Tibetan Child

Tibetan Child

In 2001, after spending almost a year speaking to refugees in India, I finally went to Tibet to make a documentary on life for Tibetans under the Chinese occupation.

Of all the beautiful, tragic and helpless people I saw and met in what is left of Tibet, this child stood out.

Maybe it was because our meeting was fleeting: I shot this image with an 18-200 lens at quite a distance as her family herded sheep… Or maybe it was because I wonder to this day where she is and what has become of her.

What is absolutely clear is that her life, just like every other Tibetan living under China’s grim fist, will never be what it could have been if the Chinese had not invaded Tibet half a century ago.

I have often battled with what I saw in Tibet. Part of me broke there because I realised that no matter how many voices condemn the atrocities that take place there every day, it won’t make a difference because of China’s growing economic might.

The fact that the Olympics of 2008 ever took place proved me right.

I don’t shout about Tibet anymore but I do like to remind people that while we continue to consume Chinese goods and partner the Chinese in their ‘progression’ we should always be mindful of the Tibetans whose identity, religion and education has been largely forgotten… For economic gain.

Tashi Delek…

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