what's left of us (documentary on tibetan people)

[meggo]

saw this movie last night with LJodieFH and just wanted to make a reccommendation to anyone interested in the tibetan cause, so to speak, or anyone in general with an interest in human rights, world politics, you get the picture.

i thought it was a really excellent movie. it is narrated by a montreal-born-and-raised canadian, whose father left tibet to escape chinese rule. she still speaks (what seemed to be) fluent tibetan. so she goes back to tibet, and manages to sneak in a tiny television with a recorded video message from the dalai lama. she brings it to various people through tibet, and the reactions are really moving. you also get to see all kinds of tibetans, in different walks of life. she shows it to nuns, monks, shepherds, families.... seeing the looks on the people's faces after hearing the dalai lama for the very first time, and knowing that he is addressing they the tibetan people in tibet directly... it's really something else.

of course, in addition to being fascinating it is a pretty depressing movie. the objective (to me) is to underline that the tibetan people in tibet are still being oppressed by the chinese, since their occupation in 1949. tons of tibetan buddhist nuns and monks, the people's spiritual and political leaders, have been tortured, killed, gone missing. most of their temples/sacred buildings have been destroyed. tibetan is not taught in schools so children can only learn it at home and it is feared that their language will be lost. they cannot speak ill of the chinese regime or they'll be put in prison, without trial. the list goes on...

it reminds me of the some discussions that took place after the tsunami, because in that situation, everyone poured out their hearts and wallets (and rightfully so). relief from a natural distaster. but here is a, for lack of a better term, human disaster, and everyone turns a blind eye (and of course this is just one example). here is a country that has tried, unsuccessfully, for 50 years to resist the chinese non-violently, and it has gotten them NOWHERE! the movie illustrates very well how all of the files depicting the oppression in tibet (beginning with one telegram dated november 24th 1949 from the dalai lama himself, begging the U.N. for help) have been translated "meticulously" into many different languages, are kept at a certain temperature and humidity to preserve them (all at the UN headquarters)... and for what? to be ignored, apparently.

anyway, i knew i was going to need some kind of rant after seeing it. i think blane does work for the UN, maybe he can shed more light on this rather bleak scenario?