they can strengthen their policies of promoting human rights abroad while defending themselves against China’s threats of damage to trade opportunities. The multi-lateral approach is being recommended to governments across the world. Find your MP’s details at www.writetothem.com 4. Keep your MP up to speed on what’s happening. Writing once is great, but if you start a dialogue with your MP. you can win them over and get them to actively seek opportunities to push the Tibet issue in parliament. Encourage group members to write to them when there are new developments like new self-immolations or crackdowns in Tibet; the more up to date the information is, the moreurgent it is to your MP. And how about inviting your MP to events you organise or even asking them to speak to the group?
5. Organise vigils for those who have self-immolated, especially in Wednesdays to mark Lhakar. A vigil can be a good way to highlight these cases; print out A3 pictures of those who have self-immolated, read out any statements they’ve made and light candles in memory of them. Or have a theme for a vigil or march based around recent events and remember tomake small fliers about the most recent news to give out. If you have a Chinese consulate or Embassy nearby, it’ll also make sure China can’t forget these Tibetans.
Photos: It isn’t just those who self-immolate who China targets; Yonten Gyatso was sentenced to a seven year term and tortured just for sharing a phot of Tenzin Wangmo’s self-immolation and trying to contact the UN about abuses in Tibet, Tibetans and supporters at a vigil in London More info - standupfortibet.org
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Nomad campaign
_______________________ Tibetan nomads are under threat.
Tibetan nomads or drokpa (in Tibetan) are the guardians of Tibet's ancient culture. For thousands of years, they have lived sustainably on the grasslands of the Tibetan plateau.
But China wants to end Tibetan nomads' way of life by 2015. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is forcing 2.25 million nomads – one third of the entire Tibetan population – off their land into isolated, reservation-style concrete housing blocks. Over 1.4 million nomads have already been relocated.
Nomads traditionally live in tents and move with their livestock; sheep, goats, yak and horses; across the Tibetan plateau with the seasons. This makes them hard to keep track of, and their lifestyle is distinctly Tibetan; a national and cultural identity which China is seeking to destroy. The concrete houses don’t look that bad at first, but quickly the nomads realise that their livestock has been confiscated or slaughtered, their agricultural skills are useless in an urban environment and they have no means to provide for themselves and their families. Many slip into poverty, gambling, alcohol addiction or suicide.
Under a false claim of "environmental protection," China is clearing the land to make way for destructive dams and lucrative mining operations. Scientists have shown that nomads' traditional grazing patterns actually help to mitigate the impact of climate change on the plateau. But aimed at tightening its colonial grip over Tibet, China's policy of forced resettlement is a death sentence for Tibetan nomads and the land.
Even at the risk of arrest, imprisonment, and torture by the Chinese government, Tibetan nomads have spoken out against the forced resettlement. As they fight to save their way of life, we must act to alert the world to this growing crisis. This is what happened to the Native Americans and to the Aboriginal people of Australia. We said we’d never let it happen again but it’s happening now to Tibet’s nomads.
Students for a Free Tibet has joined forces with the International Tibet Network and other concerned groups to launch a new campaign to support Tibetan nomads' rights. We need your help to push this issue, to end forced resettlement and save the Tibetan nomads. It’s one of SFT’s main focuses in coming years.
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Photos: (Top) a young nomad, photo by Vincent Van den berg, the regimented complexes are close-packed with little room to move and no agricultural opportunities; very different to the freedom to move and graze which the nomads depend on. More info - nomadrights.org
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
TAKE ACTION: SAVE TIBETAN NOMADS
1. Watch & share the ‘Nomads to Nobody’ or nomadrights.org videos, educate your friends and family about the issue and share it online. You can get a copy from us or watch it at www.wildyakfilms.com 2. Get fellow students/friends/family to sign the petition and demand Chinese leaders stop their policy of forcing Tibetan nomads off their land. 3. Read more about nomad rights and how you can get involved in this campaign. All of the above are available at the new website www.nomadrights.org
Your group can encourage people to take the three actions above, and you can link up with other groups who care about environmental issues to make our call for nomad rights louder. You can also get nomad rights postcard campaign cards from us for people to sign.
