You're looking swell, Dalai. I can tell, Dalai. (My rendition of "Hello, Dalai"). I very much enjoyed my visit to McLeod Ganj and Dharamsalah. For those who don't know, that is the current location of the Tibetan government headquarters. The area is crammed with Tibetans, Indians, spirituality seeking tourists, but from what I've seen, no celebrities (despite what the "Jew in the Lotus" said, I did not see Richard Gere lounging around in a fold-out chair. But I did eat in a restaurant that had a picture of Peirce Brosmnan when he came to town. Yup, I ate in the same place as James Bond). It really is quite incredible talking with the Tibetans and hearing their stories. I met these two guys around my age and heard about their ardorous trek from China controlled Tibet into India, across the Himalayas. It sounded horrible. But at least here they are free to practice Buddhism without fear of persecution. Since the Dalai Lama did the trip in 1959, approximately 250 000 Tibetans have followed him into exile.
I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Free Tibet thing. Yes, China is massively powerful, but do the Tibetans really believe that their passivity and an occassional rant on their behalf at the Oscars is going to get their land back? Isn't it time for them to get their hands on some nukes and blast them all the way to...(oh wait, that expression doesn't work when it really is China that they'd be sending them to.) Oh well. I'm not offering suggestions. If there's one thing that I've learned these past few months it is that I don't know anything about anything. Least of all international politics. And coming from Israel I have definitely seen the toll that has been taken by a militaristic society. But at least Israel exists as a country. Can Tibetans say the same?
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