Not many people know about the plight of Tibet’s nomads. When you show people pictures of Tibetan nomads, they’re always taken by their distinctive clothing, their colourful adornments and their sustainable lifestyle, but they’re surprised to know that this is all under severe threat; such a severe threat that by 2015 it may all be gone completely.
So your group can reach out to people and get the word about nomad rights out there. There are some great tools you can use to draw interest; amazing photos of nomads and the beautiful Tibetan plateau, nomadic clothing and decorations, dress-up yaks or yak masks, DIY handicrafts at information stalls and Tibetan foods like momos, popular with nomads. And you can use the environmental issues which nomads care about to get a broader range of people interested as well.
The resettlement of nomads isn’t just a human rights issue; Tibet houses the third largst store of ice on the planet (after the poles) and that ice is melting fast, meaning billions of people in India, Bangladesh and China downstream are at risk of flooding. They’re also at risk of lack of water, since China is continuing to build mega dams in Tibet which can block water getting down rivers like the Brahmaputra and Ganges. There’s also the issue of China’s quickly expanding factories polluting that water, and the fact that climate change is speeding up on the Tibetan plateau as nomads are taken off the land so that it can be used for destructive mining practices and other industrialised processes Its all about the exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources, which fuels China’s economy. Without the nomads, we’re all at risk.
Photos: Tibetans in the UK sign Nomad Rights petition postcards and unarmed Tibetan villagers face off against Chinese soldiers in a protest against the pollution being caused by a new factory; environmental protests are becoming more and more common in Tibet. More info - nomadrights.org
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Political prisoners
________________________ Nobody knows how many political prisoners are in jail in Tibet today.
Tibetans can be arrested for a huge variety of reasons, and the terror they experience doesn’t end there. The United Nations states that torture is both ‘widespread’ and ‘routine’ in Tibet today, and China refuses attempts by UN human rights experts to visit Tibet’s jails. China’s judicial system is also a hotbed of corruption and abuse, where prisoners are systematically denied legal representation, prevented from being visited by their families, given disproportionate sentences for vague ‘crimes’ such as ‘splittism’ and are often convicted solely on their own confessions- confessions which they only make while they are being horrifically tortured, or because state officials threaten to arrest and abuse their families if they do not comply. Torture also takes place during their sentences, as does food, sleep and sensory deprevation. Another common practice is for Tibetans who have been tortured to the point of death to be ‘released’ into hospitals to die so that it cannot be said that they died in jail.
All of this creates a system where Tibetans are scared to speak their minds. Things which we do every day can lead to lengthy sentences, torture and death, such as: -Taking part in a peaceful protest -Owning a Tibetan flag -Starting a political group -Complaining about state corruption -Writing news articles in magazines -Creating websites about Tibet’s culture -Sending email to friends outside Tibet
-Shouting ‘free Tibet!’ -Owning a picture of the Dalai Lama -Fundraising for Tibetans or human rights work -Speaking up against environmental damage -Interviewing people for a documentary -Refusing to denounce the Dalai Lama -Downloading an MP3 of a song about freedom
Yet despite these harsh controls and punishments, Tibetans continue to protest against Chinese rule in their thousands every year. The last big Tibetan uprising was in 2008, where over 100 separate protests took place across a two month period. China tries to paint a picture of a ‘harmonious’ Tibet, and often bans reporters and tourists and cuts phone and internet lines to stop people exposing the truth; that Tibet is an area of serious unrest and that the Tibetan people risk their liberty to reject Chinese rule.
Your group can make a real difference to political prisoners by highlighting their cases, collecting petitions, writing to local MPs and asking them to take up individual cases with their Chinese counterparts and bring them up in parliament. And personal cases can attract people to your group- when people put themselves in the shoes of Tibetan prisoners, they realise how awful the situation is and are compelled to act. By raising awareness of prisoners’ cases, you are making sure the Chinese government is being watched, and that it has to be careful how it treats them or face embaressment and criticism worldwide. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, The Panchen Lama Sentence: None Missing since abduction in 1995 Age at arrest: 6 Abducted by Chinese authorities aged just six, he and his family have not been seen or heard from since. Seen as the reincarnation of Tibet’s 2nd highest religious figure, the Chinese state abducted him to control the selection of the next Dalai Lama.SFT UK mark his birthday every 25th April with a vigil outside the Chinese Embassy. You can also get ‘where is he?’ Panchen Lama stickers from SFT UK.
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Organise a vigil on the Panchen Lama’s birthday! And contact SFT UK for Panchen Lama stickers - tom@sftuk.org
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Dhondup Wangchen, film maker Sentence: 6 years Arrested in: 2008 For: Making a documentary about Tibet Tortured Dhondup was arrested after filming interviews with Tibetans, talking about their views on life under Chinese rule. He has been denied medical care when ill and forced to do hard labour. You can get more copies ‘Leaving Fear Behind’ from SFT UK, and ask us if you’d like Dechen Pemba, who helped smuggle the film out of China, to present the film at your uni.
Norzin Wangmo, cadre Sentence: 5 years Arrested in: 2008 For: Talking about Tibet on phone & email Tortured When protests errupted around Tibet in March 2008. Norzin talked to friends on the phone and net about what she saw and was arrested. She has been tortured and denied the right to see her young son. Her sentenced was reduced by 8 months in 2011 and we are continuing to campaign for her release.
Karma Samdrup, environmentalist Sentence: 15 years Arrested in: 2010 For: Complaining about brothers’ arrests Tortured Award-winning environmentalist Karma was popular with the Chinese state until he spoke out when his brothers Rinchen and Chime were arrested for criticising state officials for poaching endangered wildlife. Karma was tortured to extract a confession to dubious charges relating to antiques dealing. His case is a good one to use to engage with environmental groups at your uni- it shows Tibetans are prevented from protecting the fragile environment of the plateau.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, Buddhist monk Arrested in: 2002 Sentence: Death (reduced to life imprisonment) For: Human rights & environment work Tortured One of the most influential religious and community leaders in Tibet, TDR was charged with being involved in a bomb plot in an attempt to counteract his influence- no evidence has been produced. His co-accused Lobsang Dhondup was executed in 2002. Tenzin Deleg is one of Tibet’s best known prisoners, and even today Tibetans in Tibet continue to risk their own lliberty by signing large scale petitions for his release. Campaigning led to his death sentence being reduced to life in 2005. It shows highlighting cases can work. The campaign to release him continues. Penkyi Arrested in: 2008 For: Alleged arson during a protest Sentence: Death 21-year-old Penkyi is awaiting execution after being convicted of starting a fatal fire. She was denied legal representation and no evidence has emerged from the trial. It is thought her sentence will be commuted to life, but two other young Tibetans given similar convictions around the same time, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, were executed in 2009 . Wangdu, NGO health worker Arrested in: 2008 For: Sending email Sentence: Life imprisonment Wangdu worked promoting AIDS awareness in Tibet, and emailed friends outside Tibet to tell them about military crackdowns he witnessed in 2008. Three others received 8-14 year sentences on similar charges but Wangdu’s is thought to be the longest for such an insignificant ‘crime’. Using this case, you can show people that even something they do every day; sending email, can lead to life in jail in Tibet, and how China fears social networking. Runggye Adak, nomad Arrested in: 2007 For: Speakling at a horse festival Sentence: 8 years Nomad Runggye Adak took the microphone at a large horse racing festival in Lithang and made a passionate speech, calling for the return of the Dalai Lama and saying in Tibet “although we are free to move our bodies, we cannot express what is in our hearts.” Despite being jailed, Adak’s speech has inspired Tibetans to protest in 2008 and beyond.
These are only a few of the hundreds, if not thousands of political prisoners held in Tibet today. You can read more about these cases and others at - www.sftuk.org/campaign/political or www.freetibetanheroes.org
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Lhakar and the Tibetan renaissance
______________________________________________ Lhakar is a homegrown people’s movement that has emerged in Tibet recently. In spite of China’s intensified crackdown, Tibetans have embraced the power of strategic nonviolent resistance. Lhakar, meaning ‘White Wednesday,’ (the Dalai Lama’s ‘soul day’) is about resisting China’s occupation and the pressure to become ‘sinicised’ by making the effort each Wednesday to speak the Tibetan language, wear Tibetan clothes, eat Tibetan food and shop at Tibetan merchants. Lhakar is about Tibetans being Tibetan.
There are lots of different ways to mark White Wednesday, and Tibetans are continually thinking of new initiatives. For example, as the Chinese authorities attempt to further marginalise the Tibetan language by replacing it with Chinese in schools, Tibetans in Sershul Monastery have hit upon a brilliant idea to protect their language from Chinese invasion. Everyone makes an effort to speak in pure Tibetan in the monastery, and every time someone utters a Chinese word, they get fined a yuan! It keeps people thinking; while China pumps countless yuan into propaganda which tells Tibetans that Tibet is part of China and that Tibetans have been ‘liberated’, initiatives like this remind them that they have their own language, culture and nationality, and it remind the Chinese state of that too!
Other examples of Lhakar activities include a movement to buy only vegetables sold by Tibetan sellers. As Chinese migrants are often paid more for the same jobs, Chinese sellers had been charging more, making it hard for Tibetans to afford basic stocks. By getting together to purposefully buy from Tibetan sellers (who dropped their prices to help Tibetan buyers) the Tibetans have started to push Chinese sellers out of business, giving Tibetans more economic power in their own country. The Chinese state has even had to warn Chinese police to not buy from Tibetan sellers themselves- they want to as their goods are cheaper!
You can follow the Lhakar movement at www.Lhakar.org and see how exiled Tibetans are joining the Lhakar movement at www.Lhakardiaries.com
Another new strand of the Tibetan movement to come out of Tibet itself is what we call the Tibetan renaissance. People are shocked by the kind of things that are banned in Tibet. Websites like YouTube and Twitter, pictures of key Tibetan figures like the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, symbols of Tibetan nationality like the Tibetan flag and national anthem and MP3s and ringtones of music by Tibetan artists. Since the Tibetan uprising of 2008, the younger generation of Tibetans inside Tibet have become energised and are using clever new ways to get around state controls and call for freedom. They’re aren’t just marching and protesting, they’re using music, art, poetry, films, books, blogs, anti-censorship software for the web and the Chinese state have no idea how to deal with them. They can arrest some people who get creative, but jailing people for listening to music or reading books makes the Chinese state look backward while it tries to convince the world it’s advanced. SFT is standing in solidarity with the new generation by organising the Renaissance Series; social and fundraising events which aim to amplify their voices by celebrating all the things that are banned in Tibet. This opens up great opportunities for fun, engaging group events based around music, film and the arts. The Tibet movement inside Tibet is quickly becoming a youth movement and its the same for us!
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watch some banned music videos at http://vimeo.com/hpeaks/videos
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Letter writing
__________________ Letter writing is an easy way to get politicall active, and its something you can do either as an individual or as a group.
Your MP is directly responsible to you, so they have a duty to respond when you write to them about a political issue. A lot of people are wary of writing to their MP; they feel it won’t make any difference and that their letter will be ignored. But nine times out of ten, MPs respond, and MPs tell us that it only takes around 3 letter from constituents about an issue for them to consider it important.
If you don’t know who your MP is, you can check easily on websites like www.writetothem.com, and they are responsible to you whether you’ve voted or not. You can write about any Tibet issue and they should write back. Remember they may not know much about the issue, so briefly outline what your concerns are, and remember to ask them to act in some way. That may be to raise the issue with their Chinese counterparts, to write to the Foreign Office or to sign an early day motion (EDM) about Tibet. (EDMs are created by MPs and if enough members of parliament sign them, it sparks a political debate about the issue). If a UK statesperson is about to visit China or if a Chinese statesperson is due to visit the UK, its a good idea to ask your MP to raise the issue during this visit.
The first letter is always a bit daunting, but its rewarding to get a reply, which you can share with your group to encourage them to write as well. Though your group are a small minority when it comes to the population of the UK, a tiny amount of people take the time to write to their MPs, so you’re influencing their opinions more than you might think! And in time you can build a good relationship with your MP through writing letters and by meeting them at the mass lobby for Tibet, which takes place at Westminister every March 10th. The MPs are the people meeting Chinese leaders and businessmen face to face; if you can make them Tibet supporters, it’s having a real impact! Below is a sample letter to an MP on the case of imprisoned nomad Runggye Adak: <MP NAME HERE> House of Commons London SW1A 0AA
Dear ................................................MP,
I am writing to you to express my deep concern for Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad currently serving an eight year sentence in Mianyang Prison, Sichuan Province for “provocation to subvert state power.”
His 'crime' was to call for the return of the Dalai Lama and the release of Tibetan political prisoners during a horse racing festival in August 2007. Subsequent protests against his arrest have been violently broken up by the Chinese authorities. I am particularly alarmed by recent reports the Runngye Adak is suffering with ill health and that he may not be receiving the necessary medical attention. His continued detention is a clear violation of numerous human rights including freedom of speech and international standards for the treatment of prisoners. Please call on the Foreign Secretary to fulfill his government's manifesto commitment of "standing firm on human rights" and to raise Runggye Adak's case with the Chinese government as a matter of urgency. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours Sincerely,
For more info on letter writing and to get your group involved in the annual mass lobby, email - liam@sftuk.org
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For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Networking
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If you want your group to grow, it’s important to network. It’s as simple as this; the more people who know about Tibet, the stronger the movement becomes. A lot of people are hard to win over; they may not be interested in human rights, in politics or in the campaigns SFT runs. But there are groups who you can find common ground with, and by working with them you can quickly expand your outreach, get more people to attend your events and grow your group.
Take environmental groups for example. There’s probably a Greenpeace group, a Friends of the Earth group or a climate change action group on your campus, and those groups are probably bigger than yours. Students who are in those groups may not be interested in political prisoners or the occupation of Tibet, but they probably will be interested in the nomadic campaign. So if you’re doing a nomadic event, like a film screening of ‘Nomads to Nobody’, make sure to invite the environment groups and tell them how forced resettlement is having a negative effect on the plateau and contributing to climate change globally. They’ll come along because of the environment issue but may also join your group too.
Many causes... One Struggle
What is One Struggle? An outreach campaign by SFTUK. We recognise that as well as occupying Tibet, the Chinese government is responsible for propping up dictatorships around the world from Burma to Zimbabwe. It also abuses the people of China; particularly those campaigning for democracy or those from groups such as Falun Gong. One Struggle aims to build links between freedom struggles against the Chinese government and against the regimes it supports.
Why is it important to link-up with other causes? Because victory for one will help all the others in some way. For example, a democratic Burma on Tibet's border can only be good for the Tibetan movement, whilst a strong Chinese democracy movement will weaken the Chinese government, making it harder for it to hold onto the occupied territories of Tibet, East Turkestan and Inner Mongolia. What can we do to help? Log onto sftuk.org/onestruggle where you'll find a whole bunch of information and campaign letters for a whole range of causes. Then spread the word, get campaigning and join in the One Struggle!
For more info e-mail liam@sftuk.org
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Photos: Those who think non-violent resistance doesn’t work only need to look at Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, meanwhile protesters have been taking to the streets in Chinese-occupied Inner Mongolia in 2011; an example of a cause with a common opponent; the CCP More info - www.sftuk.org/onestruggle
For more info, contact us at: sftuk.org
Stay in touch __________________ Thanks for being part of SFT; every individual and every group strengthens our movement!
Contact SFT UK at any time;- info@sftuk.org Like us and send messages on Facebook as well; at SFTUK we really feel that if we can all keep in contact and share our experiences we can improve the awareness of Tibet amongst the student population and push the cause forward!
Don’t forget there’s lots more information about running a group and organising fundraisers as well as up to date news concerning Tibet and the movement at: www.sftuk.org. Make your own group leaflet using info from our site and put your group’s details on it so people stay in touch. And if you’re in a group, remember to get a free SFT DVD from us, featuring hours of great Tibet documentaries, campaign and music videos. Just drop us an email or FB message. Tashi delek! The SFT UK team
Useful links sftuk.org Students for a Free Tibet UK’s website twitter.com/sftuk Follow SFT UK on Twitter Search for Students for a Free Tibet UK and ‘like’ our page on Facebook studentsforafreetibet.org Students for a Free Tibet’s international website nomadrights.org Website for the nomadic campaign tibetnetwork.org International network site for all Tibet support groups (TSGs) worldwide highpeakspureearth.com Translations of Tibetan blogs & news and media from Tibet freetibetanheroes.org Take action for political prisoners tibetactioninstitute.net SFT’s groundbreaking online projects lhakar.org and lhakardiaries.com Websites for supporters of the Lhakar movement tchrd.org Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy phayul.com Tibetan newswire site
Photos: Students training at Pestalozzi College and always remember; Tibet will be free!
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Tibet will be free. Students for a Free Tibet UK Fresher pack